United Airlines Unveils New Canned Wine For Economy, Adds Rose

United Airlines is updating its wine selection in economy, and with this, the airline will be transitioning from bottles to cans…

United’s four new economy wine choices

As of October 1, 2024, United will be refreshing its wine selection in economy, with new options from women-owned brands Just Enough Wines and Maker Wine. In addition to traditional red and white choices, United is also adding a new rose to the inflight menu, plus exclusive-to-United sparkling wine (I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing).

The following four wines, all from the California Central Coast, will be available for purchase in economy on all mainline flights:

• Just Enough Wines Rosé, described as a dry, crisp rose with notes of watermelon and guava, balanced by a refreshing minerality
• Maker Brut Bubbles, described as an aromatic sparkling white with bright citrus, white flowers and stone fruit notes, and a crisp minerality
• Just Enough Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, described as a full-bodied cabernet sauvignon with a vibrant and rich flavor profile of bright cherries, vanilla, and sandalwood
• Just Enough Wines Chardonnay, described as a medium-bodied chardonnay with a bright flavor profile with notes of melon, honeysuckle, and toasted brioche

All four wines will be available for purchase at the cost of $12, and are served in 250 milliliter cans, comparable to about a glass and a half of wine. The cans will be served with a cup for sipping. As a point of comparison, prior to this, United has served wine in 187 milliliter plastic bottles, with the choice of a red, white, or sparkling wine, at the cost of $10.

United is making the switch from mini plastic bottled to canned wine in order to reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles. The airline expects that this change will eliminate 4.7 million bottles per year, while aluminum is nearly infinitely recyclable.

United has served more than 20 million glasses of systemwide so far this year, including around 3.2 million glasses in domestic economy alone. The airline serves around 1.5 times as much wine as it does beer or spirits.

Here’s how Aaron McMillan, United’s Managing Director of Hospitality Programs, describes this:

“Our new economy wine list is giving travelers more variety and better quality. After the overwhelmingly positive response to the addition of rosé in United Polaris® business class, and ongoing fanfare for sparkling options, we’re thrilled to now offer rosé and a higher quality brut bubbles option for our economy passengers, delivering a more premium experience onboard.”

This seems like a sensible change

Let’s be honest, the wine for purchase in economy on domestic flights is rarely anything to get excited about. People order it because they don’t have other options, and probably because they’re looking to get a bit of a buzz, rather than because they’re connoisseurs.

Some airlines are better than others — for example, I appreciate how Alaska Airlines emphasizes products from the Pacific Northwest — but the “big three” really don’t offer much that’s exciting.

With that in mind, I think this transition in wine options sounds positive:

• Many will appreciate that the wine quantity is increasing by 33%, while the cost is only increasing by 20%
• It’s nice that United will also have a rose option in economy, which wasn’t previously sold
• It’s good to eliminate single-use plastics, and I also imagine cans can be stored more efficiently than bottles
• I realize canned wine might not have a great reputation, but canned wine doesn’t have to be bad, and for that matter, wine in plastic bottles isn’t necessarily good, so… 😉

Bottom line

As of October 1, 2024, United is updating its wine selection in economy. Going forward, there will be four wines to choose from — red, white, rose, and sparkling — and they’ll cost $12, and will be served in 250 milliliter cans. This seems like a generally positive change, in terms of the quantity of wine, the elimination of single-use plastics, and the addition of rose.

What do you make of United updating its economy wine selection?