Today Global Traveler will conduct its annual business and first class wine survey. It is the only survey of airline wine in the United States. Although many airlines participate, others decline for various reasons. Here are the top ten reasons some airlines shy away for the survey:

Top 10 Reasons Why Airlines Decline Participation:

1. Some can’t stomach the chance they will not do well. Imagine all the marketing efforts spent on telling the world they have the best wine and food and then they do not rank in the top 10?
2. Some individuals fear for their position if they do not fare well. Airlines pay a great deal of money to their wine experts, and, frankly, their position can be determined by the outcome. 
3. Some airlines are so overburdened they find the gathering and shipping of the wine and the menus is too much for them. They have too many tasks and not enough people, so it slips through the cracks or is intentionally avoided.
4. With the cutbacks since the recession, many airlines downgraded their wines to save costs. 
5. Some feel they cannot trust our survey, that it is somehow slanted toward a particular carrier. 
6. We have actually heard one airline say the “wines did not travel well.”
7. A few airlines are changing their wine selections and do not want to submit their past selections.
8. Some carriers seem to be unable to figure out how to pass the wines through U.S. customs, as their wines originate from their head office overseas. Other international carriers seem to have no trouble with this.
9. Others fear their regional wines cannot compete with the best the French and the California vineyards produce. Many have suggested we have regional divisions, creative menu awards and specialty wine sections.
10. A small few change their wines so frequently they are unable to supply the corresponding menu that is required to verify that the wine is served on board.

— Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO