Page 30 - AAA MAY-JUNE 2012 Online Magazine

FEATURE INFLIGHT RETAIL

board store, but also complete their
transactions from their own device.
one example of this approach comes
from Klm. its web shop will also offer
a broader assortment than just liquor
and cigarettes, which passengers can
order online and then pick up on board.
speaking to the moodie report recently,
Koos Kruijswijk, director inflight sales at
Klm noted that: “Klm used to sell these
categories in its airport shops at schiphol
... we have since seen passenger demand
grow.” Kruijswijk said it was “difficult to
judge” how much incremental revenue
the new items would add to the offer, but
said, “We are confident there will be an
increase in sales. We may increase the
range later but it depends on the results.”
a number of secondary factors come
into play in this kind of model. convenience
– passengers purchase destination-
specific tickets that are available upon
arrival, eliminating the need for queuing
or waiting. multiple payment methods –
transactions can be made in virtually any
global currency and tap into loyalty cards
and stored gift services. Familiarity –
payments can be made in local currency
prior to departure. all these factors
provide convenience to the consumer and
enhance the passenger’s relationship
with the airline.
this approach can be seen in the
Heathrow express service, a transit
option that provides fast and direct rail
transfers from lHr to central london.
american airlines allows passengers expected to be valued at around us$51.6
to purchase Heathrow express tickets billion in 2011, growing by 30 to 40% in Tony Sit is a 15-year
from a number of touch points including 2012. in other words, for airlines and veteran of the aviation
the departure or club lounges before their third-party ancillary providers, now industry and SVP and
boarding, as well as in-flight through is the time to engage the new, mobile, GM, Asia-Pacific for
Pos terminals. thus, the airline earns young, middle-class and tech-savvy. GuestLogix
revenue from an in-flight transaction that now is the time for airlines to
did not require inventory or additional rethink their traditional relationship
service or personnel. this kind of example with travellers. they need to better
illustrates the kind of ancillary revenue understand the asia-Pacific traveller’s
generation airlines will be able to use needs, wants, and desires. they need to
throughout the entire journey, pre-flight, master more than just selling tickets,
in-flight and post flight. While the online and start to look at service before, during
and mobile booking asia-Pacific segment and after the passenger sits on the plane
remains in its nascent stages, it is still and leafs through the inflight adverts.
30 ASIAN AIRLINES & AIRPORTS MAY / JUNE 2012 WWW.ASIANAIRLINES-AIRPORTS.COM