To attract customers, nonprofit companies offer free flights to anywhere | Flight Issues

Last month, Hyun Jung-a boarded a plane from South Korea’s Incheon Airport. About two hours later, he returned to the same airport and picked up the shopping mall without a job, though he never went abroad.

Air Busan Co., operated by Lotte Duty Free for its VIP customers, was the first for Hyun since the outbreak began and did not pay him anything. Because the route took off for a while from Korean airspace and passed through the Japanese island, 130 passengers on board were eligible to shop in Seoul’s vacant stores reserved for travelers traveling around the world.

Failure flights like this are a test for the unemployed to save the damage damaged by the Covid-19. Prior to the outbreak, business was booming – global unemployment market was estimated at $ 85 billion in 2019 and by $ 139 billion by 2027, according to Verified Market Research.

Sales fell when countries banned foreign travel. Globally, only 1.8 billion people boarded aircraft scheduled for last year compared to 4.5 billion in 2019, the International Civil Aviation Organization said. The annual turnover of Swiss-based giant Dufry AG, which sells real estate worldwide, fell 71%.

While travel agents like Hyun will not be able to afford the money, they bring in a very important business.

“I saw a lot of people carrying bags full of useless things,” said Hyun, who bought a Chanel handbag, shoes and cosmetics. “I tell all my friends that it is better to board a plane because of the opportunity to buy it without any fines.”

Hotel Shilla, the second non-profit South Korean operator after Lotte, is offering 114 seats at two airports on May 23 and 30 to customers who have spent more than $ 550 in its stores since May 3. Lotte is making tours. another five this month.

Unemployed retailers and other retailers are among the last in South Korea to emerge from the epidemic, as retailers and retailers in the country dropped 182,000 jobs in April despite the economy adding 652,000 jobs since last year, the bureau said Wednesday.

These companies are not small when there are more and more domestic cars and tax havens. China’s Hainan Island with its palms has become a popular tourist destination for now. This has helped free sales in the region, which doubled to 27.5 billion ($ 4.3 billion) last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Unauthorized purchasing of work has been allowed for home-based tourists in Hainan since 2011. In July, the government raised the bar to increase consumer purchases and increased free purchases in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities to meet growing purchasing power that has gripped China.

In order to meet the requirements in Hainan, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is embarking on a trip from Singapore to deliver cosmetics, handbags and other items to the island. Unemployed Japanese retailer Laox Co, which was sold by Chinese retailer Suning Holdings Group Co in 2009, plans to join Hainan in the second half of this year, setting up a similar retail platform in Japan.

“The habit of going to Hainan to buy luxury items is for Chinese people to live,” said Jonathan Siboni, chief executive of Luxurynsight.

International flights, if at all possible, are looking at short-term, regional approaches, and areas where vaccination programs have advanced significantly. Seven of the world’s most popular routes in the first four months of the year included US links, such as Cancun-Houston and New York-Santo Domingo, according to Cirium analytics company.

Shared prices indicate that investors are not doing well. Dufry’s stock has risen more than 100% since the end of September, with Hotel Shilla being the closest in about 15 months to Seoul.

The Paris-based Lagardere Travel Retail, which sells vacant lots, restaurants and other facilities at airports, is relying on local customers to support the European summer after a 56% drop in revenue from last year to $ 341 million. ($ 414 million) in the first three months.

“We are very much against retired Europeans,” said Frederic Chevalier, chief of staff in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Predicting McKinsey’s travel between Asia and Europe will return in 2019 “beyond 2024,” said Anita Balchandani, a partner at the company.

With a replacement vaccine such as South Korea – which has released only 4% of the jabs of the population, Bloomberg’s Virus Tracker shows – retailers can rely on counterfeit like airlines.

Sung Junewon, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp. in Seoul said: “Donations from flights to anywhere are small but better than having nothing.” “Every little bit counts.”

Seven South Korean pilots have flown the plane, carrying about 8,000 passengers. Authorities are also considering plans to allow foreign flights to Incheon, where passengers spend several hours shopping without leaving the airport before returning to their destination.

Park Ju-hyun, a 31-year-old office worker in Seoul, paid nearly 90,000 winners ($ 80) for a non-stop ticket in March. This was the first time she had boarded a plane since a trip to the Philippines before the epidemic, and it was worth buying, says Park, who spent about $ 600, mainly on cosmetics.

“It was great to be back at the airport,” he said.