A key selling point for Canada's Sunwing airline has been its free, onboard "Champagne Service." The vacation airline offers one complimentary glass of bubbly to all passengers bound for exotic holiday getaways.
But at least one Quebec man is dissatisfied with the service.
In a nutshell, he expected, well, champagne, when in fact the airline uses a sparkling wine alternative to the more-expensive, and-many say-higher quality, wine imported from France's Champagne region.
The man, Daniel Macduff filed a class action lawsuit, according to Canada's National Post, demanding that he be compensated for the price differential between the two wine types. He is also seeking punitive damages.
While on the surface, this may appear to be the Canadian equivalent of a nonsense lawsuit, Sebastien Paquette, the lawyer for the plaintiff said it isn't really about the cost difference between the two types of wine. Rather, he said, it's about "truth in advertising."
"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," Paquette told the Post.
For its part, Sunwing told the National Post that it uses "champagne service" to describe the quality of service and not the specific beverage. Since the lawsuit, however, the travel company has changed the language to indicate flights include a "Bon Voyage glass of sparkling wine."
According to the report, some 1,600 people have already joined the class-action lawsuit.
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