Airline ancillary revenue around the world increased 43% to $32.5 billion in 2011 and the most active practitioners get nearly one-fifth of their operating revenue from such fees.
Those are some of the findings from the latest "Amadeus Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue by IdeaWorks."
The companies came up with these tallies by taking reported ancillary revenue from 47 airlines in 2010 and then applying that data to 200 airlines to come up with a 2011 projection.
The study lumps the following airlines among a cadre of Ancillary Revenue Champs: AirAsia, AirAsia X, Jetstar, Tiger Airways, Aer Lingus, easyJet, Flybe, Germanwings, Jet2.com, Ryanair, Allegiant and Spirit.
Famous or infamous for their practices, these airlines took in 19.8% of their operating revenue on average from ancillary services, and that was a slight jump compared with 2010, the study finds.
The next-most active carrier group was major US airlines, which took in 11.9% of operating revenue in 2011 from ancillary services, mostly from frequent flyer revenue and bag fees, the study says. In 2010, their operating revenue from ancillary fees stood at 7.2%.
Relying largely on a la carte fees, low cost carriers generated 6.%% of operating revenue from ancillary fees in 2011, compared with 5.4% a year earlier, Amadeus and IdeaWorks forecast.
And remaining "traditional airlines" -- the largest group among the more than 200 airlines studied -- had some catching-up to do because they produced just 2.9% of operating revenue from ancillary fees, according to the study.
In Amadeus blog post, Jay Sorensen, IdeaWorks president, argues that "this revolution (in ancillary fees) is here to stay."
Sorensen argues, though, that the revolutionaries (i.e. airlines) would be most effective if they took a service rather than a fee-based approach.
He points to Alaska Airlines, which links a baggage fee to an on-time delivery pledge, and Delta Air Lines, which began a baggage tracking service, as adherents to a service-oriented approach.
Sorensen's post on the Amadeus blog is headlined, "Ancillary revenue -- coming soon, around the world."
Amadeus, of course, has a vested interest in the outcome because thriving airlines mean a profitable global distribution system and airline IT businesses.
And, Amadeus, Travelport and Sabre are working with airlines to make their ancillary services available to travel agents through GDS distribution.
Note: Image courtesy of Amadeus and IdeaWorks