Duty free spreads its wings and goes online
Duty free spreads its wings and goes online
Once the preserve of holidaymakers, duty-free is entering the 21st century as it goes online. As icWales reports, British Airways (BA) has launched an internet based shopping service which will offer online shoppers the same deals as they would get on board their planes.
After a successful trial period, the airline is now running its High Life Shop on a permanent basis, which means that people can now take advantage of VAT free prices when they purchase the usual perfumes, jewellery and electrical goods, even if they are not a BA passenger. Those looking for bargain alcohol and cigarettes will, however, still have to take their seats on board; due to different tax restrictions that govern the sale of these products they can still only be purchased in-flight.
Richard Cushing, retail business director at BA, is confident of the success of the new venture: “Like all things, we have tested the service to gauge what customers think and there has been an excellent reaction. It is an extension of what we offer on board and we’ll be offering good-quality products and quality prices. It will never be a major part of what we do, we are an airline, but we wouldn’t be doing this if it didn’t make commercial sense.”
BA’s diversification comes at a time when airlines are reportedly increasingly looking to generate profit through the introduction of different services.
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10 June 2008
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