News & Research

British Airways Greatly Boosts Reward Seat Availability, and Entire Industry Shows Dramatic Improvement
The 10th annual Reward Seat Availability Survey finds Southwest, JetBlue, Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines atop the rankings.  The IdeaWorksCompany Reward Seat Availability Survey answers the question, “How easy is redemption for the most popular basic reward type offered by the world’s top airlines?” This year’s survey assesses 20 top airlines, with Etihad, Qatar, and Singapore as newcomers for 2019.  The net result is better reward seat availability for 2019 compared to 2018.  Of the frequent flyer programs surveyed this year, 13 provided better overall reward availability for 2019, with only three programs showing decreased availability.

Click here for 2019 Worldwide Reward Survey FAQs.

Global Baggage Fee Revenue Jumps to $28.1 Billion
CarTrawler Global Estimate of Baggage Fee Revenue reveals 110% increase from 2014 estimate of $13.4 billion.  IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenues, and CarTrawler, the leading technology platform providing transport solutions for online businesses, recently estimated ancillary revenue at $92.9 billion worldwide for 2018. This CarTrawler Global Estimate of Baggage Fee Revenue identifies baggage as a $28.1 billion component and provides a worldwide summary of baggage fee policies for 20 top airlines.

European Airlines Lead 2018 a la Carte Revenue Estimate at $22.5 Billion with Asian Carriers 2nd at $18.8 Billion
IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenues, and CarTrawler, the leading technology platform providing full end to end transport solutions for online businesses, recently estimated airline a la carte revenue at $65 billion worldwide for 2018. The CarTrawler Global Statistics of a la Carte Revenue adds regional details and 2014 comparisons to the figures from the earlier November 2018 release.  A la carte activity is a significant component of ancillary revenue and consists of the amenities consumers can add to their air travel experience. These include fees paid for checked baggage, assigned seats, buy-on-board meals, early boarding, and onboard entertainment.

Airline Ancillary Revenue Projected to Be $92.9 Billion Worldwide in 2018
IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenue, and CarTrawler, the leading provider of online car rental distribution systems, project airline ancillary revenue will reach $92.9 billion worldwide in 2018. The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents a 312% increase from the 2010 figure of $22.6 billion, which was the first annual ancillary revenue estimate.  Earlier this year, CarTrawler and IdeaWorksCompany reported the ancillary revenue disclosed by 73 airlines for 2017. These statistics were applied to a larger list of 175 airlines to provide a truly global projection of ancillary revenue activity by the world’s airlines for 2018.
Click here for 2018 Worldwide Estimate Infographic (JPG file).

American and Turkish Airlines Show Dramatic Increase in Reward Seat Availability with Southwest Staying on Top
The 9th annual Reward Seat Availability Survey ─ sponsored by CarTrawler ─ also finds survey newcomers Norwegian and China Eastern ranked in the top 8 among 25 airlines.  The CarTrawler Reward Seat Availability Survey answers the question, “How easy is redemption for the basic and most popular reward type offered by the world’s top airlines?” The 25 carriers in the survey remained almost the same as 2017, with China Eastern, Norwegian, and WestJet as newcomers for 2018.

Click here for 2018 Worldwide Reward Survey FAQs.

Click here for infographic summary (JPG file) of key findings.

European Airlines Lead 2017 a la Carte Revenue Estimate at $19.4 Billion with Asian Carriers 2nd at $15.8 Billion
The CarTrawler Global Statistics of a la Carte Revenue provides regional details, comparisons to 2010 revenue numbers, and a first-ever baggage revenue estimate.  A la carte activity is a significant component of ancillary revenue and consists of the amenities consumers can add to their air travel experience.  These include fees paid for checked baggage, assigned seats, buy-on-board meals, early boarding, and onboard entertainment.  Of these, the revenue from checked baggage looms large with $23.6 billion in estimated sales for 2017.

Airline ancillary revenue projected to be $82.2 billion worldwide in 2017
The CarTrawler global estimate forecasts 22% increase above 2016, with $57 billion of the total composed of a la carte fee activity.  IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenues, and CarTrawler, the leading provider of online car rental distribution systems, project airline ancillary revenue will reach $82.2 billion worldwide in 2017. The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents a 264% increase from the 2010 figure of $22.6 billion, which was the first annual ancillary revenue estimate.
Click here for an infographic summary (JPG file) of key findings.

Southwest is Tops in Annual Reward Rankings, But Survey Shows Fewer Reward Seats Worldwide
The 8th annual Reward Seat Availability Survey ─ now sponsored by CarTrawler ─ also finds
Alaska Airlines has best reward payback among major North American carriers.  The steady improvement in airline reward seat availability since 2010 ended with the results from this year’s CarTrawler Reward Seat Availability Survey. Last year 76.6% of reward queries provided access to a saver-style reward seat; this dropped to 72.4% for 2017. The story for US-based consumers is generally positive, while frequent flyer members elsewhere in the world are seeing moderate to significant declines in reward seat availability.
You may also download this FAQ document:
FAQ for 2017 Worldwide Reward Survey

Airline ancillary revenue projected to be $67.4 billion worldwide in 2016
IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenues, and CarTrawler, the leading provider of online car rental distribution systems, project airline ancillary revenue will reach $67.4 billion worldwide in 2016. The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents a nearly 200% increase from the 2010 figure of $22.6 billion, which was the first year for the ancillary revenue estimate.  The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue marks the seventh year IdeaWorksCompany has prepared a projection of ancillary revenue activity.
Click here for an infographic summary (JPG file) of key findings.