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| Sunwing fails to mention it does not serve real champagne. |
PopGoesTheNews.com A Canadian travel company could find itself in hot water over the way it sells beach vacations.
Sunwing Vacations advertises "champagne vacations" in radio spots, newspaper ads and on its website — complete with an image of two nearly-full champagne flutes — hoping to give budget-conscious travelers the illusion of luxury. But passengers who are promised a "bon voyage glass of champagne" are really being served less than a dollar's worth of domestic sparkling wine.
The Toronto-based travel company, which also owns Signature Vacations and SellOffVacations, uses the word "champagne" all over the Sunwing website, which currently shows a pair of flutes three times. "Our award winning Champagne service has been voted #1 by customers and travel agents for the last four years," reads a message on the home page.
According to several international trade agreements, the word "champagne" can only be used if the grapes and the wine are produced in the Champagne region of France. In Canada, the word can be used as long as it is clear to consumers that the sparkling wine is not from Champagne — but virtually all Canadian winemakers have stopped using it on their labels. SAQ, the government body that regulates the sale of alcohol in Quebec, prohibits sparkling wines labelled "champagne" unless they come from the Champagne region and consumers in Ontario won't find bottles of domestic sparkling wine labelled "champagne" at LCBO stores.
Canada will ban the use of "champagne" on sparkling wines that do not originate from the Champagne region of France beginning Dec. 31, 2013, as per a 2003 agreement with the European Union.
Passengers on a recent Sunwing "champagne vacation" claim they were served about three ounces of Andrés Baby Canadian Champagne in plastic cups at the beginning of their outbound flight — not exactly the generous flutes of "champagne" depicted in Sunwing ads. A 750 ml bottle of Andrés, a B.C. bubbly with an alcohol content of seven per cent, retails for about $8. (By comparison, a bottle of popular champagne brand Veuve Clicquot at the LCBO starts at $65.30 and has an alcohol content of 12 per cent.)
Sunwing ignored repeated requests to provide the brand name of the bubbly it pours.
The company's sparkling promotion (the perk, despite being virtually worthless, is widely mentioned in favorable terms on travel review sites) could land it in trouble with the industry association that polices advertising claims. The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards clearly states that ads can't contain "inaccurate or deceptive claims, statements, illustrations or representations, either direct or implied, with regard to a product of service." Complaints can be submitted online.
The Toronto-based travel company, which also owns Signature Vacations and SellOffVacations, uses the word "champagne" all over the Sunwing website, which currently shows a pair of flutes three times. "Our award winning Champagne service has been voted #1 by customers and travel agents for the last four years," reads a message on the home page.
According to several international trade agreements, the word "champagne" can only be used if the grapes and the wine are produced in the Champagne region of France. In Canada, the word can be used as long as it is clear to consumers that the sparkling wine is not from Champagne — but virtually all Canadian winemakers have stopped using it on their labels. SAQ, the government body that regulates the sale of alcohol in Quebec, prohibits sparkling wines labelled "champagne" unless they come from the Champagne region and consumers in Ontario won't find bottles of domestic sparkling wine labelled "champagne" at LCBO stores.
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| A passenger posted a pic of the bubbly on a Sunwing flight. |
Passengers on a recent Sunwing "champagne vacation" claim they were served about three ounces of Andrés Baby Canadian Champagne in plastic cups at the beginning of their outbound flight — not exactly the generous flutes of "champagne" depicted in Sunwing ads. A 750 ml bottle of Andrés, a B.C. bubbly with an alcohol content of seven per cent, retails for about $8. (By comparison, a bottle of popular champagne brand Veuve Clicquot at the LCBO starts at $65.30 and has an alcohol content of 12 per cent.)
Sunwing ignored repeated requests to provide the brand name of the bubbly it pours.
The company's sparkling promotion (the perk, despite being virtually worthless, is widely mentioned in favorable terms on travel review sites) could land it in trouble with the industry association that polices advertising claims. The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards clearly states that ads can't contain "inaccurate or deceptive claims, statements, illustrations or representations, either direct or implied, with regard to a product of service." Complaints can be submitted online.
