Finnair has announced that its inflight retail service will end on 28 February. The decision comes in response to changes in passengers’ shopping habits and fits within the airline’s strategy of moving towards greater sustainability.
“Onboard and pre-order shopping has become a less important service among our customers,” explained Valtteri Helve, Head of Product Offering at Finnair.
“In spring 2020, we announced that we were discontinuing inflight sales on our flights within the EU as part of our goal to reduce the overall weight of the aircraft and now it is time to take the next step and discontinue them worldwide,” added Helve.
Inflight shopping is currently still available on Finnair’s long-haul flights, services from the UK and to the Canary Islands, Dubai, Egypt, Iceland, Israel, Switzerland and Turkey.
“Food and beverage sales on flights will of course continue, and we will continue to develop our service,” continued the Head of Product Offering.
The Finnish flag carrier has observed a growing trend among passengers to buy products through the Finnair online shop.
Removing inflight retail products from its fleet will help Finnair reduce the weight on aircraft. In turn, this will contribute towards lower fuel usage, resulting in cost savings. From an environmental perspective, the weight reduction will result in lower emissions.
To mark the end of its inflight retail service, Finnair has launched a final discount campaign. Savings of up to 40% are available on products such as cosmetics, accessories and gifts that are pre-ordered or bought onboard.
Customers can pre-order products for all flights with a duration of more than two hours.
Pre-ordered products will be delivered for flights until 18 April, despite the onboard retail service being discontinued in February.
As before, Finnair Plus members will be able to buy Finnair Plus awards and products, and order home delivery products from the Finnair Shop.
The airline’s passengers will still be able to pre-order meals and buy onboard snacks and beverages during flights.
