A passenger who claimed that service on a business-class flight to Jamaica was not up to standard has taken the unusual step of suing the airline - and winning.

At a small claims court last month, David Farraday said Air Jamaica failed to deliver the standard of meals and pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight service he expected from a company that claims to be the 'world's best airline to the Caribbean'.

'The food was appalling, the menu was given verbally instead of on a card, there were not enough in-flight films, no papers and the service was disgraceful - I had red wine spilt over my shirt,' said Farraday, a restaurateur from the Lake District.

Although the airline offered to give him a shirt with an Air Jamaica logo and upgrade him to first class on the flight from Heathrow to Montego Bay in January 2004, he was determined to take matters further. 'I wasn't fussed about the money - I just wanted the satisfaction,' said Farraday, who received a refund of around £800 from the airline, worth more than a third of the ticket price.

Air Jamaica had apologised and insisted its service was of a high standard in response to complaints sent by Farraday throughout the year, but it did not offer compensation until three weeks before the case was due in court, when it offered £500.

'I can't think of any complaint about in-flight service that has been taken to court,' said a spokesman from the Air Transport Users' Council. 'Passengers only tend to take court action if they are owed a refund or are claiming compensation when a delay has forced them to pay for a hotel room - and usually the airlines offer vouchers, as they can't afford to lose customers.

'There is no aviation law that determines a certain quality of service, food or seating must be provided in business class. It's good to hear passengers are taking airlines to court if they're not getting the service they paid for,' the spokesman said. 'Even when we encourage them to use a small claims court, most people don't want to go that far.'

Air Jamaica declined to comment.