Inflight expert Joe Harvey is calling for the creation of a ‘full 360-degree lifecycle partnership’ in order to mitigate against the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

Speaking as part of the TRBusiness Adapt & Survive Skype video series, Harvey believes a model should be implemented where everybody on the supply chain is looked after and all parties work together.

He said: “If people start squeezing each other for tighter margins, or start saying they are not paying for things like advertising or listings fees, there will be no investment in the trade press, for example.

“People such as those building the stands at the exhibitions will also be forgotten.”

He added: “Everybody needs to be taken in and told to work together as an overall partnership in order to try and do what is best for the industry.

“If the airlines try to squeeze more money out of the concessionaires, the standard of the product offer will be impacted.

“Concessionaires will then try to squeeze money out of the retailers, which in turn will be unable to offer certain products and things like that.”

“We all need to work together to ultimately offer what is best for passengers when they come back.”

“The crucial part for me is being able to attract passengers back with fabulous offers in airports, which provide good value, high-quality products and manage the spend capacity among the different types of consumers emerging from the pandemic.”

Adapt and Survive asks members of the travel retail industry community, often working from home, for their candid commentary on the constantly evolving Covid-19 pandemic.

The video series is a direct response to the industry’s critical need for direct, factual and analytical commentary and – in typical TRBusiness fashion – interprets clearly and concisely the challenges faced by travel retail during Covid-19.

To register your interest in the Adapt and Survive series, please contact one of the editorial team at the following addresses: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].