Passenger sues TUI-owned airline for not serving champagne
A TUI-owned airline is being sued by a passenger for allegedly serving sparkling wine instead of the promised glass of champagne on a flight to Cuba.
Toronto-based Sunwing, part of the Sunwing Travel Group in which TUI Travel took a 49% stake in 2009, has dismissed the lawsuit as ‘petty and frivlous’.
However, lawyers engaged by passenger Daniel MacDuff, who lives in Quebec, claim about 1,600 other plaintiffs have come forward to join his lawsuit.
MacDuff is claiming they were misled by a Sunwing advert for ‘champagne vacations’, with complementary ‘champagne service’, when in fact it served an alternative sparkling wine, which was not from the Champagne region of France.
The class action seeks compensation for the monetary difference between the actual wine served and a glass of champagne, as well as punitive damages.
In an emailed statement, Sunwing said the terms ‘champagne vacations’ and ‘champagne service’ were used ‘to denote a level of service in reference to the entire hospitality package’ and not to describe the in-flight beverages.
The company has since removed the reference to champagne in its advertising.
"It’s not about the pettiness of champagne versus sparkling wine," lawyer Sebastien Paquette said. "It’s the consumer message behind it."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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