The 2014 CarTrawler Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue by IdeaWorks Company sings a familiar tune to the research released yearly since 2007 - ancillary revenues continue to climb.
The headline findings from the 2014 report, released earlier this summer, are impressive. Annual ancillary revenue hit $31.5 billion in 2013 for the 59 airlines analysed, equating to $16 per passenger.
But with the full report now available here, there is the chance for a closer look at what some of the 59 airlines are doing.
CarTrawler and IdeaWorks have done that for you highlighting among others that "Air Greenland generated $8.1 million from the operation of its wholly-owned Hotel Arctic, the world’s most northerly 4-star hotel."
Or that "Norwegian donated 1 krone from the sale of each water bottle sold onboard to UNICEF. The carrier sold 1.3 million bottles during 2013 and donated $212,000 to UNICEF".
They could also have mentioned:
- Aeroflot's duty-free sales for 2013 were$13.2 million. The cost of duty free goods sold was $6 million, representing profit of $7.2 million, or a mark-up of 120% on cost.
- British Airways disclosed 2013 ancillary sales of £325 million - c£190 million from BA Holidays, £40 million from seat assignment fees, c£45million from checked baggage, and c£50 million from upgrades.
- Total ancillary revenue for LAN and TAM Airlines for 2013 was $613,511,000 - $14,748,000 from duty-free, $105,449,000 from tour package income and $493,314,000 from its Multiplus loyalty scheme.
- Kazakhstan's flag carrier Air Astana earned more than $2 million from the sale of advertising.
- Emirates made AED 412,000,000 (£69 million) from excess baggage charges.
One aspect of the ancillary revenue love-fest noticeable by its absence from the IdeaWorks tome is the distribution and delivery of these ancillary revenues.
Tech providers - from Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport to Travelsky and Navitaire via Boxever and OpenJaw - are constantly banging their respective drums about their product being the best way for airlines to maximise revenues from ancillaries.
Retailing, merchandising, shopping, to say nothing of NDC, are part of the ancillary vernacular.
So while the yearbook is a vital and interesting read, maybe it's time to start inviting the tech providers to the party.
NB Airplane image via Shutterstock