FRANCE. DutyFly Solutions is set to begin a new contract to run duty free and buy-on-board services with French carrier XL Airways from 1 December. It recently won a tender for the business. It is the first buy-on-board contract for DutyFly, the joint venture between Lagardère Travel Retail and Servair.
DutyFly Solutions Marketing & Commercial Director Baptiste Duguit told The Moodie Davitt Report: “We are very pleased to begin this business and have already developed a superb relationship with XL Airways. It is very significant for us and can be a template for our approach to other airlines.
“Buy-on-board is a rising trend in the industry and we are seeing more and more of it on long-haul. But it need to be done with quality. There are two opportunities here. One is the direct business opportunity, plus there is the opportunity to involve the crew much more in the retail.”
XL Airways offers a mix of scheduled and charter services from Paris Charles de Gaulle to the Caribbean and USA. Destinations include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort-de-France, Réunion, Mayotte, Cancún, Punta Cana and Puerto Plata.
The airline offers one meal to long-haul travellers, beyond which food and drink are for purchase. The food menu will feature snacks, sandwiches and tapas items, as well as wines & spirits, cocktails and soft drinks. Beauty leads the duty free offer and there is a strong fashion & accessories focus.
“We will manage this operation from our Paris base, through our own warehouse and facilities, and it complements what we do there with Air France and Transavia,” said Duguit. “Unlike other operators we don’t have to sub-contract the catering. Importantly the IT will be the same system for both duty free and buy-on-board, making it easy for crew to use. We will also be introducing our own tablets in 2017, and these will provide better connectivity and will be user-friendly for crew.”
The catalogue will be renewed every six months, in December and June. XL Airways carried 600,000 passengers in 2015.
