United Airlines is seriously upgrading the champagne in its long haul business class, and it’s something I’m sure many travelers will appreciate…
United upgrades Polaris business class champagne
United Airlines has internally revealed plans to upgrade the champagne it serves in its Polaris business class. As of January 1, 2025, United will serve Laurent-Perrier’s La Cuvée Champagne on all Polaris business class flights. Per the airline:
Beginning January 1, our Polaris customers will have the chance to enjoy Laurent-Perrier’s La Cuvée Champagne. This fresh and elegant blend of 55% chardonnay, 35% pinot noir and 10% Meunier is aged to perfection for four years in the Laurent-Perrier house cellars. La Cuvée pairs wonderfully with our diverse menus or as a standalone toast to the friendly skies! Highly rated by James Suckling with 93 points and by Wine Spectator with 91 points, we are proud to be the only airline in North America serving Laurent-Perrier’s La Cuvée. Stay tuned for some exciting Laurent-Perrier activations on board soon.
This is an impressive change, and certainly one of the more premium champagne options you’ll find in business class, especially on a US airline. It’s not entirely clear for how long the partnership between United and Laurent-Perrier will go on, and if this is only available for one catering cycle of maybe a couple of months, or if it’s a longer term collaboration. Hopefully it’s the latter.
It’s of course worth acknowledging that airlines get huge discounts on champagne with these kinds of collaborations, since it’s a chance for a company to promote their product with a crowd that’s generally quite affluent. Still, this is far from free, and it will represent a sizable investment from United (well, at least by Carsten Spohr’s logic).
United isn’t the only US airline expected to launch a new champagne collaboration soon. Delta, meanwhile, is expected to start serving Taittinger Brut Champagne in its Delta One business class. The two champagnes have similar price points, so this really shows the extent to which United is continuing to try to compete with Delta on the “premium” front.
Now United needs to upgrade Polaris business class food!
United Airlines is headed in the right direction under Scott Kirby’s leadership. The company’s financial performance has improved massively, and on top of that, the airline is investing in its passenger experience. It’s clear that United sees Delta as its only competitor, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see United overtake Delta financially in the coming years.
But when it comes to the premium passenger experience, what I can’t wrap my head around is how United continues to not invest in the food it serves, including in long haul business class. I’d argue that United is the worst of the “big three” US airlines when it comes to catering, and that’s saying something, because the “big three” carriers includes American. 😉
I just find it to be so strange, because the airline has this amazing global network, incredible seat consistency between aircraft, and the best bedding in the industry, and then the airline just totally drops the ball when it comes to food. I guess the argument could be made that United doesn’t need great food because it has the above things going for it… but then it also probably doesn’t need Laurent-Perrier champagne?
On the plus side, the memo also indicates that there will be “many more food and beverage enhancements coming in the New Year!” Here’s to hoping that we actually see some substantial improvements to the food served.
Bottom line
United Airlines is upgrading the champagne that it serves in Polaris business class. As of the beginning of 2025, the airline will serve Laurent-Perrier’s La Cuvée Champagne on all Polaris flights. This is a very nice premium addition, and we’re now seeing a bit of a “champagne war” between United and Delta, given that the latter will soon serve Taittinger.
It sounds like it’s time for American to launch a collaboration of its own. I hope Korbel execs keep their ringers on…
What do you make of United partnering with Laurent-Perrier for champagne?
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