Airport Duty-Free vs El Al Catalog: Where Are Perfumes Cheaper?
A price comparison between Ben Gurion Airport's duty-free and El Al's inflight catalog reveals mixed results for perfume shoppers. While some fragrances are cheaper in the air, others offer significant savings at James Richardson.
Shopping at the Ben Gurion Airport duty-free shop is a quintessential part of the travel experience for many, but does it genuinely offer the best bargains? A price comparison between James Richardson duty-free and the inflight sales catalog of El Al reveals that while some perfume prices are nearly identical, others feature substantial gaps of tens of dollars.
Take, for instance, Dolce & Gabbana's The One Eau de Parfum Intense in a 75 ml bottle. Both the El Al catalog and James Richardson list the exact same price: 159 dollars. However, when examining Versace's Eau Fraiche Extreme, a slight variance emerges. A 100 ml bottle is priced at 95 dollars in the El Al catalog, compared to 99 dollars at James Richardson, making the inflight purchase four dollars cheaper.
Larger discrepancies appear with Yves Saint Laurent's Libre set, which includes a 90 ml bottle plus an extra 10 ml. El Al offers the set for 125 dollars, whereas James Richardson prices it at 139 dollars, marking a 14-dollar difference. Conversely, a significant gap was found with Versace's Crystal Emerald 90 ml fragrance. El Al lists it at 115 dollars, while James Richardson sells the exact same perfume for just 89 dollars—making the duty-free shop 26 dollars, or roughly 23 percent, cheaper.
Finally, Lancome's La Vie Est Belle L'Extrait shows a minor difference, with El Al offering the 100 ml version for 125 dollars and James Richardson selling it for 122 dollars, saving shoppers three dollars at the airport. El Al also provides passengers with the option to purchase items using 18,750 frequent flyer points. Consumers are advised to verify prices and exact volumes before making a purchase.
