UAE. In a major contract coup for LSG-owned Retail inMotion, Etihad Airways has appointed the company as its inflight retail partner.
Etihad hailed Retail inMotion’s track record of managing onboard retail programmes, adding that it would provide the UAE carrier “with extensive customer insight and innovation to deliver a wider range of products to greatly personalise the customer journey”. The agreement will include management of the Etihad Boutique Duty Free programme.
The partners said: “Working closely with Etihad Airways, Retail inMotion, a fully integrated member of the industry-leading LSG Group, will provide advanced premium onboard retail solutions for the airline’s new range of carefully selected catering, beverage and amenity items. This range will be offered for purchase [a first for the airline in catering terms -Ed] to Etihad’s guests as a supplement to their award-winning complimentary inflight service.”
“We are enormously excited to announce our partnership with Etihad, one of the most prestigious airlines in the world,” said Retail inMotion CEO Stefan Patermann. “Our absolute commitment is to the airline and their valued guests, providing market-leading products, services and technology to promote Etihad as a global lifestyle brand.”
Etihad Airways Vice President Guest Experience and Delivery Linda Celestino said: “Etihad is now firmly established as one of the most recognisable and celebrated airline brands, with a reputation for superlative service and innovation, continuously setting new global benchmarks for the inflight experience. By working with industry experts Retail inMotion, we will now be able to push the boundaries of personalisation even further by evolving our proposition to not only include our acclaimed complimentary full-service model, but to provide wider choice and allowing guests to customise their journey with us.”
Etihad Airways will implement Retail inMotion’s proprietary onboard retail management software, Vector, to capture and process payments on board, and run data analytics to ensure optimised products and services. Additionally, Retail inMotion will implement various retail services, including range development, category management, crew training, catalogue design, and provide guidance in the use of the Retail inMotion technology.
In February 2017, Etihad Airways and the LSG Group signed a partnership agreement to cooperate across various aspects of catering and inflight services. The four-year catering contract was part of a wider commercial agreement between Etihad and Deutsche Lufthansa. (Note: EAS Catering manages Etihad’s inflight catering business in Abu Dhabi and overseas through its network outstations. LSG provides catering services as a supplier in several Etihad destinations.)
The partners said: “The selection of Retail inMotion builds on this joint commitment beyond classic catering to hybrid inflight concepts and digital services.”
As we reported last year, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier began an extensive review of its inflight retail business in 2016, issuing a Request for Proposals in June that year. It later decided to keep the business in-house before making the recent decision to outsource.
*For a major recent profile of Retail inMotion and an interview with CEO Stefan Patermann, click here.
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