News & Research

Bloomberg
Brazilians Stuff Suitcases in Last Free Perk for Fliers
In other parts of the world, airlines are getting even stricter about luggage, from carry-ons to suitcases bound for the cargo hold.  That means planes flying outside Brazil are lighter and more fuel-efficient, said Jay Sorensen, a former Midwest Airlines executive who now runs aviation consultancy IdeaWorksCompany.com in Shorewood, Wisconsin.  In Brazil, “they’re messing with the economics of airlines,” Sorensen said in a telephone interview. Brazil risks bankrupting its airlines by dictating what they can charge for, he said.

Financial Review of Australia
Qantas frequent flyer changes ‘bewildering’ for customers
Qantas Airways may have marketed recent changes to its frequent flyer ­program as “simpler and fairer”, but in reality the airline added “daunting ­complexity” to its loyalty scheme, according to a new report from US consulting firm IdeaWorksCompany.

Financial Post of Australia
Airlines go à la carte: Why travellers should get used to baggage fees and more ‘unbundling’
“We predict that the inclusion of free baggage as a benefit of a fare will disappear worldwide over the course of the next few years,” said Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorksCompany, a Wisconsin-based consulting firm that helps airlines generate more revenue through ancillary fees.  According to research by IdeaWorksCompany, global airline ancillary revenue soared nearly 1,200% between 2007 and 2013 as more carriers embraced the concept of “unbundling,” or charging separately for a variety of services.

The Australian
Selling those little extras pushes Jetstar into top 10
THE Jetstar Group has emerged among the top 10 airlines in the world when it comes to the percentage of its revenue derived from selling extras to passengers.  Jetstar made about a fifth of its revenue by selling extras, such as checked baggage, in-flight entertainment and meals, in fiscal 2013, according to a survey from US-based IdeaWorksCompany.

Forbes
Airline Profits Are Up, Thanks To Everything But Airfares
“Without ancillary revenue, the airline industry would be at a loss overall,” says Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorks, the Shorewood, Wis.-based consulting group which tracks ancillary revenue.

2013 Airline Ancillary Revenue Lifts to $31.5 Billion – Up Nearly 1200% Since 2007
The annual CarTrawler survey of global airline ancillary revenue shows growth to $31.5 billion for 2013 ─ an increase of 1200 percent since the first such survey in 2007. IdeaWorksCompany researched the financial filings made by 114 airlines all over the world, 59 of which disclose ancillary revenue activity, to reveal that ancillary revenue reported by airlines reached $16 per passenger in 2013, easily surpassing global figures for profit per passenger. This press release describes highlights from this research and a top 10 list of best performing carriers in three categories.
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CarTrawler Survey of Airline Ancillary Revenue GRAPHIC

Southwest, airberlin, Virgin Australia Still Tops For Rewards, But Delta and Turkish Airlines Make Big Leaps Upward
Value-oriented airlines dominate the results in the 5th annual Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey. Airberlin, Southwest, and Virgin Australia have placed within the top six slots for every edition of the reward survey since 2010. For 2014 airberlin and Southwest share first place with outstanding 100% scores; every flight queried in the survey provided reward seats at saver-style levels. The 25 carriers in the survey remained the same as 2013, except China Southern replaced AirTran as the latter continues to be absorbed by its parent Southwest Airlines.
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Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey GRAPHIC 

Airline ancillary revenue projected to reach $42.6 billion worldwide in 2013
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 $42.6 billion worldwide in 2013. The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents a massive increase of 89% from the 2010 estimate of $22.6 billion.  The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue marks the fourth year IdeaWorksCompany has prepared a projection of global ancillary revenue activity, and is the first year that CarTrawler’s sponsorship of this forecast includes a series of ancillary revenue reports.

Reported Airline Ancillary Revenue Surged to $27.1 Billion in 2012—Up 19.6% in One Year
IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy in the area of airline ancillary revenues, and CarTrawler, the leading provider of online car rental distribution systems, today announce the results of the CarTrawler Review of Ancillary Revenue Results for 2012.

Value Airlines Fill Top 7 Slots with Best Reward Seat Availability, and Among Global Airlines Singapore is Best.
IdeaWorksCompany releases results from the 4th annual Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey.