Airport Shopping: Not So Terminal Anymore
by
Jill BeckerHeathrow Airport | Schiphol Plaza | Zurich | Terminal Zoom Travel Stores
Airport stores are no longer just for duty-free products. Rather, today’s travelers are treated to selections ranging from high-tech toys to high-end fashion. Here are 10 of the world’s best airports for putting a dent in your wallet.
Changi International, Singapore Changi is the largest retailer in Singapore, and the store consistently ranks number one among airport shopping experiences worldwide. The emphasis is on luxury goods, with outlets for names like Burberry, Hermès, and Chloé (which opened its first-ever airport boutique here). In Changi’s stores, travelers can get serious and plunk down $8,000 for a limited-edition bottle of Rémy Martin cognac sporting a diamond-embedded stopper or, like one shopper did while waiting for a flight, drop $100,000 on designer jewelry.
www.changiairport.com Burberry, Terminal 1/Transit Mall East and Terminal 2/Transit Mall South
Chloé, Terminal 2/Transit Mall Central
Hermès, Terminal 2/Transit Mall South
John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York An impressive number of upscale boutiques, including Ferragamo and Bulgari, can be found in JFK’s multiple passenger terminals. Whether you want to pick up a jeweled Bohème fountain pen to use while you’re working on our crossword puzzle, an 18-karat-gold Roadster watch from Cartier to keep track of the current time zone, or a coffee-table tome about Botticelli from the Met Store, it can all be found right here.
www.kennedyairport.com Bulgari, Terminal 1, Gate 4
Cartier, Terminal 1, Gate 4
The Met Store, Terminal 4, Mezzanine Level
West; Mont Blanc, Terminal 1, Gate 4
Salvatore Ferragamo, Terminal 1, Gate 4 Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam The shopping may be considerably lower-end here, but Schiphol stands out for the wide range of products offered as well as for its exceptional customer service. It’s also a duty-free-shopper’s dream, rated as a top-five spot worldwide. You can even check out the cool tax-free finds before you get there through the airport’s website. Also worth noting is that at Schiphol, all major currencies are accepted — so you can buy a few pieces of lovely Delft pottery and packets of tulip bulbs from stores like Fleurtiek in Schiphol Plaza with whatever bills you happen to be carrying in your wallet.
www.schiphol.nl Schiphol Plaza, located outside the terminals Zurich Airport, Zurich Zurich is another duty-free mecca — and one of the few remaining in Europe. But the prime benefit of shopping here is the hours. Elsewhere, store hours are regulated by Swiss law. So, for instance, while other shops must close at five p.m. on Saturdays, the ones at the airport can stay open until eight p.m. And, unlike many stores in Zurich, the ones in the airport don’t close for lunch. So you’ll have more time to get yourself one of those famous Swiss clocks from Türler, a bottle of perfume from Bulgari for someone back home, or one of the bags in Navyboot’s new line for men.
www.zurich-airport.com Bulgari, Level 1
Navyboot, Level 1
Türler, Level 1
Calgary International Airport, Calgary Worried you’ll have to pay more at the airport than you would at the mall? You won’t at Calgary International, whose claim to fame is its street-pricing, no-padding philosophy. So whether you’re picking up duds for the Calgary Stampede at Riley & McCormick Western Boutique, investing in a fancy new PDA at Telus Mobility, or eyeing the orchid-scented body lotion at Fruits & Passion, rest assured that the price is right.
www.calgaryairport.com Fruits & Passion, Departures Level East
Riley & McCormick Western Boutique, Concourse C/D (pre-security) Telus Mobility, Departures Level West Pittsburgh International Airport, Pittsburgh Seeing names like Nine West, the Body Shop, Gap, Brookstone, GNC, and Victoria’s Secret, you’d think you were at the mall. And you are — Pittsburgh International’s Airmall. Designed to supply travelers with “the comfort you feel at your hometown mall,” and sporting the same prices as the stores outside the airport, the Airmall is a concept that changed the face of airport shopping when it was introduced here in 1992. It has won travel-industry awards and been featured on the Today show, among other national broadcasts.
www.pitairport.com The Body Shop, Center Core
Brookstone, Center Core
Gap, Center Core
GNC, Concourse A
Nine West, Center Core
Victoria’s Secret, Center Core
Heathrow Airport, London
While Heathrow already boasts an impressive selection of retailers, a new terminal opening early next year will deliver two additional floors of shopping that will include a Harrods outpost selling designer labels not available at its other airport outlets. For now, though, passengers can peruse the new Mulberry shop (the first-ever airport boutique for the brand), the Way In denim concept store, Chanel, and British favorites like Ted Baker and Kurt Geiger. And if you’re having trouble deciding what to get, you can call on one of the airport’s shopping consultants (the service is complimentary).
www.heathrowairport.com Chanel, Terminals 3 and 4
Harrods, all terminals
Kurt Geiger, Terminal 3
Mulberry, Terminals 1 and 4
Ted Baker, Terminal 4
Way In, Terminal 3 Portland International Airport, Portland
Think locals would never drive to the nearest airport to do some shopping? They do in Portland. The pre-security-check stores are just that good. Travelers passing through love it, too, because of the airport’s commitment to Oregon-based retailers. Visitors can take home a pair of Air Max 360 cross trainers from Nike, new and used books from Powell’s, or glass ornaments made from Mount St. Helens ash from the Real Mother Goose.
www.flypdx.com Nike, Oregon Market (pre-security)
Powell’s Books, Oregon Market, Concourses C and D
The Real Mother Goose, Oregon Market Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Rome
Rome’s airport is another one that’s known for having generous regional goodies, particularly when it comes to food. Give as a gift, or save for yourself, a bottle of Castelgiocondo Riserva (wine) or Olio Nuovo (olive oil) from Frescobaldi, a nice selection of pastas from Good Buy Roma, or a package of potent Cuor di Cacao chocolates from Venchi. Also notable are 75 new stores, including Prada’s only foray into an airport.
www.adr.it Frescobaldi, Terminals A and C
Good Buy Roma, Terminals A, B, and C
Prada, Terminal C
Venchi, Terminals A and C Jorge Chávez International Airport, Lima The $148 million in upgrades to Jorge Chávez are a little over two years old now and include the huge Perú Plaza shopping center. South America’s only landside (pre-security) airport retail shopping experience, it gives travelers and locals alike a chance to browse through stores such as Ilaria (for handcrafted jewelry made with Peruvian turquoise, quartz, and amethyst) and Alpaca 111 (for garments crafted from alpaca, llama, and vicuña wool).
www.lap.com.pe Alpaca 111, Terminal 1
Ilaria, Terminal 1 Bonus:
Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland Consider Hopkins one to watch. With its current concession contract about to expire, the airport is looking for developers to not only update and upgrade its current lineup of stores but to also add an additional 20,000 square feet of retail space.
www.clevelandairport.com
kid stuff you’re on the road, jetting here and there, and you miss the kiddos, so you want to remember them with a special treat from your travels. these are our five favorite airports when it comes to shopping for the wee ones.
pittsburgh international airport, pittsburgh this one makes our list of favorites again. moms and pops can pick up goodies galore for the offspring: animal-themed slippers from the soxx shop, an airplane-shaped pedal car from creative kidstuff, a precious moments doll from audrey’s attic, and more. if you ask at one of the information booths, they’ll give you a free coloring book with an aeronautical theme.
www.pitairport.com audrey’s attic, concourse a
creative kidstuff, center core
soxx shop, center core and concourse a
hong kong international airport, hong kong terminal 1’s skymart houses child-friendly shops like toys & games, magic of hong kong disneyland, and okashi land (full of all the snacks and sweets the kids in asia are eating these days). the skyplaza, over at the newer terminal 2, has even more options, including trendy apparel for everyone from newborns to tweens at kingkow, games and gadgets at the exploration store, and even thomas the tank engine at michael’s.
www.hongkongairport.com the exploration store, terminal 2
kingkow, terminal 2
magic of hong kong disneyland, terminal 1
michael’s, terminal 2
okashi land, terminal 1
toys & games, terminal 1 san francisco international airport, san francisco the airport stores are closed and you still haven’t gotten a souvenir? at sfo, that’s not a problem. just head to one of the zoom vending machines, swipe your credit card, and pick out a nice digital camera, a cell phone, or an ipod. when the shops are open, consider kids city, compass books, and inmotion entertainment.
www.flysfo.com compass books, terminal 3
inmotion entertainment, terminal 3 and international terminal
kids city, international terminal
zoom travel stores, international terminal and walkway between the international terminal and terminal 3 orlando international airport, orlando orlando is one of those rare airports that cater to children, featuring an arcade, a giant aquarium, and mini versions of local theme parks. but if the tots aren’t tagging along this trip, you can still remember them with a thoughtful present from one of the disney, seaworld, universal, or kennedy space center shops.
www.orlandoairports.net kennedy space center, main terminal
magic of disney, main terminal
seaworld, main terminal
universal, main terminal
manchester airport, manchester manchester gets a nod strictly for its claire’s franchises, which, as any parent with a young girl can tell you, are meccas for hair bobs, jewelry, makeup, and other girly doodads. plus, you can find cds, videos, and games at impulse, as well as trademark teddy bears and other tidbits from the new hamleys toy-store outpost.
www.manchesterairport.co.uk claire’s, terminals 1 and 2
hamleys, terminal 2
impulse, terminal 1
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