More airport shops offer fair prices on common items
— -- I'm all for airports piling on amenities for travelers. Massage bars, wine bars, museum-quality artwork, and shops selling everything from fine jewelry and gourmet chocolate to suits, fancy scarves and indestructible suitcases. You won't have too much of a problem finding these services and products at most North American airports these days. But it's a different story if you go looking for some aspirin, a birthday card, Scotch tape, deodorant, or a handful of paper clips. For some reason, these everyday conveniences are still sometimes hard to find at many airports. And if you do track them down, you'll often find yourself shocked at the "gourmet" prices stores ask for these items. So, like me, you may find yourself blocking the aisle in a busy airport newsstand trying to decide what's worse: putting up with that headache a little longer or paying close to five dollars for a two-tablet blister-pack of Tylenol.
No need to pay through the nose
In these tough economic times, most every traveler is on a tight budget and more inclined than ever to put up with the pain rather than use lunch money for overpriced airport aspirin. But when he found himself at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport earlier this month with a splitting headache, Bob Gaul from Orange County, Calif., didn't have to make that choice.
Gaul, who travels more than 300,000 miles a year for his job in the hotel industry, was on his way from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to Las Vegas. He travels with his own aspirin, but unfortunately it was in his checked baggage and he still had two more flights to take that day. But having been through this airport many times before, Gaul knew that in the lobby of Terminal 4 he'd find a wide choice of headache remedies at Drugs & More, a large (for an airport) store selling over-the-counter medicines and other everyday items in regular sizes, and at regular prices. "This is an unlikely store to have in an airport," says Gaul, "Usually what you get at the airport are 4 [tablets] for $3. But I'm buying a regular sized bottle [of Advil Migraine] for $5.99. The price is probably the same as you'd find in Safeway ... It's very convenient."
Airport convenience stores spreading
The Phoenix airport isn't the only airport where you'll find aspirin and other reasonably-priced "I-forgot-to-pack" personal care items, but it was one of the first U.S. airports to intentionally seek out a store like this. Bobbi Passavanti of the Paradies Shops says when the request for proposal (RFP) went out for an airport convenience store that would mimic a neighborhood drug store in terms of price and variety, "We were intrigued and captivated. So we put our heads together and came up with a store that would provide a selection of drugstore merchandise and over-the-counter medications that includes full-sized bottles of aspirin and shampoo, a greeting card assortment, a blood pressure machine, etc." The concept has turned out to be so popular that there are now branches of Drugs & More in airports in Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham. "The most popular items are 18-count Tylenol, Advil, DayQuil, Motrin, Zicam, and Dramamine, as well as two-count diaper packages and travel-sized toothbrushes, nail clippers, toothpaste, generic (not souvenir) lighters, and packets of Kleenex," says Passavanti.
Not traveling to or through Phoenix, Atlanta or Raleigh-Durham? Plenty of other airports and airport vendors are trying to make sure travelers can find everyday items at everyday prices. For example, the Vancouver International Airport has been home to North America's first airport 7-Eleven store since 2001. The 24-hour shop carries everything from shaving cream to stamps as well as containers of milk in several take-home sizes. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has four 7-Eleven-style shops and a Shop 24, a giant (and somewhat entertaining) vending machine that dispenses close to 200 items, including diapers and deodorant. And at branches of Everything ASAP in the Detroit, Minneapolis and Buffalo, New York, airports you'll find a wide variety of full-sized toiletries, cosmetics and over-the-counter medications alongside the snacks and souvenirs, all at regular or "street" prices. Jeff Hess of Delaware North, which operates the Everything ASAP airport stores, says "You could always get convenience items in news and gift shops across the country," but the company decided to add regular-priced, full-size containers of Tylenol, Advil and other drugstore items instead of just the two-tablet packs, in part because "people understand what they should be paying for that. The emphasis these days is more on value. So you're not paying five dollars for two Tylenols. It's a concept we think is catching on."
No-headache pricing
The concept is indeed catching on. On a recent multi-airport trip, I did an informal survey comparing prices on a few items, such as cold tablets and pocket-sized packets of tissues. The sorts of things I stopped buying at airports long ago because the prices were always so outrageous. But at many airport newsstands, including those run by Hudson News, which operates in more than 70 airports across North America, I found prices that seemed very fair and "normal." That's the idea, says Laura Samuels of the Hudson Group, "The goal is to make Hudson News 'the' destination for travelers in need of a personal care item that they forgot to pack or ran out of on the previous leg of their trip. This is especially true for parents of young children, who can find diapers, wipes, Desitin, bottles, binkies, etc. Even baby aspirin and cold remedies, which can be a real lifesaver when traveling with kids." Samuels says the pricing is fair and "as with our other offerings (magazines, water, snacks, etc.) our profit line is volume-driven."
So go ahead. If you have a headache at an airport, don't be afraid to buy an aspirin. Or a whole bottle. Like Bob Gaul, you'll probably even have some money left over to buy something else. In addition to buying a bottle of Advil Migraine at Drugs & More at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, he bought a pack of gum. "So I'm going to have fresh breath, clean teeth, and my headache is going to be gone soon."
And really, what more could any traveler ask from an airport layover?
Travelers, what products would you most like to see for sale at airports? Which airports are best for getting "street prices" for common items? Share your tips below.
Harriet Baskas writes about travel etiquette for MSNBC.com and is the author of the airport guidebook Stuck at the Airport and a blog of the same name.