The famed Champagne house Laurent-Perrier has told British Airways that it is no longer allowed to serve its Grand Siècle Prestige Cuvée to First Class passengers, either in its airport lounges or onboard any of its flights.
Retailing for as much as £200 per bottle, Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle (which frequent flyers adoringly refer to as LPGS) has been a staple of the British Airways First Class experience for many years.
In fact, in recent years, LPGS has been regarded as possibly one of the most luxe and prestigious aspects of BA’s otherwise lacklustre First Class experience, but even that won’t be around for much longer.
It appears that Laurent-Perrier no longer wants to cut deals with travel brands and the Champagne house, the third largest in the world behind Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot, won’t be renewing its contract with British Airways.
Perhaps one advantage of Laurent-Perrier pulling out of the travel market, is that BA passengers will now be able to enjoy a wider selection of Champagnes.
In its exclusive Concorde Room lounge, available only to ticketed First Class passengers at London Heathrow, BA will now stock Pommery Cuvee Louise 2006 which also retails for around £200 per bottle.
Meanwhile, onboard two different types of Champagne will be available for First Class passengers.
The first is Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015, which will be available exclusively on flights between London and New York. Meanwhile, all other routes will be stocked with Lanson NOBLE Brut Vintage 2005, which retails for around £150 per bottle.
Bizarrely, British Airways said in an Instagram post that it would be introducing “a new selection of award-winning Champagne from across the globe”. Of course, to be considered ‘Champagne’, it has to come from the Champagne region of France, which means it can’t be sourced from around the world.
In 2022, Dubai-based Emirates acquired the exclusive rights to serve Veuve Clicquot on its flights until 2024 at the earliest – it appears that exclusivity deal has now lapsed.
