I’ve been flying a fair bit this year. During this ‘The Best Recession Ever!’ the first thing that got hammered was the food and wine in biz class. Curiously, the cheap seats wine on Air Canada kept quite decent French reds and whites.
Commuter lines have gone to cheap bulk like Barefoot (and for the record, Barefoot Merlot is a much better wine than one would think). Biz lounges in the airport have gone downscale to brands like Eaglehawk. (And yes, I’d prefer Barefoot). High end liqueurs are still in evidence as is decent whisky.
Food is coming back in biz class, and my hope is wine will follow. Using biz class catering as a leading indicator may seem odd, but if they have to cater to folks in Biz then biz folks are flying again, presumably on business. 6 months ago upgrades were available for the asking.