People who buy duty-free on planes

[MidnightPatrol]

Who are you, and why do you shop when on the plane?

The items all seem quite random and their airports usually have extensive shopping opportunities.

I think on every flight I’ve been on the air hostess push the trolly down the aisle purely because they’re obliged to, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone purchase anything.

Is it just an anachronism the airlines are yet to get rid of as there’s a slight chance of increased revenue?

At one stage my DH was regularly flying and I all my birthday, Xmas presents were bought on board , mostly jewellery or perfume. Took me a while to figure it out but at least they were nice and he got out of actually shopping.

I wish easyJet would drop it on early morning flights
You have cabin crew literally screeching on the mic about their "boutique" coming through with detail about all the so say offers. On and on and you can't shut it out
Being on a 6am flight and up at something like 2am and trying to nap makes me want to commit homicide

What airline and class are you flying?

easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair - you pay for food and drink onboard

Purchase all kinds of things on Tui flights. The perfume is cheaper than airport duty free with the additional 20% off offer and £12 for a bottle of Bombay Saphire gin - bargain! Can’t beat perfume on a cruise ship though if they have it on sale - got £100 bottles of very good brands of perfume for £40 each. Couldn’t find a better deal in any duty free airport!

I've never seen anything in Duty Free in the terminal that was good value for money except a few crazy large Lego sets. I don't buy perfume so can't comment on that. The kids always comment how overpriced the chocolate is (they go by per kg). On the plane the value for money only seems worse again.

I bought some make up, perfume and a title soft toy on plane last month. Me and dd looked through magazine and code them as price was good. Not sure the fluffy bear thing was strictly necessary but it’s a nice thing to do on a flight. Obviously boredom is a factor!

My DH bought aftershave on the plane last week as did my Dad, because we were rushed in the airport and didn't really get time to browse and he'd ran out, my Dad bought it because it was a good price.

Many many years ago I had a voucher that could only be spent on the plane, £40 whisky was bought with that voucher.

I rarely make a purchase on the plane, however last year I bought a bottle of Tan-Luxe drops as the airline had an extra % discount so was way cheaper than in any uk store.

I did nab a bargain in Duty Free this year on Clarins handcream-they'd slashed the price so after a quick price google & currency conversion found it was nearly £10 cheaper than UK.

I used to buy the cigarettes

Same. I usually have a look at the inflight magazine online before we go to see what is on offer. When travelling with TUI in August they had SJP Lovely which is my day to day perfume at a reasonable price on the plane, but then announced there was another 20% off which made it around £12. Bargain. They had the same offer on the plane home and I wish I’d got another one.

Don't go on these ones, missed that in the OP.

OK, Princess Di 😉 but you are now aware that some airlines (not just the ones named by the PP) charge for food and drink - every day is a school day, huh?

"As far as I know they were just ordinary ones - they weren't being advertised as for a charity or anything."

They are for charity and they can't wait until they get home because you can only buy them on a Ryanair flight.

"My mum is a smoker and says that duty-free cigarettes are cheaper on the Ryanair plane than in the airport. Also Ryanair make you put dutyfree into your bag before boarding so if you buy it on board it doesn’t eat into your baggage allowance."

They are cheaper if you buy 600 but the baggage allowance thing is nonsense. They don't, and can't, do that.

BA don’t have on board duty free sales anymore. I used to unite enjoy looking through the catalogue. I think you can order in advance from their website and have it delivered on your flight.

There is a a particular face cream that I use and love and know the price. There is a travel exclusive size available on the flight that is not in the airports. So I usually buy it when I fly if I am running low.

I understand that some items on the plane work out cheaper when they add the special offer discounts? And most things in the airport duty free aren't worth buying (except maybe tobacco/cigarettes?)

I don't buy myself as they don't tend to be things I use but I see plenty of other people doing so.

I do, however, always buy some of the overpriced snacks and drinks - I don't think it's any more costly than in the airport.

Which airlines are selling Duty Free? I haven't seen that i
since the early 90s 😂 Is it just the "cheap and cheerful" holiday companies?

For context, I've flown Delta, Icelandair, United, BA and Virgin pretty regularly and have never seen this as an adult (and I'm pushing 50).

The woman in front of me bought skincare sets on a flight recently. I can only assume that she had too much to drink, because I was astounded at the price she paid. I can’t remember the brand, but something quite basic like L’Oréal

When we flew Easyjet this year they had 2 litres bottles of Bombay Sapphire for £28. I needed to buy a thank you present for someone so it was 1 for them & 1 for me. First time I've bought more than a cup of tea for years.

I’m sure they offered it on a flight last week. Although I didn’t buy any.

I do buy on the plane when the spirit cabinet needs topping up.