COMMENT ‘Wait and see’ on BA’s retail plans
Now and Then... A
news in brief column in the November 2000
edition of The Duty Free Business pointed to British Airways attempting to offload its ‘no-frills’ airline Go, which was set up in 1998.
The airline, popular for operating flights
from Stansted to European destinations, was sold in 2001 in a management buyout linked to private equity firm 3i, before merging with easyJet in 2002. In November 2000, Go boasted no retail
offer aside catering services from Alpha Onboard Sales & Services. Until the sale, operating a low-cost carrier subsidiary was high on BA’s agenda. Two decades on – and following the
demise of some notable carriers such as Flybe, Thomas Cook and Wow Air – the aviation industry, BA included, is facing immeasurable pain due to the impacts of Covid-19. In the wake of the crisis, BA announced it
was shedding 12,000 jobs earlier this year, but has attracted criticism for the handling of the cuts and a restructuring programme that has left it embroiled in union disputes. The airline confirmed to TRBusiness that
the High Life and High Life Shop publications have not been on board since the end of March and that High Life Shop online has also been suspended since that time. However, a note on
highlifeshop.com at
the time of writing (5 November) promised the service would ‘be back soon with many new features’. Alongside the onboard retail proposition,
BA also recently confirmed to TRBusiness that its buy-on-board contract with Marks & Spencer had ended and a new proposition was due to be announced soon. This issue, Tourvest Retail Services told
Senior Editor Andrew Pentol that there is currently ‘no food and beverage boutique or duty free retail proposition on BA’. Clive Jones, CEO, Tourvest Retail Services
said: “They have been a fantastic partner during the pandemic. It has bought us closer as organisations to support one another. We are working together to find the best time by which to re-launch retail.
46 TRBUSINESS
The Business explores the decision to cut contract guarantees by 40% in Honolulu.
“There is an appetite to continue the good
work we have done together in terms of inflight retail.” While Tourvest had previously run a
standalone pre-order site, it will now invest in a full omnichannel e-commerce platform. Jones added: “This was about to be
launched pre-Covid. As a result of the pandemic, we have placed that on hold. “It was something that we are obviously
working on with British Airways. We are in a much more advanced stage of this with them. “BA will be making an announcement as
to the way forward. It is exciting. Digital retail is the future from a food and beverage and duty free perspective. We are excited about what the future holds in that respect.” A hint to the retail & F&B path for the
UK flag carrier comes after it announced in September that its popular High Life magazine would be moving to
ba.com. The print version of the magazine, which enjoyed a 47-year spell onboard, will remain available in limited quantities in BA’s lounges and will be sent directly to selected frequent flyers. The online magazine will also now include
a new section for ‘Business Life’ that will replace its current on-board hard copy. «
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NOVEMBER 2020
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