Originally Posted by
Fly_Delta_Jets
The notion that FAs are trying to "sneak" Mionetto in for Lanson (or other D1 champagne) is false IMO. There has never been any sort of guidance to FAs to continue using PDB champagne post-departure (in fact, there have been several notices to avoid doing exactly that). I believe any sort of attempt to pass off Mionetto for Lanson can be attributed to Hanlon's Razor...FAs aren't serving the less expensive bubbles out of spite, nor are they trying to take home the extra (against policy/sometimes illegal, depending on country)...it's simply a mistake.
I disagree.
I have had flights where the crew obviously didn't want to open the bottle of the good stuff or put the bottle of real champagne in the chiller. They were being lazy and serving what they already had open.
I will, however, say Delta has obviously sent memorandums out within the last year because most flight attendants are good about NOT calling cava or prosecco, the two non-champagne sparkling wines they typically serve for pre-departure, "champagne." I've even tested flight attendants and they have corrected me that it isn't champagne.
But still it's an issue. The bigger issue is the number of bottles catered. Domestic Delta One business-class flights like Minneapolis–Honolulu and Atlanta–Honolulu basically get whatever wine is left. They almost never have even for the duration of the flight. As for sparkling wine, champagne or otherwise, good luck. I've been on Delta flights between Tokyo, Hong Kong, Guam and Honolulu in which Charles Heidsieck champagne was served just because that's what Tokyo–Narita caters or used to cater. I even had the purser give me a bottle of unopened champagne to take with me as these are not (or were not, in the case of Guam) champagne-heavy routes. In the case of Guam, they always had at least two bottles of real champagne catered.