Inflight Sales Group wins Northwest Airlines contract

Gavin Lipsith

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Inflight Sales Group (Hong Kong) takes over the inflight retail offer on the Asia-focused US airline from April 1

Inflight Sales Group has been awarded a five-year contract to operate inflight duty-free on board Northwest Airlines. The retailer confirmed that it would be changing the offer to better reflect the carrier’s Asian focus.

Northwest is the only US carrier other than United Airlines that is authorised to fly to Japan, and many of its routes focus on the hubs of Tokyo Narita and Osaka Kansai airports. As a result the passenger profile is heavily skewed towards Japanese traffic, and ISG Hong Kong managing director Tony Detter told RavenFox.com that he expected routes out of Tokyo—in particular those to Guam, Singapore, Seoul and Saipan—to be the most profitable.

Detter said: “This is a very exciting new contract for us, and fits with our Asian portfolio as it is more of an Asian airline than a US one. We will be changing the magazine based on our understanding of Asian passengers. We will be moving away from the more North American offer and in particular the European cosmetics and fragrances selection to better reflect the passenger needs, and introducing more specialist brands for that market—particularly in the jewellery category.”

Northwest was one of the several US airlines to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the aftermath of September 11 2001 and the resulting downturn in air travel. But Detter said he was confident of the airline’s future. “We’re very confident. It is emerging as a very strong airline again, and of all the US airlines to file for Chapter 11, it is the only one that has been able to self-finance its reorganisation, which indicates that its prospects are good.”

The contract begins on April 1 and includes an option to extend after the initial five years. Duty Free Air & Ship Supply was the previous incumbent on board Northwest.