Inflight concessionaires are competing for duty free and buy-on-board contracts across four Spanish airlines under International Airlines Group (IAG), several reliable industry sources have told TRBusiness.

Tenders for Iberia, Iberia Express, Level and Vueling are at an established stage with the results due in the coming month, it is understood.

TRBusiness can also reveal that Dutyfly Solutions – the joint venture between Lagardère Travel Retail and Servair – is bidding in partnership with gateretail to secure the concessions.

It has been suggested that the contracts could either be parcelled up and awarded as one ‘mega contract’ or splintered off into individual ones.

TOUGH COMPETITION EXPECTED

Competition for the businesses will certainly be intense. Alpha LSG and Tourvest Retail Services are among other possible suitors, although TRBusiness would like to place on record that no participation in these cases has been confirmed. Inflight Sales Group (ISG), however, is not understood to be entering.

Dutyfly Solutions defends the Iberia contract it renewed in 2016. Gateretail currently operates the inflight retail business on Vueling, Level and Iberia Express.

Separately, the much-vaunted British Airways duty free contract currently held by Tourvest Retail Services is also believed to be up for tender, although further information was not immediately available to TRBusiness at the time this report went to press.

Tourvest Inflight Retail Services (as it was formerly known) extended its contract to supply and manage British Airways’ global duty free service in 2016 at the same time as winning the rights to supply onboard food and beverages through Marks & Spencer on short-haul routes.

The new airline contracts are understood to commence in 2020 and run for around three years, according to one source.

These would align with a new catering supply contract for departure British Airways flights at London Heathrow after the carrier switched from Gate Gourmet to Austrian operator Do&Co last year.

British Airways, IAG and Tourvest Retail Services all declined to comment when approached by this publication.

Main image courtesy of Iberia.