The wine list for premium class passengers is a strategic resource for airlines and one that continues to gain in prestige. A booming market, it mobilises substantial investments, propelling some wineries towards new horizons.
Contents:
- A high-flying magnet for passengers
- Ongoing premiumisation
- A booming market
- Ambitious winery strategies
- Education and expertise
A high-flying magnet for passengers
The seats are reclined and the lighting subdued – in first class, the flight attendant suggests something to drink. Champagne, what else? Since December 2024, Singapore Airlines has been serving 2015 Cristal as part of its agreement with Louis Roederer. Emirates, on the other hand, has remained loyal to its 33-year partnership with Moët Hennessy, holding exclusive rights to eight exceptional vintages. The days when in-flight services stretched no further than a sandwich and soft drink are long gone. But in actual fact, as early as 1927, Air Union – subsequently subsumed into Air France – introduced an innovative gourmet food service on its Paris-London flights that would not have looked out of place on the Orient-Express. Since then, wine has become a signature staple of all high-end travel. By the 1960s, Air France for instance began honing its selection, recruiting the help of independent winemakers. It would subsequently hand over curation of its wine and Champagne list to the Best Sommelier in the World, Paolo Basso, before commissioning Xavier Thuizat, 2022 Best Sommelier of France, 2023 Best French Craftsman (MOF) and the 2024 leading sommelier award-winner in the Michelin Guide.
Ongoing premiumisation
The airline company currently serves over 9 million bottles a year. Its wine list is renewed three times a year and its premium offerings are ever more ambitious. That’s because in-flight comfort is no longer enough to sway travellers – wine now factors significantly into the equation as carriers wage a battle to attract passengers to the most lucrative front-row seats. Such is the race to excellence that competitions such as the Cellars in the Sky Awards and Wines on the Wing award the finest airline selections. “As a major asset in the passenger experience, the wine list is designed to offer travellers a pleasurable moment and let their tastebuds travel by exploring new appellations and new talents. Its aim is to mirror new aspects of wine regions and trends, like the propensity to drink less but better or to favour more palatable, elegant and refreshing red wines” explains Xavier Thuizat, who focuses primarily on wines that have the ability to spark emotions. “I need to feel sense of place and its authenticity when I try a wine”.
A booming market
On the ground, wine consumption is declining, but in the air it is literally soaring. Lufthansa, for example, issues 30 to 35 calls for tender a year involving a dozen tastings by in-house and external wine tasters. The market is bullish and reflects that of the airline sector itself. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airline companies expect to transport 5.2 billion passengers in 2025, up 6.7% on 2024, generating record profits of 36.6 billion dollars (+16.1% year-on-year). For wineries, featuring on an in-flight wine list is a golden opportunity to sell their wines and establish a reputation among an international audience that can subsequently seek out the wines once back on terra firma. Some of them have successfully turned the opportunity into a springboard for their export strategy. To do this, though, they have to get on board first – a single order can total 60,000 bottles, a quantity that few producers have the means or the desire to supply, especially as some airlines tend to drive prices down.
Ambitious winery strategies
Conversely, many have taken the opposite approach and invested significant amounts of money. Since 2006, Emirates has injected over a billion dollars in its vineyard programme. It owns its own winery in Burgundy, where 7.4 million bottles are maturing, some of which will not be served until 2037 and beyond. Each of the company’s four cabins has its own selection, with the Premium range tailored to the taste preferences of passengers in six different regions of the world. To further perfect its service, Emirates even launched a training programme in 2024 titled ‘The art of wine’. Over 1,000 cabin staff have already taken part in the three intensive course levels with a goal of 22,000 by 2026. The initiative illustrates how enhanced personnel skills are increasingly adding value to the customer experience.
Education and expertise
“Just like the chefs who make the food served on board, I put together training resources for the crew with the teams at Air France. These are short videos explaining the wine list and providing advice and anecdotes about the wineries and appellations”, stresses Thuizat. Singapore Airlines trains its staff with Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) certifications, whilst Delta has introduced its Sky Sommelier programme with Andrea Robinson. Pushing the boundaries even further, British Airways even has a wine club, The Wine Flyer, where passengers can buy wines online after experiencing them on BA flights. And New Zealand has spread its wings by venturing into winemaking and launching its own label, Thirteen Forty Five, with Villa Maria. As the airline industry hones its skills to improve differentiation, some wineries are ensuring they stay ahead of the curve: Mumm has designed its Cordon Rouge Stellar for future human spaceflights. It’s one more illustration how wine continues to push back the final frontier, where no man has gone before…
Florence Jaroniak.
© Air France.
Sources:
https://www.emirates.com/media-centre
https://www.lufthansa.com/fr/fr/decouvrez-l-offre-de-vins
https://www.businesstraveller.com/features/on-cloud-wine-cellars-in-the-sky-2024
https://www.iata.org/contentassets/f32de4cd05e2498a824e67fadd658cb7/2024-12-10-01-fr.pdf