Sale on flight: Purse strings beneath my wings

Ever wondered why they sell, and you buy, those perfumes and jewellery in flight?
You’re four hours into the 21-hour long haul to New York. Reclining in your plush first class seat, sipping on Dom Perignon champagne, the initial feeling of total relaxation is slowly giving way to ennui. You find yourself reaching out for the dossier-like duty free magazine, and in minutes, your mind is immersed in a world of pictures and prices. As the steward rolls the duty-free cart towards your seat, there are just no two ways about it. You must have that bottle of the legendary Chanel No. 5, or the Aigner Murano watch, that you always fancied.
It is this sheer impulse of the well-traveled Indian that has led to the growth of luxury retailing in the duty free on flights. Far from the time when people only bought alcohol or tobacco, the inflight duty-free on most international airlines, has evolved into a treasure chest of fancy fragrances, cosmetics, jewellery, watches and even electronic gadgets that the Indian passenger is willing to not just spend, but splurge on.
Indian women travelers, for instance, have shown an interest in all top-notch fragrance, cosmetic and accessory brands on flights. So if it is brands like Bvlgari, Chanel and Dior or jewellery from Georg Jenson that caught their eye on Singapore Airlines, the Issey Miyake, Gucci, Prada as well as the jewellery from Swarovski and Frey Wille priced between $500- $ 700 were top picks on Jet Airways. So much so that CW Foo, general manager-India for Singapore Airlines, observes, “With one of the highest levels of disposable incomes, the Indian luxury consumer knows the brand and is demanding from the luxury market.”
08/08/10 Lisa Mary Thomson/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2010