As a frequent flier who also loves good wine, it’s been a minor pet peeve of mine for a while that if you are traveling in coach, or sitting in an airport lounge, while brand-name hard liquor may be available, the wine is a different story. The offerings are generally at a level that often could be politely described as “rot-gut.” Or at best the equivalent of the cheapest jug wine sold by the glass at a casual restaurant.
And is this a disaster? No, in the grand scheme of travel annoyances, it’s pretty low. Sometimes in fact, all that is required of wine is that it be wet. But other times, maybe it’s been a really long day at the office, or maybe you’re in a celebratory mood, or maybe you just want to treat yourself — didn’t travel used to be fun?. And there’s no options, well, unless you do as a friend of mine who shall remain nameless who brings a couple 3.5 ounce plastic bottles filled with good stuff.
Now, either after listening to frequent fliers, or perhaps just listening to a smart person in marketing, United is trying different wine options. And in the Red Carpet Club they are very fine options indeed.
The standard wine, at $6 a glass is from Hess, which isn’t bad. But the good wines are not only at the level of what you would find in a nice bar, the prices are, for now, as good or better.
No doubt the offerings may change, but currently United is offering a glass of Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc, a wine that normally retails for about $30 a bottle, for $10 a glass. It’s the same price for an Artesia Chardonnay, Bianchi Petite Sirah or Silver Palm Cabernet, which are all usually about $20 a bottle.
And Tattinger champagne, yes, real champagne, is $12 a glass. While these might not be prices you’d pay every day, they are certainly in line with restaurant and bars. In fact, in many cases they are lower.
The Red Carpet Clubs are also offering some interesting salads and hot Panini sandwiches for $9-$10, for travelers who want more than the usual salty snacks. United also is offering some “premium” wine offerings on their planes, although they are not as high end. And the food choices onboard remain limited.
The only potential problem I can see, assuming United limits their offerings to relatively mild smelling food offerings, is that airport restaurant and bars may not be happy about this new development, and perhaps if the trend continues some of them could contest the idea as they pay high leases for what is in theory access to a captive audience. (Especially since the Red Carpet Clubs don’t allow outside food.)
Also, the new food and beverage options alone aren’t worth joining the Red Carpet Club, but for frequent fliers with memberships, they’re a nice added perk. And even on a limited basis, any additional choices that potentially make the flying experience more pleasant are a welcome change. Presumably if United makes a profit on this experiment, they will expand it to their flights. What a concept! Food and wine passengers might actually really look forward to buying.
photo of United Red Carpet Club in Los Angeles – by golden_toque on fickr.com/creative commons
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Janice:
Good wine and food in Red Carpet lounges is nothing to complain about – it’s about time. But why do they charge in the US when food and wine are free in Red Carpet Clubs in other countries?
Club members can drink and eat well (without having to fork over credit cards) in Asia, the EU and South America. Hate to see the glass half empty.
United really needs to follow Continental’s lead (especially now that they are both in Star Alliance) and offer complimentary wines in addition to premium wine that they sell. I think it’s crazy that you pay for an airline lounge membership and then also have to pay for drinks and food!
It must be a long time since I was in an airline club. I can’t ever remember paying for drinks and sandwiches and other snacks. I do know that the quality of food and quantity has dropped, but didn’t realize that it was now to be paid for.
It depends on the club, most of the U.S. airlines are lousy by comparison to the international airlines. (Although United gives free drink coupons for international travellers, curiously enough a premium drink takes two coupons.) But yes, you can get a whole free meal, with wine or other alcoholic beverages, from most international carriers. Most domestic clubs give free soft drinks and snacks only. (In fact, United’s freebies are now down to vegetable sticks, cheese and crackers, chips (sometimes) and a couple snack mixes plus for some reason, yogurt raisins.)