At this point, the men across the aisle who have been attempting to guess the prize argue what they deem the two most likely rewards: a six pack or a bottle of scotch. I listen in, and scotch seems to be winning.

The teenager troops dejectedly back to her seat, complaining about the restrictions.

After the commotion in the cabin dies down and people put their baggage back, the captain comes back on to give the name of the winner and thank us all for participating.

The Cute Ending

A great-grandfather with a picture of his entire extended family of (over 55 people) won the prize, an expensive bottle of champagne.

We applaud, and the proud greatgrandfather proudly passes the picture around.

Both the six-pack and the scotch group insist to each other that they knew all along what the prize was.

The captain finishes the announcements for the evening by reminding us that the champagne contest is a regular feature of his flights into Boise, and says that if we enjoyed it, we should remember to fly Delta, where 'we love to fly, and it shows."

Future Winner?

My seatmate grins and puts down his paper. He tells me that the "champagne contest" is a lot of fun. This is his fourth contest. He's never won, but says he will eventually, when the captain runs out of new things to ask for.

To demonstrate, he pulls out a pair of socks, a book of poetry and a copy of The Economist, the last three winners.

I ask him about the picture, and he says he can take a picture of his office staff.

As we disembark, the captain and his co-pilot come out and stand with the flight attendants. Instead of the usual "Bye, bye, bub-bye," people laugh and joke with each other, and congratulate the great-grandfather one more time.

Flights to Boise are usually less stressful than your average flight.

Especially when the champagne flows.