They forgot to load the F champagne

[Kangol]

There are some FAs on this board, so I'd welcome their input on the logistics of how champagne is loaded. Is it loaded separately to other drinks/alcohol? Food? If there is an entire cart missing (or similar vessel), would it be picked up before pushback?
Or is it simply a matter of them opening their stock once airborne and hoping for the best?
With the catering - would there be certain internal checks done before sending the food to the plane? I can understand lightly loading catering for lightly loaded flights, but surely there are systems in place to check that line with zero inventory is picked up before takeoff...

 

[zainman]

Perhaps this forgetfulness is intentional...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Perhaps this forgetfulness is intentional...

I guess it depends if, and how much, QF pays for a bottle of of the good stuff?

If they get it for $50 a bottle, and load one less bottle per flight, that works out at something like $220,000 saved a year. If they pay $100 a bottle you're looking at a saving of half a million dollars a year.

 

[boomy]

How much champagne do people think should be loaded? Anything less than an allocation of 1 bottle per seat (ie 14 bottles) is not enough IMO.

On my recent flight 6 bottles were loaded which should be enough if they all stay in F and not shared with any WP/P1s from J. I only had four glasses before moving to reds so can't tell if stock run out on the first leg but I can say there was plenty of bubbly on the second leg

 

[Steady]

On my recent flight 6 bottles were loaded which should be enough if they all stay in F and not shared with any WP/P1s from J. I only had four glasses before moving to reds so can't tell if stock run out on the first leg but I can say there was plenty of bubbly on the second leg

I think 6 is a bit light for 14 people. There are nominally 7 glasses in a bottle - less if the pourer is generous - so if everyone wanted 4 glasses as you did they would run out.

I agree with 1 bottle per person - it's not like they go off and cannot be used on another flight....

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I think 6 is a bit light for 14 people. There are nominally 7 glasses in a bottle - less if the pourer is generous - so if everyone wanted 4 glasses as you did they would run out.

I agree with 1 bottle per person - it's not like they go off and cannot be used on another flight....

Depends if those 6 bottles include pre-departure beverages? Otherwise I'd be assuming 2 bottles gone straight away if each passenger has a glass on boarding.

That leaves 4 bottles for the rest of the flight... for 14 pax.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Depends if those 6 bottles include pre-departure beverages? Otherwise I'd be assuming 2 bottles gone straight away if each passenger has a glass on boarding.

That leaves 4 bottles for the rest of the flight... for 14 pax.

That's very tight. Been on quite a few flights recently where the F cabin is full. Never had one yet where I haven't seen at least one if not two re-fills offered of PDB. Assuming some passengers do take the re-fills that's quite a bit of the allocation gone before take off.

What also needs to be taken into consideration is that unlike the pour in the F Lounge, those onboard are far closer to the top of the glass.

 

[Princess Fiona]

On my recent flight 6 bottles were loaded which should be enough if they all stay in F and not shared with any WP/P1s from J. I only had four glasses before moving to reds so can't tell if stock run out on the first leg but I can say there was plenty of bubbly on the second leg

6 bottles are probably OK for QF 2 LHR-DXB. Wonder how well that would stretch on QF10 same route and QF2/10 DXB-SYD/MEL plus any of the daytime flights to the US.

Imagine what a weird job that would be ? Working out the consumption of vintage champagne on a long haul flight ??

 

[Homer]

What? J Champagne in F? What's next? Not serving nuts in a bowl? Surely that's enough reason for a return to gate...

But seriously, I do understand the OP's point of view. If this was your once-in-a-blue-moon F experience, you may be inclined to switch airlines.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Imagine what a weird job that would be ? Working out the consumption of vintage champagne on a long haul flight ??

Shouldn't be too difficult given the 95 years they have been flying! They have plenty of experience

Depending which article you believe... I read Concorde carried anywhere from 21 to 48 (or more!) bottles of champagne for the 3 hour crossing.

 

[boomy]

I think 6 is a bit light for 14 people. There are nominally 7 glasses in a bottle - less if the pourer is generous - so if everyone wanted 4 glasses as you did they would run out.

I agree with 1 bottle per person - it's not like they go off and cannot be used on another flight....

While I agree the more champagne loaded the better, we should also remember that not everyone in F drinks alcohol and not everyone who drinks alcohol drinks only champagne. There are eight other wine choices onboard (three whites, three reds and two desserts). I think 6 bottles of champagne plus all the other wines plus beers and spirits is enough booze for 14 pax.
Just to give some perspective, on our recent JL flight we had only three bottles of Salon to share between eight pax in F but myself and +1 still managed to drink 1.5 bottles together.

 

[FrustratedQP]

I guess it depends if, and how much, QF pays for a bottle of of the good stuff?

If they get it for $50 a bottle, and load one less bottle per flight, that works out at something like $220,000 saved a year. If they pay $100 a bottle you're looking at a saving of half a million dollars a year.

Not really. Those savings are only realised if all of those extra bottles would have been definitely consumed. If they definitely would have been consumed then they should be on the aircraft in the first place. If they really want to save money stop giving it away to customers outside the F cabin. It's a sad situation when those that are entitled (i.e. A published benefit of the F cabin) miss out because it has been supplied to those that aren't entitled pursuant to a published benefit. If Qantas want to keep everybody happy load enough for both.

 

[phily]

If they get it for $50 a bottle, and load one less bottle per flight, that works out at something like $220,000 saved a year. If they pay $100 a bottle you're looking at a saving of half a million dollars a year.

They likely pay more than $50-$100 a bottle. Veuve Cliquot Grand Dame retails for $250 a bottle, though the Pol Roger Sir Winny retails for around $110 a bottle.

 

[TomVexille]

They likely pay more than $50-$100 a bottle. Veuve Cliquot Grand Dame retails for $250 a bottle, though the Pol Roger Sir Winny retails for around $110 a bottle.

But they would pay nowhere near retail. And QF is about the third largest wholesale buyer in the Australian market. They have purchasing power.

 

[vantage03]

To be fair in all of my many many QF F flights, they've never run out of champagne. (...and thank God for that because I'd be a little put out lol)

I was surprised though that they did run out of Business Class white wine on QF4 on the weekend within 45mins of service...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

While I agree the more champagne loaded the better, we should also remember that not everyone in F drinks alcohol and not everyone who drinks alcohol drinks only champagne. There are eight other wine choices onboard (three whites, three reds and two desserts). I think 6 bottles of champagne plus all the other wines plus beers and spirits is enough booze for 14 pax.
Just to give some perspective, on our recent JL flight we had only three bottles of Salon to share between eight pax in F but myself and +1 still managed to drink 1.5 bottles together.

But I don't think that should be a decision for an airline to make in First class. If a passenger wants champagne, it should be available.

Not really. Those savings are only realised if all of those extra bottles would have been definitely consumed. If they definitely would have been consumed then they should be on the aircraft in the first place. If they really want to save money stop giving it away to customers outside the F cabin. It's a sad situation when those that are entitled (i.e. A published benefit of the F cabin) miss out because it has been supplied to those that aren't entitled pursuant to a published benefit. If Qantas want to keep everybody happy load enough for both.

That's the point... they are running out/not loading... so the savings are being realised.

But they would pay nowhere near retail. And QF is about the third largest wholesale buyer in the Australian market. They have purchasing power.

I have heard that some airlines might get their general (business class) champagne for free, or heavily discounted for promotional reasons. Not sure how accurate that is. But on that basis I wan't sure what they'd actually pay for the top shelf stuff... either wholesale, or maybe even better than that? Shortly after Qantas introduce the Pol Roger as an alternative to the Taittinger CdC, I noticed Asiana did the same thing. So I wonder if there is an international wholesaler (or whatever) packaging champagne to the various airlines... and whether the Pol Roger was 'free' as a promotion?

 

[TomVexille]

I have heard that some airlines might get their general (business class) champagne for free, or heavily discounted for promotional reasons. Not sure how accurate that is. But on that basis I wan't sure what they'd actually pay for the top shelf stuff... either wholesale, or maybe even better than that? Shortly after Qantas introduce the Pol Roger as an alternative to the Taittinger CdC, I noticed Asiana did the same thing. So I wonder if there is an international wholesaler (or whatever) packaging champagne to the various airlines... and whether the Pol Roger was 'free' as a promotion?

It certainly could be. But I highly doubt QF pay anything over wholesale for champagne (or any other wine).

 

[RooFlyer]

But I don't think that should be a decision for an airline to make in First class. If a passenger wants champagne, it should be available.

<snip>

But the word 'reasonable' has to be in there somewhere. How on earth is an airline meant to anticipate and accommodate an entire F cabin of Champagne super-guzzlers? Just how many bottles should they load? And of course it might not be Champagne guzzler's day - it might be shiraz guzzlers .. so an unlimited supply of that? And every wine and spirit on their list?

I agree that not having any is quite an oversight, but if they run out of my favourite tipple due to the overall demand being greater than normal (and they would have pretty good stats on what's usually consumed on any particular long haul leg in any particular cabin), then I shrug and move to the next. [-] Maybe I'm just getting more mellow in my dotage. [/-]

 

[serfty]

... then I shrug and move to the next. ...

As I intimated in a previous post here, is not always that easy, I rarely book international First class (< 1/500) but when i do I expect what is advertised to be available.

My next such First Class segment might not be for another 10 years, if ever.

If they are running a yield managememt process to save money in soft product this should be done for the basic cabins, not First Class.

 

[FrustratedQP]

That's the point... they are running out/not loading... so the savings are being realised.

But not to the extent quoted because they don't run out on every flight as per the calculation.