A tale of two North American airports

On a quickfire trip to North America last week, I took in two major airport visits in two days, and had a fascinating glimpse into how the airport companies in Montréal and Chicago – and their partners – are re-imagining commercial activities. First, at Montréal-Trudeau, Aéroports de Montréal held the official opening of its new-look

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Resurgent England put boot into Ireland’s Grand Slam hopes

A beautiful spring Saturday in south-west London, wonderful company for the afternoon, the spectacle of two teams brimming with attacking intent, plus some great scores. Not much to complain about really…well, apart from the result. Over the past decade we Ireland fans have grown used to beating England both in London and at home in

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Swinging from Doha to Dubai in ‘Duty Free Week’

After a memorable MEADFA Conference in Doha over the past two days, ‘Duty Free Week’ in the Middle East swings over to Dubai. We’re here for one of the social highlights of the industry calendar, the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup, which takes place over the next two days, at the Emirates Golf Club

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A warm Qatari welcome as stage is set for MEADFA 2013

The travel retail industry is gathering this week in Doha, Qatar, one of the most exciting and fast-growing markets anywhere in the world, for the annual Middle East & Africa Duty Free Association (MEADFA) Conference. The event begins on Sunday night with what promises to be a sumptuous opening cocktail before two days of the

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A new vibrancy at Vienna Airport

It serves a city that is one of the richest in Europe, and one of the fastest growing for luxury brands downtown; it boasts a catchment area that spans several countries, and has a highly impressive network of flights serving emerging eastern European states. Despite these advantages, it’s fair to say that Vienna Airport has

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Grabbing the attention in Gothenburg

World of difference: the bright new retail zone at Landvetter I remember well the last time I was in Gothenburg Landvetter Airport (before this week). Running late for a flight, I recall my horror at the interminable security line, with passengers herded into a narrow bottle-neck at the end of it, before (much later) being

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Raising a glass to champions of Irish whiskey

As a regular traveller through Dublin Airport Terminal 2, I pay a visit to the Irish Whiskey Collection nearly every trip and it’s not hard to see why it works. The whiskey guides know the category inside out, and the promoters bring a great sense of fun to the environment. There’s plenty of newness (though

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Revealing a new world-class face for LAX Airport

Los Angeles now has a terminal to rank with the very best at the world’s airports. That’s the firm conclusion to be drawn following last week’s media unveiling of the new Tom Bradley International (TBIT). The event was an emotional one for many of the protagonists. One could sense how much it meant in the

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Looking to a new experience at LAX

I’m in Los Angeles this week for the highly anticipated unveiling of the new Tom Bradley International Terminal (seen in renderings above and below) – which promises to be a landmark moment in more ways than one. For LAX and master developer Westfield, it’s the largest public works project ever to take place in the

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DFS makes crystal clear statement with M launch at Changi

The Edrington and DFS teams celebrate the launch of The Macallan M at Singapore Changi Airport on Monday Following on from my visit to Hong Kong last week for the unveiling of The Macallan M, I was in Singapore yesterday for the retail debut of the stunning new decanter with DFS at Changi Airport, writes

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