NEWS
S.KOREA: DUTY-FREE BOOZE SHOPPING IS TOP ATTRACTION FOR FLIGHTS TO NOWHERE PASSENGERS
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
17-6-2021
Source: Lotte Duty Free
According to data from Korea Customs Service, some 16,000 South Korean passengers have taken a ride on 152 flights to nowhere up until May this year. The top attraction is interestingly duty-free shopping, with wines and spirits being the most popular category.
A total of USD20 million has been spent on duty-free booze, data showed nearly half of the passengers have spent more than USD600 on them.
Seven South Korean airlines have offered the flights. Of the seven airlines operating flights to nowhere, Asiana Airlines low-cost subsidiary Air Busan operated the most, with 35 flights.
Jeju Air has run 34 flights, followed by Jin Air with 33 flights. Trailing but still active in the flights to nowhere space are T’way Air, Air Seoul, Asiana, and Korean Air.
While flights to nowhere in many other countries are about recapturing the flying experience, but in South Korea it’s all about duty-free shopping.
Bloomberg news agency recently reported a two-hour flight to nowhere on Air Busan. It was organised by global duty-free retailer Lotte for 130 of its best customers. This flight was one of six flights to nowhere organized by Lotte in May alone.
These customers paid nothing for the flight. But they were expected to spend big on Lotte duty-free.
Bloomberg said the flight briefly enter Japanese airspace, which helps legitimise duty-free purchases.
“I saw a lot of people with bags full of duty-free items,” one Air Busan duty-free shopper told Bloomberg. This particular shopper left her flight on the low-cost airline armed with a new Chanel handbag.
“The contribution from the flights to nowhere is small, but it’s better than having nothing,” an analyst told Bloomberg.
South Korea’s second-biggest duty-free operator, Hotel Shilla, offered two similar flights in May to its customers. Each of those flights could accommodate 114 passengers.
The Korean Customs Service says that in addition to alcohol, the passengers were spending big on cosmetics, perfumes and luxury bags as well.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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