bergamini

IDK if that would work and I rarely get the in-flight surveys whereas I always get call center surveys. I would maybe consider airline shaming them by snapping a pic of the bottle and then looking up reviews on like Vivino and if they are serving $8 bottle, 2.5*/5* swill then Tweet a picture of it to Andrea and Delta. But it's a thought. I just drink the Prosecco almost exclusively now and a bit of dosage, bubbles and extra chill make it quite palatable.

The Situation

@:-) I like this angle! Given that I was flying ex-SEA and DL is competing against AS, you would think that DL would want to match, if not exceed what AS is doing. Chateau Ste Michelle, or 14 Hands as someone else mentioned, would be perfectly acceptable in my eyes!

The Situation

Your estimate is too low - I'm Italian so I will drink a bottle (or more on a TCON) by myself on the flight. It may save Delta money if cheapening out on the wine drives people to drink more of more expensive alternatives (woodford) and I would think that the cost of beer is fairly expensive given the weight of those cans. In the American Airlines documentary back in the mid-2000s on CNBC, IIRC, it cost them ~$50 to produce a pot of coffee on the flight, because of the weight of the machine and the energy required to run it - by far the most expensive thing you can drink on a plane.

EuropeanPete

Unless you're on foreign airlines drinking Salon Champagne, Takaji dessert wine or similar

bergamini

Honestly, if they offered a split of Moet at a reasonable price, I would be totally fine paying to UG from Prosecco but I am guessing that I'm in the minority.

ATOBTTR

Because SEAeconomist would only be good through next summer until I move. If people are looking into manufacturing foreign addresses for MQD waivers, I'll have to look into manufacturing a Seattle address to keep my 12 Status and any Seattle promos though.

Yea liquor and booze tax is pretty steep here. Thus I look forward to making runs to McChord to run to the base liquor shop. I went into the Seattle Coast Guard Station PX for the first time recently and they had a pretty good selection as well.

I figured it'd be better to be low but I also figured there were some flights (especially short ones) where no wine would be served. But if it is higher, it only helps my case, not hurt it.

Eastbay1K

Some basic facts:

(1) Price does not equal taste. I've had $7* and under wines taste a lot better than $15* and up wines.
(2) The typical USA faux wine snob must drink a Shar-dough-nay (or name your varietal) which is more important than actual taste or quality - and will kvetch if it isn't there. I've taken to ordering "red" or "white" on domestic trips - and when then FA tries to give me more detail, I tell them not to worry, because I know you have "red" or "white."
(3) The airline wholesale price point will not generally support a better quality domestic "named varietal" wine, yet it would easily support a lower $ French or Spanish table wine, which would taste a hell of a lot better than Acrid Family Farms Peenoh Nwar.
(4) For a superior domestic pour, one must fly B6 Mint.

*retail

jdrtravel

In general I am concerned about the parallel track that I see: FCM and lower service standards in F at the same time.

I'm worried that DL is trying to have it's cake and eat it to.

bergamini

I think that's mostly true although I'm not an expert at flat wine. I am pretty good at knowing sparkling wine. If I had a dollar for every time a friend told me about this Spanish Cava that was "just as good as any champagne", I could actually buy a decent bottle of champagne. I'm not saying it costs $50 but to make a good methode champenoise it takes time. And time takes money. And that rich, brioche, flavor from good champagne comes from time on the lees and the secondary fermentation. So you can't find a good $8 sparkling wine except a sugar enhanced stainless prosecco to cover the flaws in the wine. And Delta has done just that with their Prosecco line. Fortunately, you can get some great properly aged sparkling wines in the $15-20 range so it is accessible at home but I never am going to expect that kind of wine in Domestic F (using Domaine Chandon as the minimum, although I would accept Korbel Brut/Chardonnay/Organic Brut but too many have a negative connotation with that brand.

jrl767

we’ve been patronizing the CG station at Pier 36 for years ... it sure beats the 40-some mile trek to either McChord or the Naval Support Facility up in Marysville, and there are the occasional odd bottles that show up in the otherwise pretty mainstream selection (it’s also been handy for things like ID cards, although we just discovered that the NOAA facility off Sand Point Way also has a DEERS office)

Eastbay1K

(1) Your friends clearly haven't had "any champagne"
(2) We're so label-obsessed that there would be outrage for a better Korbel line, but if some crap with a French label on it appeared, that would be ok.

Many years ago, on UA, the mid cabin had a lovely Iron Horse bubbles. What an outrage! This stuff is very good (and in the $40+ range currently). But it wasn't Champagne! Oh the horror. People would rather have a lesser product with the "right label." And as far as price goes, the best French bubbles I've had have been from small grower producers for half the price of the name brands. (Of course, these producers couldn't supply a large airline.)

Nonetheless, having spent 50+ years in California (all of my life) and having had my fair share of California bubbles at most price points, an airline needing to stock billions of bottles a year is going to get a more consistently drinkable product at a better price point from Italy or Spain. I'm ok with that.

As far as the OP's premise, it sounds as effective as organizing a hunger strike when one is stranded on an island, alone, because the food is no good.

StayingHomeIsBetter

BOHICA has been replaced by BOBYAFI

bergamini

I would be quite happy with Iron Horse in any cabin!

SFCav

I know it's a different class of service, but I enjoyed a really lovely 2012 Jordan Cabernet from SFO - JFK in D1 recently. The bottle retails for about $65/bottle, and the FA had NO idea what she had on her hands! I think I was the only one drinking it, though, which was fine by me

MSPeconomist

WOW. That's a lot better than some of my recent experiences with DL running out of premium cabin wine in the middle of the flight.