Heathrow calls price comparison ‘misleading’

Monday, 23rd August 2010

Heathrow airport has lashed out at a report produced by Kelkoo, an online price-comparison shopping site. The study by Kelkoo concluded that London Heathrow airport had the worst prices for duty-free products of all airports in Europe. The airport responded by saying Kelkoo’s report, which was made public on 16 August, was misleading and incorrect. The airport pointed out that the study included products that are not sold at London Heathrow.

In the report, Kelkoo said tax-free products at European airports were offered at prices on average cheaper by 6.2 per cent. The study found Heathrow offered the worst discount of any major airport in Europe, at just 3.1 per cent. The best tax-free savings were found at French airports. Lyon St Exupery and Paris Charles de Gaulle came out on top, with savings of 11.9 per cent and 11.5 per cent, respectively.

The study was based on a mystery shopping exercise and surveyed the prices of 22 products from a range of product categories and locations. The prices were compared to the recommended retail prices found in high-street outlets. The price of an Apple iPad was found to vary from £579 in the UK to £556 in Rome. On the other hand, Advanced Night Repair from Estée Lauder was found to cost just £46 at Gatwick Airport in London but was priced at £90 in France. Heathrow, the second-biggest duty-free market in the world, said it was baffled by Kelkoo’s findings and insisted the study was based on inaccurate prices.

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