An OMAAT reader asked me a question about inflight duty free purchases, and I figured it would be fun to address it here, and also to hear from others.
If you’ve flown internationally with any frequency, you’re probably familiar with the concept of inflight duty free shopping, whereby you can buy all kinds of things, ranging from watches, to perfume, to cigarettes, to chocolate, to airline memorabilia.
While these purchases aren’t taxed, you’d think this would be a pretty inefficient model for selling things. After all, the logistics are complicated and costly. When it comes to retail, you can’t really pay higher “rent” than having your items flown around the world constantly with fairly low turnover.
While duty free isn’t consistently available on international flights, it continues to be popular in some markets, so I wanted to talk about that in more detail.
In this post:
My thought on the value of inflight duty free shopping
When discussing inflight duty free purchases, I think the first thing to acknowledge is that airlines have a very captive audience onboard flights. People are a lot more likely to leaf through a duty free catalogue when stuck in a metal tube for hours on end, rather than when they’re on the ground.
I mean, having a captive audience was basically the whole business model of SkyMall back in the day, since only at 37,000 feet would you decide that you need the world’s biggest wine glass, or a garden gnome.
The way I view it, there are several situations where people may (sort of) rationally make duty free purchases:
- As an aviation geek, I’ve certainly purchased airline memorabilia from the duty free selection, whether it’s a model airplane, an airline branded stuffed animal, or endless Hello Kitty goodies on EVA Air
- I’m not a smoker, but I know that some people find cigarettes to be cheaper via duty free than on the ground, given how heavily they’re taxed in many jurisdictions
- Perhaps there’s something you forgot to take on your trip, and the convenience (rather than the value) of the duty free catalogue causes you to make a purchase; this could include a universal adapter, sunglasses, etc.
- The combination of boredom and alcohol may cause people to make purchase decisions they wouldn’t otherwise consider on the ground; often you may come across something you like, and make a purchase decision without comparison shopping, even if you may usually take a different approach to purchases on the ground
My impression is that duty free typically doesn’t offer a better value than you’d get on the ground (perhaps aside from tobacco), but I think there’s also a psychology to people thinking that they’re getting a better deal since they’re not paying tax, combined with the lack of ability to comparison shop.
Where inflight duty free shopping is most popular
It’s also interesting to consider how the popularity of inflight duty free shopping differs around the globe. For example, most US airlines have eliminated inflight duty free altogether, because the economics don’t make sense.
However, there are certain routes to and from Africa (particularly West Africa) where duty free sales are through the roof, and literally every single item on the cart is sold without effort. And it’s not just that each person is buying something, but rather there are a few people who try to buy everything, spending thousands of dollars.
Why? Well, some passengers traveling to and from Africa are specifically in the resale business, and many luxury, brand name goods can sell for more in their home country, basically regardless of what it is. Furthermore, many may have leftover cash from their trip, so spend what they have remaining.
So for airlines that pay a commission on inflight duty free sales, I know there’s sometimes a lot of competition for who gets to sell on these routes.
Bottom line
Inflight duty free is a fascinating business. It’s not terribly efficient to essentially fly a “store” with limited inventory around the world. However, in many markets it still ends up being quite profitable, thanks to a combination of boredom, a captive audience, and good value on some items.
Do you ever make purchases through inflight duty free? If so, under what circumstances?
Vice President Airforce one.......purple Australia husky...decomposed
Sure love my some airline merch, but I can only remember buying booze once.
Fez to Eindhoven on ryanair. Liter of jameson for like 12 eur vs 5 eur for a 5cl one. And they had no problem with me opening the bottle lol.
I read this article yesterday just before boarding my flight from Bogota to Miami on Emirates.
I saw so many people ordering from the in-flight magazine duty free shop! There was a dedicated FA throughout the flight assisting with these transactions, and many people bought a lot of perfumes. I guess South America is also one of those destinations where this is still profitable. I haven't flown Emirates in 8 years, but last I...
I read this article yesterday just before boarding my flight from Bogota to Miami on Emirates.
I saw so many people ordering from the in-flight magazine duty free shop! There was a dedicated FA throughout the flight assisting with these transactions, and many people bought a lot of perfumes. I guess South America is also one of those destinations where this is still profitable. I haven't flown Emirates in 8 years, but last I remember not many people used to buy onboard (at least between the US and DXB). I browsed the magazine, and found that EK was selling luggage tags made from the skin of their first A380 (which was recently scrapped), A6-EDA. I flew that aircraft in 2008 between JFK-DXB, when it had only been a month on that route! And that was my first Emirates flight, first A380 flight, and my first international flight as well. So when I saw it in the magazine, I had to buy it :)
I remember buying a Hermes tie on a TWA 747 LHR-JFK back in the day...
At least in the UK, duty free savings on cigarettes can easily pay for the cost of the flight you buy them on. Take a look at smokescanner.com.
Echo sdsk above, I have bought Mori Izo shochu on JAL flights multiple times. 3,400 Yen inflight while multiple times higher retail price. I literally asked the FA how many I could buy (supposedly one per each F or J passenger on long-haul flight only). I’m willing to pay US Customs duty when I’m above the duty free limit. There is even a long Flyertalk thread that talks about when the Mori Izo would be...
Echo sdsk above, I have bought Mori Izo shochu on JAL flights multiple times. 3,400 Yen inflight while multiple times higher retail price. I literally asked the FA how many I could buy (supposedly one per each F or J passenger on long-haul flight only). I’m willing to pay US Customs duty when I’m above the duty free limit. There is even a long Flyertalk thread that talks about when the Mori Izo would be on sale and when they are sold out.
I also bought other alcohol (mostly Japanese), watch, plane models, etc.
a big qualified YES! Let me explain.
Most large city airport Duty Free are horrendously expensive (LHR?). In flight specific alcohol products can be much cheaper. Occasionally Chanel 5 as well.
You cannot bring alcohol onboard from some flights after a stopover although this is getting better.
Occasionally the price is slightly higher onboard but the convenience is worth it.
Often the price in the destination country is prohibitive and this is good value.
I ordered inflight duty free once to use up an odd amount of “leftover” Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. I figured that they would expire before I could accumulate enough for any future flight so went online and preordered a bottle of booz paid for in miles that was delivered to my seat on the flight.
Don't think it was duty free, but over 20 years ago on a BA flight I bought a Bulova dual timezone alarm clock, and it folded flat, so perfect for travel. It finally gave out last year, I tried to find a new one, but it is no longer available. I kept it anyway as a souvenir and later, when putting it away, I dropped it on the floor and it came back to life and has been working ever since.
Only onboard purchase I've made, duty free is not much of a bargain.
The related topic is that duty free on the ground just means that it is free of taxes. Prices do differ.
On BA you can earn, as well as pay with Avios ( although the later is yet to have been of any decent value in terms of redeeming miles in my experience).
Something UK readers may not yet have caught up on is the fact there is no tax free shopping from the UK anymore. It was done away with some time ago. I invite any of them to compare prices of X bottle...
On BA you can earn, as well as pay with Avios ( although the later is yet to have been of any decent value in terms of redeeming miles in my experience).
Something UK readers may not yet have caught up on is the fact there is no tax free shopping from the UK anymore. It was done away with some time ago. I invite any of them to compare prices of X bottle of booze to their preferred supermarket. Outside of specific promotions the bottle currently in hand is more expensive than if delivered by say, ocado or Tesco's.
Ordering in advance with BA occasionally earns a discount but either way you will earn miles for the purchase so if you're spending anyway then why not get some miles in the deal.
If we're traveling to a Nordic or Muslim country then we'll normally order several bottles and tuck them away in the carry on upon disembarking. In Nordic countries alcohol can be prohibitively expensive so some preloading before heading out is cost effective and in, some, Muslim countries obtaining alcohol can be somewhat difficult in comparison to Western countries.
If we don't finish said bottles before flying home then simply cracking each open and having a couple of measures out of each means the customs lot can't include them in your import allowance. Something we've put to the test a few times over the years and won out on if they've tried to imply otherwise.
I'm the same and have two sets of cufflinks made from the blades of a concorde plus several other trinkets that have stood out enough to catch the eye.
Duty free shopping makes all the difference if you live in Muslim countries where tobacco and alcohol is heavily taxed.
I bought a Swatch watch on an LTU flight DUS-MCO many years ago for €50. It's still modern, still works and the local Swatch store will still swap out the battery for free when needed and get rid of any scratches on the crystal.
Emirates inflight sales has some of the best fragrances.
Ditto Michael ; I was a Purser with TWA in the 60's after the meal service one two of us would push a cart full of items that you bought duty free. Those days long gone
Ditto Michael ; I was a Purser with TWA in the 60's after the meal service one two of us would push a cart full of items that you bought duty free. Those days long gone
As an old timer I remember the Airlines doing this back in 1970’s . Not much different than the duty free store at the airport. TWA used to sell all kinds of stuff. They also did inflight ticketing which was great.
Not "airline memorabilia" as such, but limited edition consumer goods that are available only on in-flight duty free. In my case, Marimekko Unikko aprons, flannels, and teatowels - the specific colour combination for this print designed for Finnair was only available on their long haul flights.
In addition to airplane models, alcohol can be a good purchase, not so much because of the odd offer, but also because you can often buy stuff that's popular in the country in which an airline is based when you are on a connecting itinerary and hard to find elsewhere. There are countries where things like high-end mezcal, aged tsipouro/grappa, Taiwanese whisky, or flavoured Polish vodkas are either completely impossible to purchase or only available...
In addition to airplane models, alcohol can be a good purchase, not so much because of the odd offer, but also because you can often buy stuff that's popular in the country in which an airline is based when you are on a connecting itinerary and hard to find elsewhere. There are countries where things like high-end mezcal, aged tsipouro/grappa, Taiwanese whisky, or flavoured Polish vodkas are either completely impossible to purchase or only available to order online if you are prepared to wait for days, if not weeks.
On the other hand, the perfume selection is invariably dire - other than stuff selling at a ridiculous price point due to a designer signature (e.g. Tom Ford), L'Occitane is the only option that can be found in duty free (in the airport or onboard) that isn't going to be useless synthetic fragrance that lasts for half an hour.
Pricing is often good on Lancôme in Beijing duty free. It also is often much faster to purchase items than to go through currency exchange. Makeup particularly cleanser, toner, moisturizer is almost always accepted as “small gifts.”
Ben,
“ a garden gnome.”???
It was a life size garden yeti!
https://www.wayfair.com/Design-Toscano--Bigfoot-the-Garden-Yeti-Statue-DB383049-L619-K~TXG1036.html
The Korean Air credit card includes two $25 credits, which you can stack. So a $100 on board purchase is only $50 which turns out to be a pretty good deal for liquor, particularly Sake.
One of the many great things with the interwebs is that now, with inflight connectivity, one can see if they're actually getting a good deal or not while in the air.
The last item I bought via duty free was on a LX flight LAX-ZRH last year; I got a LX 777-300 model (the plane I was on) for a friend, as I wasn't sure if I would be able to find it on the ground. Glad I got it.
I supplied Duty Free Items to Airports & Sea Ports for years. the Business has Died down in US and many airports around the world Empty stores all over.. The Only Business Booming in Duty Free shops is of Cigarettes all over the world,except the US.
I've only ever bought airline merch - airplane models, luggage tags, keychains, etc
From American perspective, you might be right. However, on all Asian flights I’ve been over the past 25 or so years, people are buying duty free items.
Eva Air, Korean Air, ANA, SQ, Emirates… duty free carts keep on goong and revenue keeps on flowing.
Especially when pre-ordering for return flight includes some nice discount. Tom Ford perfumes for example… or oddly, a massager / magnetic bracelets on BR (EVA).
Weirdest inflight duty-free item for sale I ever saw was a “Correct height pet feeding bowl”. I didn’t pull the trigger….
I don't know if this is still the case but as recently as a decade ago or so, it was unusually popular in the Korean market, for whatever reason. Korean Air made like 10x the revenue of any other airline on in-flight duty free (and even had a special display for in-flight duty free at the back of the main deck of their A380s).
The Korean Air equivalent of SkyMall is the thickest in-flight shopping catalog I've ever seen - the extra weight and fuel cost it must add...
flying around 50 perfume bottles and 25 bottles of liquor probably adds too!
I once bought a bottle of specialty gin on board at British Airways for an excellent price. I noticed it on my outbound flight, looked at comparison prices and bought it during my inbound flight.
Not having to securely pack a bottle in the suite case is a plus too.
I don't typically buy from in-airplane duty free, but I've done so in the past. Bought a watch for my father on American Airlines LHR-JFK in 2003 that he uses to this day, and Mikimoto pearl earrings for my mom on Korean Air ICN-JFK in 2005 that have become her favorite pair.
First thing: duty free doesn't really mean duty free. You still need to make sure you are within your customs allowance when clearing on arrival (especially tobacco products). Second thing: prices are generally much higher than landed cost in the US because our tax system just doesn't single-out "luxury" products as such. Where duty free is popular, there are different tax regimes that make this a better deal. Final thought: my favorite duty free stores...
First thing: duty free doesn't really mean duty free. You still need to make sure you are within your customs allowance when clearing on arrival (especially tobacco products). Second thing: prices are generally much higher than landed cost in the US because our tax system just doesn't single-out "luxury" products as such. Where duty free is popular, there are different tax regimes that make this a better deal. Final thought: my favorite duty free stores are the ones perched in between the US and Canada. Customs knows you are going there, prices are generally no better than Costco, but they are busy nonetheless.
It's duty-free in the sense that the store does not pay import duty for the items that it sells, since the item will inevitably leave the country. Whether stores pass that savings on to customers is another question entirely.
The theoretical sweet spot would be, for example, buying a bottle of Baileys on a flight from LHR to JFK. No UK taxes paid, and also no US taxes if (as you said) the bottle falls within your personal allowance.
I've bought Mori Izo shochu in JAL J for retail (~2,500 yen) for friends & family in Japan. It's almost impossible to buy this in Japan unless you pay 6-7 the retail price to resellers.
If airlines offered limited edition items like airplane models, I would probably snap some of those up too.
One of my worst ever duty free purchases was a set of earrings for my new wife, I thought looked nice in the catalog. With my beer goggles on, I was perusing the duty free catalog and came upon the earrings. Made my purchase, thought nothing of it, other than doing something nice for my girlfriend. Got them out after the beer goggles had worn off, and they were awful. I gave them to her...
One of my worst ever duty free purchases was a set of earrings for my new wife, I thought looked nice in the catalog. With my beer goggles on, I was perusing the duty free catalog and came upon the earrings. Made my purchase, thought nothing of it, other than doing something nice for my girlfriend. Got them out after the beer goggles had worn off, and they were awful. I gave them to her anyway, we had a laugh about it and she ended up re-gifting them to her mom. Still gets mentioned to this day if she ever gets a bad gift "at least they aren't as bad as those earrings you bought me on the flight over."
In the airlines' profit-by-activity management reports, do they allocate relevant marginal cost of fuel to in-flight sales?
I would have thought that would be large, but maybe I am wrong.
The fact that Ryanair still does them suggests that there is profit there somehow.
Alcohol can be a tricky game. Definitely fewer “deals” out there since COVID. I typically walk the store with the TotalWine app open and price compare, and recently many bottles are priced more than TotalWine pre-tax, a huge pass.
That said, there’s some incredible deals to be had out there. I typically stock up on Campari and Carpano Antico Formula at FCO, where the savings are almost 50% per bottle. Same for Mount Gay Rum in the Caribbean
I've found that the discount on wine is nowhere near as attractive as the discount on hard liquor. There's a stiff tariff on alcohol imports to Australia, so the duty-free saving is significant. The tariff also results in diluted versions of some products - I kid you not - with, for example, the Tanqueray gin most commonly found on the domestic market having 40% alcohol, whilst the untaxed version weighs in at 47.3%.
Barbados Rum is always cheaper in the local grocery stores than in BGI duty free or on any airline. Only problem is packing correctly though in 30 years never lost a drop but sometimes had a dozen bottles in luggage. (shhhh)
I think I'd still buy airline memorabilia... especially if it comes with a Hello Kitty toy. Other than that, duty free doesn't offer much variety as it once did. It's still good for alcohol and cigarrettes though (which don't interest me at all).
I'm with you... I've bought airline memorabilia. (I'm also a huge fan of the LH stores in FRA and especially MUC, as I look at my A350 model I bought a few weeks ago there). Airlines used to have a lot more airline-branded stuff on board. I have so many of the 1:600 scale metal Schabak models my dad got me when traveling to Europe a couple times a month through much of the late...
I'm with you... I've bought airline memorabilia. (I'm also a huge fan of the LH stores in FRA and especially MUC, as I look at my A350 model I bought a few weeks ago there). Airlines used to have a lot more airline-branded stuff on board. I have so many of the 1:600 scale metal Schabak models my dad got me when traveling to Europe a couple times a month through much of the late 80s and early 90s (plus a store at AMS that had every one ever made I think). They used to have special sets you could get only on board.
To me much of the catalog though falls into the same category as a Rolex or Swarovski store in an airport... maybe a last minute gift or something? I have heard that about cigarettes. I did buy duty free liquor once coming back from the Bahamas only as it was more convenient than stopping on my way home after landing.
When it was still a big thing, an F/A told me once that almost all of the expensive sales (perfume, scarves etc) were men coming back from business trips who hadn't yet bought gifts for their wives.
That picture of 4 Hello Kitty shopping bags ️ in a line is my favourite ever photo on OMAAT and it isn’t even close LOL
Five Hello Kitty bags.
When you have kids and already lugging around multiple carry on bags, in flight duty free makes a tonne of sense
Alcohol (mid-premium whiskey for example) can be quite a bit cheaper at airport duty free shops (especially in Asia) than on the ground. We're talking 30%-50%, the higher range when compared to high spirit tax states. If inflight duty free matches airport prices, it's a no brainer to buy on board - saves having to lug around bottles, wait in line at check out, avoids carryon limits and gives you more time to lounge during short connections.
Lucky, if you like Hello Kitty goodies, ANA also has some (specifically, a set of Hello Kitty characters in pilot and flight attendant uniforms). It's high time you gave us an ANA A380 trip report (especially since I think they have special Hawaii-themed goodies on the route!)
I often find various travel chargers that I haven't seen before and have bought a few from the airplane catalog. Every time I've done it though the flight attendants always have to figure out how to sell stuff because it appears it doesn't happen often, so it's always a lot more complicated than it should be, but we have hours in the air to figure it out so no harm done.
You should not buy chargers this way. Obscure chargers often have not passed safety testing by UL or a similar lab.
They are the same chargers you can buy on the ground, it's fine. Duty Free isn't manufacturing its own off-brand, untested chargers.
"Duty Free isn't manufacturing its own off-brand, untested chargers."
"Biglaw V10 Partner" has never flown before, least of all internationally, so his knowledge is quite limited.