104
votes
Accepted
Why is onboard/inflight shopping still a thing?
From the media release on guestlogix.com:
The airline onboard retail industry has been growing annually at an
average rate of 12.9% since 2012, and totaled more than $5 billion in
sales in 2014....
- 159k
74
votes
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Duty Free in the USA. Why do I have to be given my purchase as I board the plane?
The laws around duty-free require that you not consume duty free merchandise in the country you're buying them in. If they just handed you the bag, you could then exit the terminal and go home, ...
- 3,145
47
votes
Why is onboard/inflight shopping still a thing?
For busy executives (and other travellers) who would like to bring back a gift or present, this is heaven-sent. Also, some airlines offer exclusive items you simply cannot buy anywhere else. And it'...
- 571
28
votes
Why is onboard/inflight shopping still a thing?
As other answers have pointed out, the mere fact that airlines still do it proves that it earns them money. But why would it make money even if most people don’t buy?
You have very good conditions ...
- 15.9k
27
votes
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Crossing a border several times to increase duty free allowance
To answer your question (and also limit the answer to entering Norway), Norwegian custom rules only allow you to make use of the duty free allowance once every 24 hour.
Quoting from Norwegian Custom'...
- 53.5k
25
votes
Does bought duty-free count towards cabin luggage allowance?
It varies per airline and might change over time. Keeping some kind of updated list here will be impossible so I will just give two examples to prove it.
Finnair:
Please note that any items you ...
- 2,424
19
votes
Why is onboard/inflight shopping still a thing?
The crew come through with a trolley of merchandise - that nobody buys.
I did a quick price comparison for alcohol - I live in a locale whose sin taxes are among the top 10 in the world - in the ...
- 291
18
votes
Duty Free in the USA. Why do I have to be given my purchase as I board the plane?
When boarding the plane there were several others who had to pick up their sealed duty free bags (why sealed?) so it wasn't just me. No explanation was given.
This is an "Official Security Bag&...
- 2,077
15
votes
Crossing a border several times to increase duty free allowance
Beyond that specific case, there are a number of rules that can be used to make sure duty-free allowances are difficult to abuse (not all of them might apply to any one country and some might be ...
- 104k
15
votes
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Is it mandatory to show the boarding pass at a duty free shop in the UK?
This answer only applies to the UK.
tl;dr: only sometimes.
Purchasing items from export shops (formerly ‘duty free shops’).
You are legally required to present your boarding pass to export shops, but ...
- 37.1k
14
votes
Does bought duty-free count towards cabin luggage allowance?
Even though many airlines are relatively lenient when it comes to enforcement of hand luggage limitations, there are usually no exemptions for items bought duty free.
Anything else would have been ...
- 53.5k
13
votes
Why is onboard/inflight shopping still a thing?
I really like Mark's answer. And while certain passengers may not find value in airline shopping the fact that it is profitable for the airline should make us all happy. As long as such profit ...
- 1,026
13
votes
Carrying gifted alcohol in check-in baggage, will I be able to shop duty-free at Mumbai International Airport?
The problem is not so much what they let you buy, but rather what they let you bring into the country without paying taxes. Whether you did pay taxes or not in the origin country is not relevant, the ...
- 67k
13
votes
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Do you need to actually be flying somewhere in order to buy alcohol duty free at the airport?
Don’t remember the exact layout in Sydney, but in most airports (if not all), you can’t get to the duty-free shops without going through immigration (where applicable) and security, which you ...
- 67k
13
votes
Accepted
A few questions about transfering from domestic to international in Novosibirsk, Russia
You will be able to access shops in domestic area of LED, but not Duty Free ones. You will only have access to domestic departures area in St. Petersburg airport.
Of course, flight from LED to OVB is ...
- 11.8k
11
votes
Why isn't there ever duty free stores when I land?
Because you don't land at the right airports.
Several British airports have Duty Free on arrival, certainly Heathrow from my personal experience and I believe Manchester. I've heard of others.
There ...
- 63.8k
10
votes
Is there a way to not be forced to go through the duty free area at Heathrow Terminal 3 for accessibility reasons?
Sadly, the answer appears to be no, if you're starting your journey at Heathrow Terminal 3.
When I got to Heathrow Terminal 3's pre-security assistance desk, they told me that the airport was not ...
- 3,653
9
votes
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How much alcohol can I bring into Benin?
From the IATA TravelCentre:
Import regulations:
Free import by tourists over 15 years of age:
200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 25 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco;
1 bottle of wine and 1 bottle of ...
- 1,108
9
votes
Accepted
Duty Free Shopping in Dubai during 2 Hour Layover
Assuming your flights are on time and you've already checked in for your connecting flight, then yes, easily. Dubai is (usually) quite efficient and organized, and even if you need to go through ...
- 98.5k
9
votes
I am bringing three laptops into Japan (Two for my personal/work reason and one used one for gift), could this be a problem to customs?
The Japanese customs states:
Personal effects and unaccompanied baggage for personal use are free of duty and/or tax within the allowance specified below.
There is an exemption for your personal and ...
- 20.5k
8
votes
Why is onboard/inflight shopping still a thing?
When you don't have time to buy the items that you want at the duty free, this is very helpful.
Last summer I went to Japan with my girlfriend, and she wanted to buy cigarettes at the duty free ...
- 209
8
votes
Traveling to UK and have laptop gift for partner. Will I have to pay any import taxes?
As HMG's page on the subject says:
Your duty-free allowance means you can bring in a certain amount of goods for your own use from outside the European Union (EU) without paying duty or tax. When ...
- 9,376
7
votes
Why is onboard/inflight shopping still a thing?
In addition to what has already been pointed out (that the perception 'nobody buys' is not correct), I would add that the sales people are already there and, as required by the aviation safety ...
- 171
7
votes
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Gold Jewelry - Any limit?
If you bought your girlfriend jewelry while she was living abroad, then it is her personal possession. If she comes to the US for a visit she is permitted to bring them with her, just as if she had ...
- 63.8k
7
votes
Accepted
VAT refund for tourists in UK?
No in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and ‘maybe’ in Northern Ireland.
You can only buy tax-free goods from shops in Great Britain if they’re delivered straight to an address outside the ...
- 30.9k
7
votes
Accepted
What is my duty-free allowance when returning to the USA as a citizen?
The conditions applying to each exemption amount may be found at https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/types-exemptions
In short, if you don't qualify for the usual exemption because ...
- 129k
6
votes
Can I buy "non-EU destination" priced duty-free when connecting through a second EU airport?
Yes, you can do this. I do this every time from AMS when connecting to the USA or Asia through another EU airport (CPH mostly in my case, though I've done it through LHR too). As long as you show them ...
- 1,602
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible