Bangkok--10 Apr--British Airways
British Airways was nominated in eight categories at the annual Business Traveller Cellars In the Sky Awards. The awards recognise airlines wine collections and British Airways received the most awards out of all the participating airlines
British Airways was recognised in eight of the competition’s 18 categories — 10 of which are wine-specific and eight were ‘Overall Awards’. The airline won the award for ‘Best Consistency of Wines across Business and First Class’, ‘Best First Class Wild Card’ (joint placing with American Airlines) and ‘Best First Class Fortified or Sweet’.
Peter Nixson, wine buyer for British Airways, said: “The challenge for us has always been to find exciting and reliable wines, time after time. We look for quality wines which cater for every palate and represent most of the world’s wine regions. And, as the UK is beginning to find its feet as a wine producer, we take great pride in ‘flying the flag’ and carrying some of our local wines on board!
“What better recognition could we ask for than these awards? They show we’ve got our formula right and we’ll certainly work hard at keeping it that way.”
Peter Nixson heads the selection panel for British Airways’ wine list in consultation with famed British wine writer and television host, Jancis Robinson (Master of Wine, OBE). The duo recently completed the latest menu of wines for FIRST and Club World which are currently available on all of British Airways’ long-haul flights.
British Airways purchases over half a million nine-litre cases of wine a year to quench the thirst of more than 35 million passengers. In FIRST alone, in excess of 8,000 bottles of Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995 — which was nominated for the award ‘Best First Class Sparkling’ - are enjoyed every month.
The list of British Airways awards is:
1. Best First Class Fortified or Sweet — First place
Wine : Warre’s 1988 Colheita, Portugal
2. Best First Class Wild Card — Joint First place with American Airlines
Wine : St Hallet Old Block Shiraz 2002, Australia
3. Best Business Class White
British Airways was awarded joint fifth place with Cathay Pacific.
Wine : Finca Moras Reserva Chardonnay 2004, Argentina
4. Best Business Class Fortified or Sweet
British Airways was awarded fifth place.
Wine : Warres LB Port 1995, Portugal
5. Best Business Class Wild Card
British Airways was awarded fourth place.
Wine : Domaine du Pere Pape Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2004, France
6. Best First Class Sparkling
British Airways was awarded joint fourth place with United Airlines.
Wine : Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995, France
Overall Awards
7. Consistency Of Wines Across Business and First Class — Winner
8. Best First Class Cellar — Runner Up
Notes to Editors:
The Awards are considered as the most comprehensive independent tasting of long-haul business and first class wines served by airlines, and this year saw a record 35 airlines participating in the awards. The Cellars in the Sky Awards are organised in association with Wine & Spirit magazine and the International Wine Challenge, with blind tastings taking place over two days by four leading wine experts.
For more information please contact 0 26271701
Get the best from British Airways at ba.com
For further media information please contact:
Stephanie Batot or Nuttaporn Tangwongsan
Grayling (Thailand)
Tel: 02 610 3675
Fax: 02 610 3601
[email protected] ; [email protected]
www.grayling.com
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