Qantas ends in-flight duty free shopping

Australia’s leading airline Qantas has confirmed that it will no longer offer in-flight duty free shopping to passengers.

The airline confirmed that it would bring an end to in-flight duty free shopping as of January 2018 to TR Business via Alpha Flight Services, which manages the airline’s onboard offer and 72-page ‘In Sky Shopping’ catalogue.

In a statement, Alpha Flight Service duty free manager Lenelle Williams said: “I can confirm that Qantas have made the decision to discontinue their traditional offering of inflight duty free and are taking the opportunity to realign their retail channels in response to changes in customer demand and retail-buying patterns.

“The offering of In Sky Shopping Duty Free will cease from 1st January 2018, with the last flight departing the Australian ports on 31st December 2017.”

Qantas management is said to now be exploring alternatives to the traditional seat-side shopping experience. However airline’s decision was reported to have been made in response to the changing shopping habits of consumers, with the rise of online shopping leading to a decline in in-flight duty free sales on Qantas flights. Online retail giant Amazon only launched in Australia this week.

The Australian airline had offered the service for the past 13 years.