Duty-Free Shopping Must-Haves: Souvenirs and Keepsakes

September 19, 2012 at 12:15 PM | by jetflyboy | Comments (0)

If you're anything like us, you probably think that the in-flight duty-free shopping catalog can eat up a good chunk of time on long-haul international flights and provide a few giggles or unique gift ideas. This week, we'll dive into the pages of some favorite airline shopping magazines and highlight our picks for the just-can't-live-without items.

When browsing an in-flight shopping magazine and flipping past all of the pages of meh watches and perfumes, you may be missing plenty of amazing finds that make for great souvenirs (if only to show that you were actually thinking of your friends and family while away). Many catalogs actually have some items that rival what can be found in typical tourist shops, so let's explore a few:

· Japan Airlines lets passengers take home a little bit of the Land of The Rising Sun with airline-themed hand-towels. The cotton cloth called tenugui is folded to resemble a happi coat and will set passengers back 1,700 JPY ($21.50). A perfect hostess gift (or for anyone who drinks, really) is a bottle of JAL-exclusive sake. There are several varieties and price points, so don't forget the booze in the back of the duty-free magazine.

· KLM has wowed passengers with Royal Delft minis for years, but now sell loads more products that are just as Dutch. A bottle of BOLS gin in a delft pattern bottle (29 euros), a Dutch cookbook to cook up a storm at home (19.29 euros) or a Swarovski crystal tulip (41.65 euros). Either way, all will have you glad you didn't buy wooden shoes.

· Iberia understands the traveler's fascination with flamenco dancing when visiting Spain is near the top of the list. That's why they offer frequent flyers to purchase a hand-painted hand fan decorated in black and sultry red. Sounds like a perfect costume idea for 20 euros ($26).

· Alitalia loves milking the fact that Italy is a fashion destination. So if you couldn't make it to any one of the a number of the nation's fashion houses, pick up a genuine Pucci scarf on the flight home for 110 euros ($143).

While these may not be the cheapest gifts or souvenirs, they do help recall great memories of a great trip. We can only hope the flight was just as pleasant. Hopefully, now you wont over look the magazines in your seat back pocket.

A graphic from KLM's cookbook

[Photo: Shop@KLM]

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