Inflight gathering focuses on challenges ahead

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Delegates at the 11th Airline Executive Meeting, held Friday at the Hotel Gray d'Albion, received mixed messages regarding the state of the inflight retail business

Delegates at the 11th Airline Executive Meeting, held Friday at the Hotel Gray d'Albion, received mixed messages regarding the state of the inflight retail business. Lemantrade managing director Fernand Lang struck an optimistic note, while Generation of Sweden owner Yngve Bia was more cautious in his appraisal of the climate.

In his opening remarks, Lang acknowledged that the business had suffered greatly in the past two years from the combined effects on passenger numbers of war, SARS, and security fears, but hoped that the time had come for a turn around in the business. ?The most important thing to remember is that we have survived,? said Lang. ?We must look to the future, and I believe that future is bright.?

Bia acknowledged that traffic and sales had improved of late, but pointed out that inflight sales is still in a period of decline, with sales having decreased every year from 1995, with a slight upturn in 2002. ?It is a fact that over the past five to six years, we have seen a continuous decline in inflight sales,? said Bia. ?Sales last year were at the same level as in 1992, so these are not cheerful figures.? Bia paid tribute to the success achieved by low-cost and charter airlines in maximizing sales during a difficult period, and said he hoped that the coming year would bring an improvement in the business overall.

The meeting also featured a presentation by MyTravel UK Airways cabin services director Samantha Mackie and inflight retail manager Christine Bowie, outlining the business model implemented by the airline to increase sales. Mackie said that MyTravel UK had not suffered from the same bad experiences of many airlines in inflight retail, and put this down to strong support for the channel from senior management, engaging the enthusiasm of cabin crew for inflight sales, and an openness to other revenue streams, such as inflight advertising. She explained that the airline had made a great effort to educate its staff to the benefits to the company and crew member of sales, and to ensure that all staff were fully briefed on the products they sell. ?We engage our crew members and change their thinking to get them to buy into the business and sales culture, with full briefings, sales targets and incentives,? said Mackie.