Last week, Finnair announced it was joining the growing list of airlines discontinuing their in-flight and pre-order retail sales. This includes cosmetics, gifts, and accessories. The airline cited low customer demand and the need to reduce overall take-off weight as the main reasons for its decision.

According to InterLnkd – which enables travel companies to earn a new and free revenue stream from fashion, beauty and retail products – airlines should not have to compromise on ancillary revenue opportunities.

CEO Barry Klipp said: “The news from Finnair shows in-flight and pre-order ‘collect onboard’ retail is slowly becoming a relic of a bygone era, as airlines struggle to reconcile the costly and complex logistics with their drive to improve fuel efficiency and streamline their ancillary strategies.

“The reality that many airlines overlook, however, is that putting an end to traditional in-flight retail doesn’t mean saying goodbye to ancillary revenues from fashion, beauty and retail products. In fact, airlines can now capitalise on the lucrative holiday retail market at no cost – as long as they know exactly what their travellers need and want.

“The average person spends £270 (approx. USD 326.21) on fashion, beauty and retail products for their upcoming holiday, mostly through online purchases from their favourite brands. Rather than stocking and selling a limited selection of products with on-board or airport collection, airlines should seek to earn revenue by offering customers the items they actually need and want for the holidays they have booked.

“In a world of unlimited choice and next-day delivery, choosing from a handful of brands and only getting them on departure day doesn’t sound as attractive anymore. This is why we’ve developed an ancillary revenue solution that helps airlines curate the most relevant products for a customer’s booking, from over 1000 major brands across fashion, beauty and retail – enabling them to a revenue stream from the items they would purchase anyway.

“The key to this zero-risk approach is simple: using personalisation to stimulate demand. While traditional pre-order and in-flight retail may not have been sustainable for the likes of Finnair, offering customers the right products at the right time is much more effective in delivering the motivation to purchase.”