UAE. Etihad Airways is to keep its inflight duty free service in-house after considering the merits of outsourcing.
As revealed by The Moodie Davitt Report, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier last year began an extensive review of its inflight retail business. It issued a Request for Proposals with potential external concessions last June.
Having studied the responses, the airline has opted to maintain the status quo. An Etihad Airways spokesperson said: “Following the review we took on our inflight duty free offer during 2016, the airline will be keeping the service in-house but we are continuing to explore ways to grow the service both commercially and for the benefit of our passengers.”
In February this year Etihad Aviation Group and Deutsche Lufthansa concluded a US$100 million global catering agreement as part of a wider commercial partnership. The four-year catering contract will see Lufthansa’s LSG Sky Chefs provide catering services to Etihad Airways in 16 cities in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
The companies also outlined plans to broaden their commercial partnership in the future, with passenger services among the areas being explored (the agreement also covers aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul).
Lufthansa, like Etihad, operates its inflight duty free programme in-house.
