News & Research

The latest from IdeaWorksCompany.

Listed below are the most recent posts to the website.  Click on any item title or button to access our latest reports, press releases, and news items.  Or use the menu to the right to browse news, reports, articles featuring IdeaWorksCompany research, and press releases.

October 21, 2015 – Press Release

October 21, 2015

Marriott Rewards Found to Offer Best Reward Payback Among Leading Global Hotel Loyalty Programs
Marriott Rewards returns an average of 9.4% from room night spending as reward stay value in the first Switchfly Hotel Reward Payback Survey. That’s a 54% higher return than the reward value provided by Starwood SPG, which was ranked last among the four hotel loyalty programs at 6.1% for reward payback.  During July 2015, IdeaWorksCompany conducted 1,440 reward queries for key hotel brands in four global frequent guest programs: Hilton HHonors, IHG Rewards, Marriott Rewards, and Starwood SPG.  The result provides an average “reward payback” for each program, which is described in this press release.
You may download and use this JPG image:
Switchfly Hotel Reward Seat Survey 2015 Graphic

July 13, 2015 – Press Release

July 13, 2015

2014 Airline Ancillary Revenue Leaps to $38.1 Billion – Up Nearly 21% in a Year
For the eighth consecutive year, 63 airlines tracked by IdeaWorksCompany reported substantial increases in revenue from retail activities and the sale of a la carte services and frequent flier miles.  The IdeaWorksCompany study, sponsored by CarTrawler, focused on 63 airlines which disclosed qualifying revenue activity, to reveal that ancillary revenue reported by these airlines was $38.1 billion for 2014.

May 14, 2015 – Press Release

May 14, 2015

Southwest and airberlin Still Tops for Rewards, but Alaska Airlines and Avianca Jump in the Rankings
IdeaWorksCompany releases results from the 6th annual Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey.  Value-oriented airlines dominate the top tiers of the 6th annual Switchfly Reward Seat Availability Survey. Airberlin, Southwest, and Virgin Australia have placed within the top six in every edition of the reward survey since 2010. But global network carriers Air Canada (and the Aeroplan coalition loyalty program), Lufthansa, and Singapore are now in the top 5. Once again, airberlin and Southwest share first place with outstanding 100% scores; every flight queried in the survey provided reward seats at saver-style levels.
You may download and use this JPG image:
Swithfly Reward Seat Availability Survey Graphic

 

November 3, 2014 – Press Release

November 3, 2014

Airline ancillary revenue projected to be $49.9 billion worldwide in 2014 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 $49.9 billion worldwide in 2014.  The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents a massive increase of 121% from the 2010 figure of $22.6 billion.  Earlier this year, CarTrawler and IdeaWorksCompany reported the ancillary revenue disclosed by 59 airlines for 2013. These statistics were applied to a larger list of 180 airlines to provide a truly global projection of ancillary revenue activity by the world’s airlines in 2014.
You may download and use this JPG image:
Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue GRAPHIC

October 9, 2014

October 9, 2014

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.

September 22, 2014

September 22, 2014

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.

September 20, 2014

September 20, 2014

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.

September 10, 2014

September 10, 2014

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.

 

September 9, 2014

September 9, 2014

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.

July 16, 2014 – Press Release

July 16, 2014

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.
You may download and use this JPG image:
CarTrawler Survey of Airline Ancillary Revenue GRAPHIC

 

Scroll to Top