I can’t think of a time I’ve ever used duty free shopping. To me, I can’t see myself lugging merchandise halfway across the world that I could just get at home, even at a slightly higher price. Besides, I have no use for fancy pen sets, plush toys, or expensive watches, since that’s not the aspect of traveling that fancies me and makes me want to come back.
In any event, it looks like American Airlines has eliminated duty free shopping aboard their flights, thanks to an update to their website.
Interestingly, all of AA’s duty free websites and catalogs appear to have been taken offline, too, so it looks like this change takes effect immediately.
I’ve never purchased anything on AA’s duty free site, but maybe you have. Will you miss this feature or has duty free shopping gone by the wayside?
HT: Traveling Better
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
Delta also eliminated duty free sometime last year. KLM still has a rather extensive duty free selection. I “think” a lot has to do with your target markets. IMO, most consumer items are cheaper in the USA; so if you are an airline that has a fair number of USA residents (like AA, DL, UA) a vast majority of your passengers are going to refrain from purchasing duty free.