# I pit airport duty free **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 19, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838 "2023-12-19T20:58:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/41 "2023-12-20T05:31:38Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Duty free has nothing like that (or if it does good luck finding any of it. Would you like 2 liters of Glenfiddich?). Do they have any Talisker; the snooty scotch of discerning passengers? And pilots. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/42 "2023-12-20T08:47:13Z")
Similarly when I was a kid my father brought back Toblerone bars from overseas trips but now it’s available in Target. Honestly it would be nice if there were things that one could get only overseas. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/43 "2023-12-20T12:43:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Honestly it would be nice if there were things that one could get only overseas. Depends on where you go. I was in Spain and Greece last year and they had cheap local wine, under 10 euro a bottle, at both duty free stores. I also got some good olive oil, honey, and olives in Greece. I’ve also picked up vanilla in Mexico. There are plenty of good local items to pick up, but sometimes you have to look. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/44 "2023-12-20T17:59:52Z")
I had extra time in a Canadian airport and checked out some perfume my wife liked and it wasn’t any cheaper at the Duty Free shop. I didn’t try comparing liquor prices. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/45 "2023-12-20T18:08:17Z")
FYI, [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/26/magazine/toothpaste-souvenir.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HU0.2vbm.hbdRb0SCdSW4&smid=url-share) is a gift link to an NYT Magazine article from someone suggesting local toothpaste as something to bring back as a souvenir. You’re unlikely to find foreign brands of something ordinary like that in American stores, unlike foreign liquor, chocolate or other typical stuff. And actually, visiting an ordinary supermarket in a foreign land might be more interesting that finding the same sort of souvenir shop (containing t-shirts, refrigerator magnets and mugs) in every city. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/46 "2023-12-20T18:16:20Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And actually, visiting an ordinary supermarket in a foreign land might be more interesting that finding the same sort of souvenir shop (containing t-shirts, refrigerator magnets and mugs) in every city. I do this in every country I visit. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/47 "2023-12-20T18:19:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Talisker It is pretty good, and I am not _that_ snooty. It one of the elements that makes up Johnnie Walker. I worked for an ad agency who represented JW quite a few years ago and we got to taste the blends. Hell, I got a free bottle of Talisker for doing something almost impossible to satisfy the client. My prefered scotch is Laphroaig, but I don’t do a lot of duty free shopping. I bought some cheap cachaça when leaving Brazil, because I needed to waste money that could not be converted. As far as airports go, including the duty-free desert, I think Kuala Lampur is my favourite. It has the fucking duty free but toilets, seats, transport and a circle of glass windows looking on to an arboretum. Hong Kong wasn’t too bad, though I had much less time there. Still, I heartily approve of the OP… “Duty free” might not be taxed but it is typically way overpriced. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/48 "2023-12-20T18:25:32Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > It is pretty good, and I am not _that_ snooty. It one of the elements that makes up Johnnie Walker. I worked for an ad agency who represented JW quite a few years ago and we got to taste the blends. Hell, I got a free bottle of Talisker for doing something almost impossible to satisfy the client. Talisker was a plot point in _Cabin Pressure_, a BBC Radio comedy set at the world’s smallest airline. They stock Talisker when doing charter flights for a very rich, and very obnoxious client. One of the pilots takes it as a challenge to steal it. I had a glass once at a bar. I don’t usually care much for scotch, but this wasn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/49 "2023-12-20T18:53:20Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Talisker was a plot point in _Cabin Pressure_, a BBC Radio comedy set at the world’s smallest airline. They stock Talisker when doing charter flights for a very rich, and very obnoxious client. One of the pilots takes it as a challenge to steal it. Sounds like an update on the old film _Whisky Galore!_. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/50 "2023-12-20T19:34:53Z")
I get people are bored waiting for a flight & many are on vacation mode so they don’t mind spending but I really don’t get buying pretty much anything at either the souvenir or duty-free shops as my carry on doesn’t have a lot of room for that extra bulky sweatshirt from \_\_\_\_. That being said, I did want to pick up some Jagermeister at the duty-free on the way out of Germany last time. If I bought it in country, I would have had to pack it in my checked luggage where it could have possibly been broken when they were tossing bags around. Man, was I disappointed when I realized what was for sale in the duty-free was an English printed bottle, the same as I could get at home, & by then, it was too late to leave the airport & find a liquor store. I really wanted the label to have German printing on it . ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/51 "2023-12-20T23:19:29Z")
Gah, i’m trying to remember which airport had the duty-free intervening between you and the gates, and it was laid out in a serpentine pattern. My coworkers were fascinated and all stopped to buy various gifts for family and friends… I just went ahead to the gate, but what a pain in the ass. I suspect there was some way around it for people in a hurry… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/52 "2023-12-21T00:16:26Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > which airport had the duty-free intervening between you and the gates, and it was laid out in a serpentine pattern. They are extremely common in the Caribbean and in Latin America. Darn near any new or newly renovated international terminal will include that feature, just scaled to the size of the airport. It’s far from a unique design. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/53 "2023-12-21T00:25:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > They are extremely common in the Caribbean and in Latin America. Darn near any new or newly renovated international terminal will include that feature, just scaled to the size of the airport. > > It’s far from a unique design. Easily could’ve been Sao Paolo or Santiago, I flew through them often enough. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/54 "2023-12-21T02:41:05Z")
I don’t drink, so my choice was pretty much chocolate. I even managed to get some stuff that isn’t terribly common in Tucson. We went duty free because it was the store we found that was open… ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/55 "2023-12-21T03:03:29Z")
Santiago wends you around through duty free before you get to the open terminal area with food and gates, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/56 "2023-12-21T03:04:46Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Santiago wends you around through duty free before you get to the open terminal area with food and gates, IIRC Thank you. Ah the memories, I can smell the overpowering perfume even now. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/57 "2023-12-21T03:30:36Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > and tell them why I just sent a careful message on the airport website: Hi, I’m Nick and I have an issue with your airport’s accessibility. The Duty Free area has no bathrooms, no benches, no obvious place to buy water. If these could be addressed it would be a boon to someone like me who has mobility issues. My reply was ส่งข้อมูลเรียบร้อย ¯\_(ツ)\_/¯ ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/58 "2023-12-21T14:47:25Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I could never fathom why anyone would frequent these. I guess that’s a partial explanation, but is the price/availability difference really that great? I’d think that anyone that could afford that stuff–not to mention travel internationally–would not be too concerned about a few percent price difference, and have other means of buying it. > > Are the storefronts an illusion? Maybe the typical buyer is actually ordering large crates of cigarettes to be shipped home, and those expensive bottles of scotch are just for show. > > There’s something about them that I just don’t get, like the mattress store phenomenon. Yeah, while I’ve never been a luxury goods shopper, I have on occasion looked at the duty free liquor and _at best_, it was a good price. It’s never been a “I’d better buy this at 40% less than the price at home.” kind of thing, but more of a “Hmm… that’s a good price. Do I want to lug this bottle through the flight and customs when I get back, or pay a few dollars more at home?” sort of question. I hadn’t really considered that prices on things may be dramatically different elsewhere; I guess I just assumed that things would be cheaper everywhere else besides the US, Europe, and Canada. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/59 "2023-12-21T15:07:36Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Yeah, while I’ve never been a luxury goods shopper, I have on occasion looked at the duty free liquor and _at best_, it was a good price. It’s never been a “I’d better buy this at 40% less than the price at home.” kind of thing, but more of a “Hmm… that’s a good price. I’ve never bought from a duty-free shop at at airport - but when I’ve bought from the duty-free store on cruise ships ( or duty-free stores at tourist destinations) it’s been either because it’s something where I will save a _lot_ ( when I was still smoking, cigarettes at the duty free store were about $40 carton while at home they were more like $110 carton) or something I simply couldn’t find at home - I think it’s Henny White that my son always has me buy. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838/60 "2023-12-22T02:22:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > extremely common in the Caribbean and in Latin America. Darn near any new or newly renovated international terminal will include that feature, just scaled to the size of the airport. That was one thing that got me quite put off about the renovations at SJU in the mid/late 20teens, that immediately after TSA now you have to meander around the product displays through one of the Dufry’s to get to your concourse. As for an Ikea-style shortcut for people in a hurry … can’t day I’ve seen one, you just have to channel your inner running back through the shop. And yeah, Airport-as-Shopping-Mall has been the model for a while. Heck, DCA-Reagan National used to have both concourse shops _and_ a _landside_ Mall-type space before security, until a remodel two years back resulted in _all_ the shopping being now inside the security zone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-airport-duty-free/994838.md?page=4)