Retail Caught Up In British Airways Switch At Heathrow And Gatwick Airports

London’s Heathrow Airport has pushed into the route territory of rival London Gatwick Airport—for the summer season at least. The UK’s only hub is now advertising itself as “the gateway to sea and sand” a positioning traditionally held by Gatwick and by Britain’s regional airports.

The marketing move from London Heathrow underlines the extent to which Covid-19 has decimated its long-haul network—and also shows the power of the U.K. flag carrier British Airways. The airline’s decision to shift much of its holiday short-haul network from Gatwick is a blow, but is a boost for Heathrow. In return, Gatwick has picked up some long-haul summer routes from BA.

How the retail offers at the two airports cope is another story. They are geared to different passenger profiles. Whether Heathrow’s luxury boutiques such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton will get much footfall or sales from travelers seeking summer sea and sun in Europe’s Mediterranean hotspots is debatable.

Meanwhile, in addition to their usual European summer sunseekers, the mainly mainstream and mid-market retailers at Gatwick will now serve typically high-spending BA travelers jetting off to long-haul, high-end Caribbean destinations like Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica and St. Lucia.

A Gatwick spokesperson said: “We are pleased that British Airways is resuming long-haul services from Gatwick. We hope the airline’s short-haul services also return to the airport in coming months.” This is likely to be September at the earliest, but in the meantime other airlines, notably low-cost carriers like easyJet and Wizz Air can fill in some of the gaps left by BA.

According to Heathrow its summer network—which includes 25 new low-cost ‘sun’ destinations—follows decisions from various airlines to consolidate their operations into what is Britain’s only hub airport. The busiest gateway in Europe says that it has “numerous routes that are brand new to the airport including Dubrovnik, Genoa and Verona.” The routes come as a raft of safety protocols and the adoption of technology have been put in place due to Covid-19.

Today, Heathrow released its first half results showing a slide in retail revenue of 56% to £150 million ($165 million) due to severely reduced passenger numbers down 60%. Although retail revenue per passenger increased by 11% to almost £10 the airport said the rise was “largely distorted due to the reduced passenger numbers.”

Passenger behavior has changed

The gateway says it has transformed its food and retail experience in anticipation of what it hopes will be an influx of summer travelers. It is highlighting its more mixed and mainstream retailers such as World Duty Free, the electronics specialist Dixons Travel and the Harry Potter Shop.

Ross Baker, Heathrow’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “With our departure boards filling up with short-haul, low-cost destinations, travellers may be surprised with what’s on offer (when they) find themselves at Heathrow’s doors for the first time.”

Shops, cafés and restaurants all now accept contactless payment, and by using the Heathrow app or the online Heathrow Boutique service, passengers are able to shop fully contact-free experience. In one week in July, the Heathrow app saw more takeaway food orders than for the whole of 2019, reflecting the persistence of coronavirus concerns.

To boost dining, Heathrow is also promoting the U.K. government’s August consumer spending initiative—Eat out to Help Out. This gives diners a 50% discount on eat-in food or non-alcoholic drinks from Monday through Wednesday, up to a maximum of £10 discount per diner. Restaurants can then claim this back from the government.

At the airport, restaurants taking part in the scheme include: Pret, Caffé Nero, Caviar House, and Gordon Ramsay Plane Food.