Cathay Pacific First Class Is Getting New Champagne (Again)

Ben..thanks for the info..from time to time it is nice to taste some good bubblies...and yes...quite intriguing that major airlines are serving good ones at the moment..

As a very frequent first class traveller, I can confirm that the quality of the food and beverage offering on Cathay and JAL is way superior than 90% of the other airlines.

Do you think this is just ex-HKG? Or is it on the routes listed to and from HKG?

Does anyone choose their first class ticket based on the champagne served? I am sure the airlines do this kind of rotation purely based on ecenomic terms.

In other Champagne-related news, Lufthansa is serving Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995 this month, which is great stuff! It's even more expensive than Krug Grande Cuvee or vintage Dom (excluding P2). I prefer it to Dom Perignon and to the recent editions of Krug Grande Cuvee.

I like that Lufthansa rotates their Champagne since it's always fun to try something new, but my gripe is that the quality varies wildly. Often they serve Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle or Pommery Cuvee Louise, which are both respectable first-class Champagnes. But then sometimes they will serve non-vintage Alfred Gratien or Taittinger 2007, which are not in the same league.

Air France is a great example of an airline that rotates its Champagnes but keeps them at consistently great quality--Bollinger La Grande Annee, Krug Grande Cuvee, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, and Cristal.

Should also mention that Japan Airlines has switched from Salon to Cristal, currently the 2009 vintage.

@Cheque If you've ever read some of the threads on Flyertalk, it is clear that wine and champagne selection does factor into a lot of peoples' choice of which airlines to fly especially those who fly in the front.

"Then in August 2017, Cathay Pacific replaced that with Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2006 in longhaul first class." - Not really accurate! Comtes de Champagne indeed replaced Krug on a few routes - specifically SFO, LAX and ZRH - but all other long-haul routes, aka the overwhelming majority of CX longhaul flights, maintained Krug NV.

@ Matt -- I believe it's to & from Hong Kong, but am not positive.

@Matt and @Lucky, I am flying out of BOS later this week, and hope to find out 🙂

What's being served down the back in biz?

Maybe its not the airlines, but the Champagne providers. Maybe they have too much inventory and trying to move their product.

You could serve aerated jus de chaussette/pipi de chat and most of them would deem it marvellous, provided it had a fancy label and a $150 price tag.
Great for the vendors though.

@Bob Trial . Correct sir. Krug was definitely served last Monday out of JFK and week before out of YVR

A welcome improvement. Its about time, since theyve been cost-cutting aggressively. If its only in first class then thats not much problem in their inventory system. I do wish though that they bring back the fruity Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve in long-haul business class.

I'm more intrigued by the fact that readers of this blog constantly feel the need to remind everyone that they are "frequent first-class traveller"

I envy the life-threatening decisions the rich-and-famous have to wrestle with. I honestly am envious. I'm (almost) certain the choice of champagne served at The Melbourne Cup is also very important.

Speaking for myself, champagne is not significant. Not a fan of bubbly. The odd glass, maybe. Not sure I could tell the difference between Krug and Baby Duck.

While on the subject of important issues for the lucky few who can afford First Class, I sometimes notice on the drink menus you post that First Class passengers are offered 'JW Blue'. Again, not a fan of malt whiskies, although I am aware JW Blue is very pricey. Yet, it's always "Jack Daniel's" and never 'Sinatra Select' or even 'Gentleman Jack' offered. Why? Are we considered plebs?

1. Champagne is produced in limited quantities.
2. The airlines have been serving the same champagne for a few years
Now
3. In light of limited production, and the length of time certain champagnes have been served on board, airlines are changing it around.
But, it does sound better to say competitI’ve pressures.

@rob-Riyadh Johnnie Blue is not a single malt. It’s a blended whisky.

I flew JFK HKG in CX F in January, they were serving the Krug. I then flew HKG BKK CX F and they were serving the Taittinger (which by the way tasted incredible)

Hey lucky, this says “routes TO New York..”

Does this mean it will NOT be served JFK - HKG, but only HKG - JFK? Was going to book J JFK HKG, but always looking for an excuse to book F.

Thanks a lot!

@lucky I can confirm CX is serving Vintage Krug 2004 out of BOS

Thank you BOSflyer!!!

On CX885 right now and champagne is William Deutz 2006. Tastes very nice but not quite as deep as the Krug from CX and SQ.