INFLIGHT: GEBR. HEINEMANN


dealt, and new cards come into play all the time,” he continues. The evolution of airside duty free


has taken warp-speed steps in recent years and is an obvious competitor for onboard sales. As a major player on both sides of


the court, Heinemann has the inside track on the ground and in the air but, again, Baumgartner sees a clear separation of church and state. “There have been talks and


even trials for a new retail strategy as regards a wider co-operation between the airlines, the airports (landlords) and the airport retailer (often Gebr. Heinemann, but sometimes not),” he explains and adds: “It’s good that we keep seeking new ways to grow market share but my team’s role in the company is to support the airlines to grow their business as much as possible and with that comes a good and healthy internal competition.”


Digital inevitability The other major competitive threat – as well as opportunity – is technology. As airlines like AirAsia are already demonstrating, the biggest consideration is perhaps the inevitable move towards a wholly-digitalised environment, where seamless connectivity will support inflight retail opportunity at multiple touchpoints. Nose-to-tail connectivity solutions


developer SITAOnAir’s Portfolio Manager Philippe Combe believes that the creation of tailored traveller offers and experiences based on passenger data will cement the future of onboard ancillary revenue. The company has worked with


Emirates to deliver personalised inflight connectivity linked to the carrier’s Skywards frequent flyer programme. This offers special benefits to


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Heinemann partner Ryanair grew its traffic by 6% to 9.3m passengers in January. Source: Ryanair


airlines, whereby integration of an open platforms system will enable connectivity from internet and mobile to inflight services. Baumgartner views the potential


of e-commerce connectivity as just one of the answers for keeping inflight retail a fixture of the travel experience, but plays devil’s advocate. “Building a digital relationship


with your passengers and customers will also drive sales and many airlines are working intensely on developing this further,” he says. “But I want to highlight one point


– most people who have planned to buy something, will buy it at an airport. “Those who have not planned to


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buy something, very often are not ‘reachable’ by airport retailers when the passenger just wants to get to their seat on the plane as quick and smoothly as possible. “Therefore, the opportunity for an


different tier-level members and is also supporting carrier Saudia with an enhanced inflight Wi-Fi portal featuring a ‘world-first’ e-ticket solution for first and business class travelers that lets them access free inflight Wi-Fi. This is just the starting point for


next-generation onboard retail, according to Combe, who views this as a ‘partnership journey’ with the


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impulse sale is still great and we just need to trigger that impulse.” This translates to ensuring that the


fundamentals of the convenience factor – an attractive price and the golden ticket that is an onboard exclusive – are firmly in place.


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Staff retention One way Heinemann seeks to stay ahead of the curve is through its Airline Forum, which runs in May for its airline customers, allowing airlines and concessionaires to meet face to face with key suppliers to discuss new assortments onboard. However, there is another


John Baumgartner, Gebr. Heinemann


TRBUSINESS 31


greater consideration, he sees this competence as central to market success and the continued surety of one of travel retail’s iconic passenger travel experiences. «


“I am concerned that we in the airline retail market, at all levels in the value chain, are losing many good and competent people and we are not investing in our channel.”


Baumgartner, all parties in the value chain “must allow each other to make decent business profit – starting from the airlines but also valid in the case of the concessionaire, the distributors and the suppliers”. A conundrum that deserves


element that travels the entire length of the value chain that has Baumgartner worried. “I am concerned that we in the


airline retail market, at all levels in the value chain, are losing many good and competent people and we are not investing in our channel due to the extremely tight commercial conditions we all live with,” he moves to point out. “When we lose competence and


focus, we lose the opportunity to provide world-class services, the retail offering suffers and we will sell less, meaning that the negative trend continues.” The solution? According to


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