From $4 sparkling wine on board in business class to $5 whites to wines only a little bit better in their new business class lounges, Delta Air Lines has spent several years in a race to the bottom with American Airlines for how little they can invest in their wine program.
However they’re finally investing in meal service and premium wines under the ‘Distinctively Delta’ banner. One element of this new program is a partnership with Taittinger for champagne, as first reported by aviation watchdog JonNYC.
Delta will be doing a big brand partnership with Taittinger as their new champagne etc
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) December 7, 2024 at 8:03 AM
This new Taittinger partnership hasn’t been officially announced yet, but it seems to be rolling out, and it’s even being highlighted by the airline in its social.
That’s about a $45 retail bottle, which is more than respectable for U.S. airline business class, and similar to what you’d pay for the Piper-Heidsieck that’s been promoted inside American Airlines Flagship lounges.
It’s not all good news for the wine program, however. A reader shares,
They’ve replaced the Cono Sur Bicicleta Reserva chardonnay from Chile as the complimentary chardonnay in the Sky Club system. Cono Sur was actually drinkable and a wine that priced at $10-$12 retail. The new complimentary chardonnay, Silver Gate, may be a step above Yellow Tail or Gallo but at around $6 retail, it’s pretty cheap.
The investment focus at Delta has clearly been on improving the business class soft product in the air and lounge product on the ground. The less-premium elements aren’t prioritized nearly as much. As a reader passed along,
Just overheard a conversation between a manager and the bartender [in a Detroit Sky Club]. Bartender was complaining that things are broken and not being fixed.
Manager said the budget for maintenance has been cut. He said Delta doesn’t care about the “scores” for “side clubs.” They only care about customer satisfaction at the two main Sky Clubs at DTW.
The “side clubs” are the three secondary ones; two at each end of the main concourse and then one in the second concourse that is exclusively regional flights.
Whether that’s Delta’s position or not, it seems to be developing as the impression of where they’re investing. Nonetheless, Taittinger is certainly a welcome improvement for wherever the partnership manifests itself. Full details on the partnership likely won’t be announced until some time in the new quarter.
However with Delta’s business class net promoter scores having fallen 28% across the Atlantic compared to pre-pandemic I don’t think that champagne is going to be what turns things around. Their inferior seats on workforce Boeing 767s are the real problem.
Delta cuts corners on just about everything
Good to see this change
Good for them
Gary: Back in 2018 you can buy Andre Brut in Walmart for ca. $4. But that was then. Today the same Andre Brut goes for $6.97 at TotalWine (East Coast) and is rated 4.5/5.0 by their customers.
Wine-searcher gives $64 average price for Taittinger La Francaise Brut Champagne.
Delta doesn’t even serve champagne in domestic Delta One, despite those expensive Los Angeles/San Francisco to New York-JFK tickets. They were serving Mionetto prosecco. Then, when customers complained, they kept the Mionetto but had a private label put on the bottles, calling it the “Delta cuvee.”
Champagne in business class seems an peculiar and anomalous tradition to me but this costs the airline relatively little to move from embarrassing plonk that infects a consumer’s view of the quality of an entire flight – why even bother serving Champagne if you are going to serve André? – to something drinkable and quite decent. That $45 bottle of wine at retail is probably costing the airline well under $20 bottle given that they are a massive volume purchaser at a time when fine wine sales are cratering, the Champagne houses view it as a marketing opportunity, and the product to the airline is free of duties (as much as 25% retaliatory duties for EU wines/liquor at the moment) and sales tax.
The funny thing is, Delta could buy up Chandon and serve their California sparkling wine, produced from the champagne method, on domestic flights. It’s perfectly good. Not great or exceptional. But good. Maybe 89-91 points. I don’t think anyone would complain. It would certainly be better than what they’re serving domestically at the moment. Even Mumm. I think Chadon’s white is better than Mumm’s wine. But Mumm’s rose sparkling wine is better than Chandon’s rose.
I usually order some luminous bottle at the clubs so it does annoy me when the US airlines are serving cheap crap and try to call it champagne instead of sparking piss. This is a slight improvement but ehh..
Profits over people, every time. ‘But.. but.. it’s the law..’ I know, the apologists are in-bound. Seriously, though, the enshitification of suppose-to-be ‘nice things’ is not a way to win customers (and ultimately run a thriving business). So, to the typical trolls, bring it. I’m ready, while you continue to hold water for billionaires. And to leadership, who makes these cost-cutting decisions, may I recommend the historic New York Hilton Midtown for your next stay?
Also: ‘Let them (have the cheap stuff)’ is the new ‘let them eat cake’.
People who fly commercial, purchase somewhat expensive First or Business Class tickets, and pay for lounge access, are not the problem. They are the ones paying for better quality, but receiving the cheap wine. They are getting duped. They are more like ‘peasants’ compared to the private jet people who make these decisions anyway.
“You’re too good for Carboardeaux?!?”
Delta’s enormous marketing power means that anyone that Delta chooses to partner with gains an advantage.
Delta is upgrading elements of its product. There will be more. it is much more about evidence that international growth is accelerating because premium demand will remain.
and AA and UA will have to spend much more of themselves be left behind.
Keep in mind that many third party ratings agencies such as JD Power – already rate DL’s business and first class service much higher than AA and UA – so the gap will widen.
DL’s international network is already the most profitable among US carriers – AA’s is barely break even while UA earns only about 75% of what DL earns on its international networks despite flying much more capacity.
DL can afford to spend more on its international products and the competitive and financial advantage will shift even more in DL’s favor.
Wake me up when they serve Tattinger on mid haul domestic first class
Intl biz class decent wine is table stakes – UNITED far ahead on the reds and whites these days in Polaris
Distant memory…I can recall flying international on DL when they served Taittinger Comtes De Champagne. During DL relationship with Andrea Emmer the selection of wines and champagnes were enviable across the industry and enjoyed greatly by passengers. Not sure if the goals for the passenger experience (whatever class flown) will ever approach standards of years gone by….
@ Tim Dunn — But, as you have pointed out, United is investing heavily in all their terminals. They will have all the shiny, new stuff soon. while Delta operates its POS 763s. Delta will soon fall to #2.
@Tim Dunn Delta and Premium used to pair nicely, but Ed B has taken a wrecking ball to that. Delta is now focused on Amex income from non flyers and seldom flyers, and the frequent flyers that take up those seats are moving on to other Skyteam partners or UA where spending money on airfare and time in seat matters.
Piper-Heidsieck is very nice in AA Flagship, and has spoilt me against DL Skyclub. Taittinger seems nice compared to the usual airline plonk: cava, California, and prosecco. I’ve got ITA Valero Executive Club, now, but DL 1st class is underwhelming for the price. I’m not doing SkyClub or DL 1st unless DL is serious about Taittenger. I mean, why should simply ordering French champagne be that difficult for Wall Street bean counters? We’re trapped in a silver tube at 38,000 feet and we can’t consume our own BYOB. It shouldn’t be that difficult.
The truth is, nothing says premium like Silver Gate chardonnay.
Gene,
Delta invested heavily in its terminals during covid. UA is simply playing catchup.
And until UA starts dramatically retiring aircraft, it will have the oldest fleet in the world among large airlines.
tyrone,
thankfully there is data and your statements are completely false.
@ Tim — You are missing the point
In 10 years, UAs terminals will be newer than DLs. DL will not permanently remain #1. It is called a cycle.
Tim Dunn, It isn’t a coincidence that DL is having to invest into their service suddenly. If they could quickly work on hard product quickly, they would do that too.
You bet DL board and shareholders are screaming into Ed’s ears nonstop about what a disaster DL has been YoY, while staying complacent.
UA market cap was 47% of DL a year ago and is 80% now, making Ed pissing in his pants lately, with gap closing faster they thought. And you just wait till Chase + US renews their cc deal, which will blow your other assumption of DL being more profitable. And this is happening faster than you think.
@Tim, DL is playing catch up with their Delta One clubs. UA has had Polaris lounges since 2016, and they’re already updating and expanding them.
Also, UA’s average fleet age has been decreasing each year as they have taken hundreds of new aircraft deliveries while retiring dozens of almost 30 year old Airbuses.
Surely you’ve seen a decrease in fleet age each year, with 2024 about to show the biggest decrease yet.
Not boozing on flights is always an option. Try it sometime.
Anybody expecting quality food and beverage in premium class n a US airline in this day and age is on a fool’s errand.
It’ll be interesting to see how long the Taittinger upgrade lasts…
@stargoldUa
Bingo
United is already far more profitable than delta.
Delta, just like AA, is profitable only due to their credit card.
Only difference at this point is the credit card deal Scott inherited.
The United network was always destined to leave delta in the dust and it has.
Those 763s are so old and obviously paid for. Why doesn’t DL upgrade Business on those to a 1-1-1 Configuration and set the standard since they plan on using them for awhile?
TIM DUNN.
SEAK MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE!
ID FLY AA OR UAL OVER DELTAS OLD AIR CRAFT.
DELTA IS OVER RATED BY PAID INFLUENCERS LIKE YOU TIMMY!
This is putting lipstick on a pig..
When yiou start to put the pieces together -like last week’s talk about business class unbundling – it looks like they finally understand that they have a big problem with their business class and long range domestic product . This is going to cost them when the current travel upswing cycles down which it will
Their 757/767 product is simply awful and no champagne is going to make it better
Their short-mid domestic fleet is also inconsistent and their longer range neo service is not great
Their continued devaluation of Skymiles doesn’t help
Oh well – i am fortunate that most of my travel is international and i can use higher level foreign carriers
I’m not normally a Delta Flyer.
Flew Delta in the past couple of years from CDMX to Minneapolis in the pointy end.
Flight attendant asked me what I wanted to drink. I asked if they have Champagne.
He happily responded that yes, they did.
I asked him what type it was.
He said, “I’m not sure, but I can bring you the can.”
No words came out of my mouth for a couple of seconds, but I was able to nod.
It was something Californian. I thanked him and passed the can back to him.
It did affect my perception of the airline.
Premium backtracking by the Delta Regime.
When there are people that talk about the age of Delta’s fleet when United’s is older, there are some seriously wrong people.
When there are people that state that UAL is more profitable than DAL, they prove they do not know what they are talking about.
The reality is that Delta realizes it needs to up its game – and yet it still generates more revenue per seat mile than any other US airline and also consistently ranks at the top of the industry in multiple metrics.
Kirby didn’t inherit a bad credit card deal. He got it because UAL has the smallest domestic network of the big 4 and credit card companies cannot make money on international trips where half of more of the passengers are non-US passengers using cards that do not have the amount of interchange that US cards have.
The size of DL’s Amex deal is related to the size of its domestic network, its penetration of business travel, and its growth in major coastal markets – and the totality of its network across the US – that is simply superior to anything AA or UA offers or can hope to offer.
AA got a better deal. UA might get one but it has to get aircraft from Boeing and deploy them to grow its network without diluting revenue in its own hubs.
Right now, DL’s revenue – the result of improving its product – is not at all at risk of being overtaken by AA or UA.
Rather than worry about persecco vs Champagne, Delta needs to get crowds down in its lounges and make it a more exclusive experience. Drinking a $45 bottle in a lounge where you can’t get is seat doesnt exude a premium product.
“ When there are people that state that UAL is more profitable than DAL, they prove they do not know what they are talking about.”
When they’re talking about margin with and without credit card bumps, they actually do know what they’re talking about, unlike you, “Tim”
By billions.
Really happy Delta is doing this, however they’ve cut so many corners I don’t think it will be enough. First thing Delta needs to do, is get rid of planes with tiny bathrooms and flying their crappy old planes on premium routes (feels/looks like flying Ryan Air at premium prices). Pretty discouraging to buy a first class ticket for over 3k one way, only to find you don’t fit inside the dwarf sized lavatory, plane seats still have the old 90s cushions, head rests and credit card readers on the video displays(one even had the old sat phone below the screen, if you remember those).Not to mention, the food trays are all bent, food of mystery junk inside and someone cut all the seatbels in first class to anorexic or slim child size.
To be fair, it’s not just Delta allowing the bean counters screw customers over for profits. When this economy crash hits, Delta and nearly all of the US airlines are done! Hopefully, no more bailouts, investigations, criminal convictions and free footlongs in prison for greedy management.
No, Max, United does not make more than Delta on passenger revenues alone on an annual basis. They did it in the June quarter but won’t for the year
And it has been obvious for a long time that domestic size and revenue is key to a strong card program. United was too worried about its international size to ficus on growing domestic until now. and Boeing not only cant deliver planes but United has found its goal of dumping capacity won’t work. United will have a decent card program sone day. but not next year or the next.
A small step in the right direction.
Actual Champagne should be available. We are seeking quality across the board when we travel, the lack of training on what is being served should be addressed as well. For service professionals to not know the difference between canned CA sparkling, Prosecco and Champagne is a failure of leadership too. You wouldn’t skip safety training would you? I know it’s not as important or even required, but culture (especially in service categories) is vastly improved through constant training.
Keep going Delta. We’re anticipating improvements to be a continuous process and adopt a “we can improve an industry leading product more!” approach. While I am rarely disappointed in the aircraft, I have seen occasional seats or rows that need real maintenance attention.
The lines and crowds at the Skyclubs are a real challenge. I think it will get better as legacy status declines.
From the comments many voiced their opinions about other quality related things even though the subject was clearly about wine.