Duty Free Americas (DFA) is relishing the opportunity to maximise the potential of the inflight retail sector through its new strategic partnership with Ukraine International Airlines (UIA).

Details of the partnership between DFA and UIA, which is based around a new pre-order concept was first revealed by TRBusiness in April. The agreement marks DFA’s first entry into Europe and first real foray into inflight retail.

A launch event marking the commencement of the programme took place on 12 June at Kiev Boryspil International Airport Terminal D (near gate 11) and was attended by around 50 people including senior officials from the airline and DFA. TRBusiness was the sole travel retail media at the inauguration.

As reported, a pilot flight from Kiev Boryspil to New York John F Kennedy International Airport on June 12 gave passengers the chance to purchase a selection of products from the trolley.

PRE-ORDER IMMINENT

The traditional duty free trolley concept is expected to be available across the entire UIA network in the coming weeks ahead of the launch of the pre-order service in July.

From next month, passengers will receive a link to the online pre-order store via e-mail or other software such as Viber together with their boarding pass.

They will then have access to a curated collection of fragrances, elite spirits and wines, fashion accessories, electronics, special souvenirs and travel essentials before their flights. All goods pre-ordered online will be delivered on board.

Dov Falic, Vice President, Duty Free Americas told TRBusiness: “This partnership made sense because UIA has a strategy to accelerate inflight retail sales when other airlines are reducing their inflight duty free programmes. This aggressiveness will make for a strong partnership.”

He added: “We are very enthusiastic about the pre-order element of the business which was UIA’s main focus and agree with their approach. Inflight retail is clearly heading in a certain direction and we are excited for this part of the business.”

Aylon Sheva, Purchasing Director, Duty Free Americas, who will supervise the project on behalf of  DFA describes the pre-order element as a potential game-changer. He told TRBusiness: “The online pre-order site will be integrated within the Ukraine International Airlines website. The concept allows us to extend our portfolio and represents an excellent opportunity. Who knows where it will lead in the future?”

The main focus for DFA and UIA is clearly the pre-order element. But the importance of the trolley, which will predominantly be filled with pre-ordered items must not be underestimated. This is because it will also comprise a selection of items to accommodate passengers who forget to pre-order particular items and do not have time to purchase at the airport.

Falic remarked: “We are confident we can still draw sales from the trolley because there is a very small transit time in Kiev meaning passengers may not have time to visit the duty free stores.

“The trolley will be an important part of the business, but our focus is on driving sales through pre-order.”

PRODUCT SELECTION

In terms of product selection Falic, who reveals the company is not actively seeking further inflight retail contracts, but will entertain such opportunities if they ‘make sense’, commented: “We are working diligently with UIA to select the right products and will have a wide assortment of 5,000 items because of the pre-order element.”

Pressed by TRBusiness on the importance of crew training and the need for them to continue driving sales amid the strong focus on pre-order, Falic explained: “Crew training is still going to be a major focal point.

“UIA has many repeat travellers and if the crew are well trained and armed with expert knowledge of products being delivered to passengers onboard or sold from the trolley, they will come back to us.”

Outlining the company’s aims and objectives for the first year of the project, he concluded: “We are going to be very aggressive. This will definitely be a learning curve for UIA and DFA, but we have very important key performance indicators which we want to reach.”

Look out for an exclusive interview with Sergey Fomenko, Vice President Commerce, Ukraine International Airlines.