Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
My time in New Zealand, Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, is done and I’m a Flying Kiwi once more en route from my native land to the place I now call home, Hong Kong.
I leave, as always, feeling a fusion of sadness and pleasure, sadness to be leaving such a wonderful place and life-long friends behind, pleasure at what both continue to give me.
An early check-out from my waterfront apartment and a delayed take-off with Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong meant a near five-hour wait, landside and airside, at Auckland Airport. That gave me plenty of time to assess the retail offer, part of which – duty free – has been under my and the industry’s microscope recently due to the just-concluded tender.
Many travel retailers and airports talk a good game in terms of sense of place. But despite much intensified focus on the concept in recent years, how few really walk it?
As I have contended time and again down the years, airports and their commercial partners have a responsibility to showcase a city’s, region’s and country’s crafts, culture and heritage.
LagardèreAWPL and Auckland Airport (New Zealand’s busiest international and domestic gateway) fulfil that responsibility with real conviction.
LagardèreAWPL’s main Aelia Duty Free store offers a superb line-up of New Zealand spirits, wines and wellbeing products in particular, while its impressively pro-active staff display a passion for and deep knowledge of that offering.
No-one epitomised those qualities better than a young man called Kyle. As I was scouring the extensive New Zealand spirits section, he approached me and asked if he could help. After telling him I was looking for a good local whisky as a gift, Kyle asked what style I was after. I said my intended beneficiary, like me, enjoyed a soft, fruity Speyside style, for example Longmore, Craigellachie or Cragganmore.
Kyle suggested I taste Pōkeno Discovery, a first-fill (bourbon and sherry casks) single malt whisky from the small town of Pōkeno, southeast of Auckland, and then, for contrast, a Scapegrace Vanguard single malt from Central Otago in the South Island.
Both were excellent, but knowing my recipient’s taste, the beguiling, slightly sweet, citrus notes of the Pōkeno won the day.
I also bought a No8 Distillery Gift Pack, a four x 50ml presentation of gins from the Dunedin (Ōtepoti) distillery of the same name. A nice destination gift for a family member.
When it came to wine, I was spoiled for choice, with New Zealand’s extensive array of varietals and regions nicely segmented.
I took my advice from Kuar, another fine ambassador for Aelia Duty Free who, noting my preference for a Central Otago Chardonnay, pointed me to a good two-bottle price offer that included the 2023 Chard Farm from the region and a Rabbit Ranch Sauvignon Blanc, a blend of that winery’s ‘Savvy’ vineyards in the South Island and its Central Otago Rabbit Ranch home bloc.
Kuar is a veteran of Aelia Duty Free and delights at the variety each day at the airport brings. “I’ll be 70 next year but I hope they will want to keep me on,” he told me.
“Kuar,” I replied, cognisant of my own impending ‘big one’ in 2026, “You are what my dear old Mum used to call a mere spring chicken.”
Given that Lagardère Travel Retail (not LagardèreAWPL) has been awarded a new, eight-year duty-free contract starting on 1 July, I would say there is every chance Kuar will still be around to keep serving Auckland Airport’s shoppers every bit as warmly and well as he served me. ✈
