2015 airline ancillary revenue projected to reach $59.2 billion worldwide

DUBLIN, Ireland – IdeaWorksCompany and CarTrawler project airline ancillary revenue will reach $59.2 billion worldwide in 2015.

DUBLIN, Ireland – IdeaWorksCompany and CarTrawler project airline ancillary revenue will reach $59.2 billion worldwide in 2015. The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents an increase of 163% from the 2010 figure of $22.6 billion, which was the first year for the ancillary revenue estimate.

Earlier this year, CarTrawler and IdeaWorksCompany reported the ancillary revenue disclosed by 63 airlines for 2014. These statistics were applied to a larger list of 180 airlines to provide a truly global projection of ancillary revenue activity by the worldโ€™s airlines in 2015. The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue marks the sixth year IdeaWorksCompany has prepared a projection of global ancillary revenue activity.

โ€œThese figures show the impact that ancillary revenue has on the bottom lines of airlines, but it is also a critically important element of the customer experience,โ€ says Michael Cunningham, Chief Commercial Officer at CarTrawler. โ€œAirlines that offer a rounded, sophisticated customer experience by drawing on data science insights and the right ancillary offerings have a better chance of backing up revenues with increased loyalty and a stronger brand promise, which in turn leads to increased repeat bookings.โ€

Revenue from optional services, such as onboard sales of food and beverages, checked baggage, premium seat assignments, and early boarding benefits, was determined to represent $36.7 billion of the projected global 2015 total. The smaller share, at $22.5 billion, comes from non-fee activity such as the sale of frequent flier miles to program partners, and commissions earned on the sale of services to travelers, such as hotel accommodations and car rentals.

Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue:

2015 Estimate
$59.2 billion (7.8% of global revenue of $763 billion)

2014 Estimate
$49.9 billion (6.7% of global revenue of $746 billion)

2013 Estimate
$42.6 billion (6% of global revenue of $708 billion)

2012 Estimate
$36.1 billion (5.4% of global revenue of $667 billion)

2011 Estimate
$32.5 billion (5.6% of global revenue of $577 billion)

2010 Estimate
$22.6 billion (4.8% of global revenue of $474 billion)

Source: Ancillary revenue statistics applied by IdeaWorksCompany to individual airline revenue results for the year indicated from Air Transport World, Airline Business, and at airline websites.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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