I think inaugural flights are really cool. Sometimes the airline buys everyone cake to celebrate their new route, sometimes they even get a certificate for being on the first flight. Inaugural flights signify a special time in an airline’s history and an investment in a new part of the world. It’s a big risk. To reward those who have rewarded their risk by selling out the First Class cabin, American Airlines will serve an elusive bottle of $850 wine to passengers up front on their inaugural flight from Sydney to Los Angeles and vice versa…

a group of wine bottles on a table

If you happen to be heading to Los Angeles or Sydney for work and your company booked you into a flight on December 19th, congratulations you’re going to have a hell of a flight. If you happened to randomly book a seat up front on American Airlines Flight 72 on December 19th, sitting up front for free using miles, count your lucky stars. To celebrate its new route, American Airlines will serve the pièce de résistance of Australian wine, the Penfolds Grange. Known to be the golden ticket of Australian wine, and the bottle that put Australian wine making on the map, this is something to relish, even at the young age of 2010. 

a seat in an airplane

Airlines have a strict no alcohol policy for all crew members, but good lord, that’s going to be a hard one to enforce. Sure, plenty of airlines regularly serve expensive champagne, but even so, none are at this price point and none involve something as complex and exotic as red wine. As a self considered wine enthusiast, I am extremely jealous. As a matter of note, if the airline wants to do any justice, they’ll be sure to open the bottles at least an hour or two before flight, allow them to decant and serve them in proper red wine glasses with enough room to create surface area for the wine to breath and tannins to settle. If you’re now scrambling for a seat, sorry, it’s already sold out. Will you go out of your way to find inaugural seats up front? 

As Always, Get in Touch: GodSaveThePoints@gmail.com

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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