After unsuccessfully trying to lodge a complaint with the correct people at YVR I am heading to the forums to give a little rant...I do not know about you guys but recently passing through YVR (AC's "C" concourse) and I ordered a glass of wine at a HMHOST TOAST Bar. Having just one choice of Red Wine I was offered a 6oz. glass or a 9oz. glass. (OZ's in Canada?) I asked for the 9oz and received a glass of Jackson Triggs Merlot (which runs about $10 in the Liquor Stores here.) I was then presented with the bill which came to $12.39 before the 12% HST so the total was $13.88. One glass of cheap wine!!!!

I am just wondering? Is this how we welcome strangers to Canada and promote our BC Vintners? (Even though this particular wine from this group uses product shipped up from Calif and processed here in BC)

Just saying...ya know?

Welcome to Flyertalk!

I�m not sure what exactly you�re complaining about. Of course $12 isn�t exactly cheap, but it doesn�t seem over the top compared with other retaurants / bars in Canada, especially at airports.

In fact 9oz of wine for $12 is better than what I usually see (5oz-6oz for $8-$10).

Overall liquor and wine is much more expensive in Canada than it is in Europe or even in the US.

good thing you don�t smoke. then you could order a pack of cigarettes with you glass of wine...........AFTER you took a 2nd mortgage out on your house. lol.

You tried to lodge a complaint for $15? Seriously?

Liquor resellers (i.e., bars, restaurants, etc.) don't get much of a discount off retail in B.C. I think 5-15%? Add your expenses hence the high markups. This ain't Argentine where wine is seen as a part of life, wages and overheads are low and a litre of delicious house Torrontes in Salta goes for $3-4.

FWIW, the new impaired driving laws have reportedly killed business.

Welcome to Canada.

YVR and YYZ has the most comparable wine prices between airport and surrounding area. This is what the locals pay for Cdn 9oz glass as well. You are not being singled out for the ripoff.

Welcome to FT. ^ As others have said, those are the kinds of prices one has to generally to put up with in much of the country, let alone airports. It's no pleasure for those in the hospitality business either.

We're fortunate to able to access the MLL when flying out of YVR. Of course we're paying for our "free" wine there in other ways.

You haven't been to Singapore , have you?

Its almost twice that for that same glass of plonk!

a) Drinking at an airport.
b) Reasonably-priced alcohol.

Pick one.

What you describe is pretty much the case wherever you go. A few weeks ago I paid something like $8 for a pint of Bud (!) at ORD.

Its not just alcohol that has airport prices.

At YVR, there are some stores that have signage, "our store prices are the same in and out of the airport" but they still seem overpriced.

We laughed when we had to fly out of a regional airport in China and they were pricing grapes by the grape. Airport prices are crazy in every country, not just YVR.

And of course the 'value menu' is not offered (BK etc.). Tim Hortons does not jack their prices though ^ .

Ahhh, the hand picked and hand peeled grape by the Emperor's concubines! brings back memores.

The ONLY item I purchased at a airport in PRC was a Beijing Starbuck's collector demiglass, the only one missing from my collection of cities I visited. To my surprise it was the same equivalent price to the street outlet in Shanghai.

Compared to the $18 tuna sandwich it is quite a good price...