Singapore Airlines adds vintage Piper-Heidsieck Champagne in Business Class on selected routes

Good news for Champagne connoisseurs flying in Business Class on Singapore Airlines next month, with the carrier swapping out its usual Laurent-Perrier Brut for a vintage option on selected US and Europe routes – the well-rated Piper-Heidsieck Brut Vintage 2012.

This is a nice upgrade for those lucky enough to get it – with a typical per-bottle price tag of S$70-80 in Singapore, while the usual Business Class drop, Laurent-Perrier Brut, can be yours for around S$55-65.

It’s clearly not in Dom Pérignon leagues at those prices, but it’s still great to see a vintage Champagne in this cabin, since they are usually the preserve of First Class.

Retail prices do not translate directly to contract purchase rates of course, with airlines like SIA enjoying large discounts for the quantities they order, so we can’t say for sure that the new Champagne is costing the airline any more money!

Piper-Heidsieck Brut Vintage 2012

This Champagne picks up a very good rating of 4.2 on Vivino, certainly a notch above the Laurent-Perrier Brut (4.0 rating) and on par with another favourite of ours – the Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve SIA served in Business Class from 2016 until early 2020.

We have been missing the Charles Heidsieck Champagne on board SIA, which we personally prefer over the slightly lighter, sweeter Laurent-Perrier, so it’s exciting that this new option is starting to appear on the network and hopefully we can sample it soon.

Here’s how SIA describes the Champagne on the in-flight menu.

Champagne is celebrated the world over and Piper-Heidsieck is one of the most recognizable and famous Houses of the region. As with most Houses, the majority of production is non-vintage.

However, they also make a small quantity of highly prized vintage champagne in the best years that reflects the growing conditions of a single season. 2012 was considered an exceptional year as the wines are long living with excellent acidity and flavour concentration.

This wine made by chef de cave Regis Camus is a blend of 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Chardonnay sourced from approximately 18 Grand and Premier Cru sites. An excellent champagne from a highly rated vintage.

Singapore Airlines

Which routes?

Singapore Airlines is rolling out the new Champagne in place of Laurent-Perrier Brut in Business Class on the following routes from 1st November 2021.

Update: Singapore Airlines has been progressively adding the Piper Heidsieck Vintage Champagne to the menu across more routes since we first published this article. We will try to keep this list up to date, but it appears as though most routes will benefit, from an originally quite limited list.

• Amsterdam
• Auckland
• Barcelona
• Copenhagen
• Frankfurt
• Hong Kong
• London
• Los Angeles
• Manchester
• Munich
• New York JFK
• Paris
• Rome
• San Francisco
• Seoul
• Sydney
• Taipei
• Tokyo

Note that the airline’s other routes including regional services will retain the Laurent Perrier Champagne for now.

Good news is that all the designated Vaccinated Travel Lane flights from the US to Singapore will benefit, with the following Europe – Singapore VTL options:

• SQ317 from London
• SQ325 from Frankfurt
• SQ329 from Amsterdam
• SQ331 from Munich
• SQ337 from Paris
• SQ353 from Rome/Copenhagen
• SQ379 from Barcelona/Milan

The non-VTL SQ25 from New York to Singapore via Frankfurt also picks up the vintage option, as do the non-VTL Amsterdam and London flights.

Note that if you’re flying on one of Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 routes, such as Male or Phnom Penh, a different Champagne is served in Business Class – Ayala Brut Majeur.

Also, Champagne is not currently offered to SIA Premium Economy passengers, since it was removed as part of COVID-19 cuts.

Inflight menu

With printed menus now a thing of the past on Singapore Airlines flights, even in First Class, you can now view a the menu for your flight online eight days before departure via the airline’s Digital Menu System.

  SIA Digital Menu

This will allow you to see what’s on the menu with plenty of notice, including the all-important Champagne selection, so keep an eye out since this new vintage Champagne could make its way to other flights and routes in the weeks ahead.

Course-by-course dining

A vintage Champagne isn’t the only benefit Singapore Airlines is adding to its Business Class service.

Recently the airline reinstated course-by-course dining across its entire network, having started with its Germany routes back in September.

That means you’re as close as ever back to normal service standards in this cabin compared to pre-COVID days, with the single-tray service now a thing of the past in this cabin.

What about First Class?

In First Class Singapore Airlines is currently offering two of the following three Champagnes on each flight:

• Dom Pérignon 2009/2008
• Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2007
• Krug Grande Cuvée

You can find out which two will be served on your flight via the Digital Menu System.

Interestingly Jakarta services, which used to only offer one Champagne in First Class pre-COVID (usually Dom Pérignon) now seem to have two on offer, in common with other routes.

It’s always great to see a vintage Champagne option in Business Class, so we’re excited about this latest addition on a few Singapore Airlines routes from 1st November.

In recent years SIA has served Taittinger Prélude Grands Crus, Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve and Laurent-Perrier Brut in its long-haul Business Class cabins, but we dare say this latest Piper-Heidsieck option matches up with the best, or potentially exceeds them.

Alongside the recent return to a course-by-course dining experience in Business Class, this is good news for SIA’s passengers as they start to return to the skies with the progressive opening of Vaccinated Travel Lanes.

Hopefully Piper-Heidsieck Brut Vintage 2012 isn’t just a short-term change, and we have our fingers crossed that we may see it cycle through other routes in the coming months.