The U.S. essentially has three kinds of airlines.
It has full-fare carriers, like Delta, United, and American, which offer the traditional mix of coach, business and first-class tickets.
There's also a sort of tweener tier where Southwest Airlines (LUV) -) and JetBlue (JBLU) -) operate. These airlines aren't low-cost, no-frills discounters, but they lack some of the amenities and class distinction that the more traditional carriers offer.
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Then, of course, you have the full pay-as-you-go low-cost airlines like Frontier (ULCC) -) and Spirit. Those carriers work on an a-la-carte system, where you pay a basic fare and then anything -- from seat assignments to a can of soda -- costs extra.
When you fly coach or economy with Delta Air Lines (DAL) -), United (UAL) -), or American, your expectations are lower than when you fly business or first class. That's also true when you fly domestically versus internationally.
Even on the higher-end airlines, a domestic coach ticket is a pretty basic trip during which you won't be offered more than a snack, and alcoholic beverages cost extra. Once you book an international trip -- especially one in business class or first class -- expectations rise.
You can blame TV, but it's hard to picture a business- or first-class international trip and not think of a glass of champagne. Something about the sparkling French wine screams elegance and helps justify the inflated fares.
American Airlines (AAL) -) passengers, however, now have to do without, as the airline has changed its beverage lineup.
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American Airlines No Longer Serves Champagne
American Airlines quietly dropped champagne in July, according to View From the Wing's Gary Leff.
"American Airlines no longer serves champagne in its long-haul business class, offering only Italian sparkling wine Ferrari Brut Trento Doc from Trentino, which is decidedly mild. To be fair, you can drink it. But it’s neither champagne nor memorable," he shared.
The airline confirmed the change in a Twitter post that had directly asked whether it had made a permanent decision to drop champagne.
"Our Food and Beverage team is frequently updating what's offered on our routes, so it's hard to say what they have planned for the future," the airline shared.
The original post in the thread showed the business-class beverage menu, which confirmed that champagne had been replaced with sparkling wine. Only wine made in the Champagne region of France, which is located just outside of Paris, can be called champagne.
Or to put it more clearly, all champagne is sparkling wine, but only sparkling wine from the Champagne region is champagne.
"This is a very disappointing service cut. United, British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, and many others serve champagne on [transatlantic] routes," answered Twitter user @BigJInLa.
It's Not About American's Champagne Problem
While not being able to drink champagne on a business class flight seems like a relatively minor problem, Leff noted that it was more the symbolism.
"In tough times, airlines say they need to cut back on amenities. In flush times, they say they don’t need to invest in amenities in order to win business," he wrote. "This reminds me of four-time British Prime Minister William Gladstone, 'If the people are silent, they must be contented. If the people are violent, we must not yield to disorder. Either way, the people get nothing,'"
Airlines have made lots of little cuts and that generally affect budget flyers. Business-class fares are usually at least twice as much as coach (sometimes much more), so skimping on a perk long associated with elegance seems like a petty way to save money that could devalue these high-priced tickets.
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