The Lev

Just completed the latest AC listens survey. after asking how often I flew in Business Class, I got a bunch of questions related to their wine offering in International Business Class.

Hopefully this is a sign that they are finally looking to invest something to upgrade what they make available to us.

Sopwith

This is so typical of AC. Here they are down in the weeds worrying about what kind of wine they're serving, while they apparently ignore the fact that when it comes to getting people to their destinations on time with a reasonable level of comfort and service, they suck.

Bens, listen up (again!): the on-board product is fine once the wheels leave the ground. The service on the ground before and after the flight needs major improvement.

The Lev

Funny, I don't have significant issues with "service on the ground" - at least issues within AC's control.

ACYYZ/SD

Perhaps because the topic of food and beverage is extremely prevalent here on FT

canadiancow

Agreed

Well come on now. I demand a $300 bottle of wine and $120 steak dinner, cooked to perfection. Anything less is just a sign that the airline isn't putting enough effort in.

But no, I find the service is generally great. Which reminds me, I need to write in about a couple incidents (crappy catering and awesome service).

Stranger

I strongly disagree. Food and drink in international J just sucks.

Stranger

Apart from the time for priority luggage to show up at YYZ, I mostly agree.

Jasper2009

Actually a decent survey IMO.

And indeed, it would be nice if AC upgraded the wine offering.

ACYYZ/SD

Personally I hope somebody checked off <Amarone> on the wish list -- good Amarone.

The Lev

Agree that Amarone would be a fantastic choice for J - a strong flavour profile to help deal with the numbing of the taste buds at altitude.

Problem was we could only pick countries on one page and grape varieties on another. Corvina was not one of the available choices.

ridefar

Yes, but did they really need a survey to tell them the present selections suck? Consistently? They have sucked hard for years. Anybody with a tongue and functioning taste buds could tell them that. The fact that they need a survey to show this is just depressing.

Stranger

Agreed on both accounts.

Stranger

I like Amarone and I would be happy to see it on the list. However I don't really see Amarone as being well suited for a plane wine list.

Plus, a decent one surely would be way more than (an event increased) AC wine budget, I would think. Probably at least twice what they spend today. I could see them going up a bit, maybe by 30 to 50%, but I suspect it's not reasonable to expect they would double the budget.

If they would get rid of Ken and his fixation with fruit and look for someone with a concern for balance, that would help for starters.

(Mind you, amarone is all about fruit and nothing for balance. But at least it's a good wine and I do like it. However it's difficult with food. Nice for sipping with friends after dinner.)

why fly

so is downgrading passengers from PE to Y and yet AC still does nothing about compensation/refunds, even after Ben was alerted.
But there is always hope that will be the next survey.

Jasper2009

Personally, I don't think selecting some decent/drinkable wines is rocket science.

A reasonably safe bet would be to have a look at the "by the glass" wines served at 5* hotels (which usually retail for ~$20CAD/bottle).

You'd likely end up with a:

- a *quality* Canadian Chardonnay or Sauviugnon Blanc
- a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
- an Australian Shiraz
- a South African Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinotage
- an Argentian Malbec
- a French wine

Once implemented, one could replace 1-2 of the above with somewhat "outside the box" choices.

AC could also partner with some Canadian wineries and feature a different wine every month on int'l routes (otherwise number of wineries is likely very limited). IMO both NZ and SA do an excellent job at featuring domeatic wines.