Yahoo Finance Canadian man sues airline for not serving champagne
A Canadian man is suing an airline for serving sparkling wine instead of champagne on a flight.
Daniel Macduff flew from Quebec to the Cuban island resort of Cayo Coco on Sunwing Airlines which he says advertised a “glass of champagne”, The National Post reports.
The retired civil servant filed a lawsuit against the airline after he was served a cheaper alternative, not from the Champagne region in north-east France, on his return flight.
Sunwing argues that terms like “champagne service” and “champagne vacations” it uses in its marketing is not in specific reference to the type of drink served on board.
The airline says its “inflight service did and continues to clearly state that passengers will receive ‘a complimentary welcome glass of sparkling wine.’
“Sunwing has always been proud to invest in experience-enhancing features for our customers,” a statement from the airline said.
“The terms ‘champagne vacations’ and ‘champagne service’ were used to denote a level of service in reference to the entire hospitality package from the flight through to the destination experience and are not a reference to beverages served inflight or in-destination.
“Anywhere that we’ve detailed our inflight services, we have accurately described these as including “a complimentary welcome glass of sparkling wine” across relevant marketing materials and even announce them on the aircraft.
“We consider any legal action relating to the marketing of this service to be frivolous and without merit”.
Mr Macduff claims it was misleading advertising and is seeking compensation for the cost difference of the wine products and punitive damages
“You have to go beyond the pettiness of the [wine cost] per head,” his lawyer told The National Post.
“What’s important is you’re trying to lure consumers by marketing something, and you’re not giving them that something. It’s a dishonest practice.”
