American Airlines’ ‘Premium Push’ Now Sees it Serving Boxed Wine On Flights From its Biggest International Premium Destination
- The decision to start serving cheap boxed wines on flights from London Heathrow comes as American Airlines battles issues with its catering supplier, but the airline refuses to say exactly what's going on.
American Airlines’ much-hyped push for premium has descended into a farce with the Texas-based carrier caught serving cheap boxed wine on flights from London Heathrow, the carrier’s biggest and, arguably, most important premium international destination.
The decision to swap out the usual cellar selection of rotating wines in American’s Flagship Business Class on flights to and from Heathrow comes just days after it was revealed the carrier was suffering a catering meltdown in London.
First revealed by trusted aviation insider JonNYC on X, the meltdown has been ongoing for nearly a week, and despite requests for comment, American Airlines has yet to explain what is going on.
The lack of official information from the airline has resulted in unconfirmed speculation that the meltdown is connected with serious hygiene issues identified at American’s third-party catering supplier at London Heathrow.
There are even photos of what appears to be a dead rodent in an American Airlines Business Class bread basket, which was purportedly taken on a flight from London Heathrow, which has since gone viral on social media.
The authenticity of the photo cannot, however, be verified, and American Airlines has neither confirmed nor denied that the photo could be linked to its current issues on flights at London Heathrow.
With the catering meltdown still in full swing, American Airlines has been forced to activate contingency plans in which it is ‘double catering’ all of its flights from the United States to London Heathrow.
Double catering simply means that all the catering for both the outbound flight and the return flight is loaded on the plane in the United States, and there is no catering ‘uplift’ in London.
For context, double catering is extremely unusual on transatlantic flights, given the need to maintain fresh food supply chains and the limited galley space for storing so much food, drink, and other equipment without it being exchanged at a down-route airport.
This issue is by no means isolated to just a few flights. American Airlines’ operation out of London Heathrow is huge, with the carrier operating up to 19 flights per day between Heathrow and nine US cities.
In 2024, the carrier is estimated to have carried 14.5 million passengers between the US and London, and American Airlines accounts for nearly a quarter of all seats available between Heathrow and the United States.
Given the lack of galley space, American Airlines has resorted to extreme measures to ensure that it can offer meal services on outbound flights from the United States and return flights from London Heathrow.
That goes some way to explain why the airline is now loading flights with boxed wine in order to save space.
In addition, the airline has also reportedly temporarily ditched its well-publicized partnership with the Champagne house Bollinger and is no longer serving Bollinger Special Cuvéen Flagship First and Flagship Business on flights to and from London.
Instead, passengers claim the airline has switched to a cheap Cava sparkling wine, similar to in 2023 when American Airlines quietly replaced Champagne with an Italian imposter, Ferrari Brut Trento DOC, in its Flagship Business Class cabin.
The tie-up with Bollinger was part of American’s attempt to become more premium in the face of a widening gap with its arch-rivals, Delta and United Airlines. Unions, however, question whether American’s incumbent management team has what it takes to turn the airline around, amidst calls for chief executive Robert Isom to stand down.
