DFASS greets American Airlines contract

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As revealed on TRW last week, the Duty Free Air & Ship Supply (DFASS) Group has consolidated its powerful presence in the inflight market by signing a long-term agreement to operate American Airlines' inflight duty-free concession

American previously operated the business in-house. The new contract begins in early 2003.

American managing director of food and beverage services and duty-free Patrick O'Keeffe said: "American's customers have come to expect excellent duty-free products onboard our international flights. We are confident that our new relationship with DFASS, a company with extensive experience in the duty-free business, will continue that tradition of excellence. This decision is consistent with American's efforts to become more efficient and reduce operating costs and complexity," added O'Keeffe. "Although our in-house programme proved successful in the past, having DFASS manage our programme will allow us to focus more resources on returning the airline to profitability."

DFASS president and ceo Bernard Klepach said: "We are very excited about this contract, and feel it's an incredible opportunity for us to work with such a world class carrier. The DFASS Group is proud to have been chosen as American's duty-free concessionaire. We are based in Miami, Florida which is a major AA hub servicing the Latin American routes. We know that this is the start of a great relationship, and we are committed to offering passengers of American Airlines a first-rate inflight duty-free service."

American, with American Eagle and the American Connection regional carriers, makes up the American Airlines network. Together they serve over 250 cities in 41 countries.
DFASS provides services to over 80 airlines worldwide.