It may appear to be a rather strange statement when you buy at Alicante airport for some items you pay MORE! I flew back to London from El Altet yesterday and was somewhat puzzled and astounded at the cigarette prices in the "Duty Free" shop. Although not a smoker myself I know the prices ...... in the tobacos shops on the average High Street in Spain you will pay 42.50 euro's for Silk Cut and Benson & Hedges - probably the most popular brands. However, at the Alicante airport Duty Free shop they were priced at 48.90€ ! Thats a whopping 6.40€ MORE or 15%. It's even worse if you roll your own. 500gm of Golden Virginia or Old Holborn costs 67.50€ on the high street but 84.40€ at the Duty Free - thats 16.90€ MORE or 25% MORE.
I spoke to the store manager and asked her how they could justify these prices - especially as the government set the selling price..... she replied that it wasn't her that set the prices and suggested that I contact Head Office - what a cop out !
So a word of warning if you are a smoker - DO NOT buy at the Duty Free shop in Alicante airport as it will cost you alot more. Imagine if you were to take your full allowance of cigarettes which is 3200 = 16 cartons. You would be paying 102.40€ MORE if you where a B&H/Silk Cut smoker.The same if you are a pipe/roll up smoker wanting to bring back your 3kg allowance of tobacco. You would pay 101.40€ MORE ....put that in your pipe - or not depending on where you buy it ! So be warned ... shop before you get to the airport. Oh, and another thing - they are charging 20 cents for a rather flimsy carrier bag there too!
Also when changing your pounds to euros, don't do it at the airport. I asked at the exchange what the exchange rate was and was quoted 1.07 euros to the pound without any commission. Now in Benidorm, where there rate is the same at all the exchanges, as there is a cartel running, the rate was 1.11 € The actual bank rate for the day was 1.14€. The rate in Benidorm exchanges is always 3 cents below the rate quoted in the press (not tourist rate).
So no wonder Mr. O'Leary of Ryanair keeps on protesting to AENA. If they rip off the passengers, what are the doing to the airlines with their charges?
