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Travel Boom Drives Sharp Increase in US Airline Reward Prices – Press Release

March 13, 2025

American and Southwest offer lowest prices in the US Domestic Reward Report, which is the latest Pro Series Report by IdeaWorksCompany. Inflation has worked its way through every nook and crevice of the US economy. The Consumer Price Index posted a 24% increase since the pre-pandemic period of 2019. The average reward seat increase posted by 6 airlines jumped nearly 36% during the same period, with a dramatic range of 9% to 153%. American swam against this current and registered a 21% decrease since 2019.

The 2025 US Domestic Reward Report released today by IdeaWorksCompany answers the question, “How costly is points redemption for the most popular basic reward type offered by top US airlines?” This year’s survey assesses six US airlines: Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United.

“The accrual penalties placed on basic economy fares by most airlines has a crushing effect on the value of frequent flyer programs for everyday consumers,” said Jay Sorensen, President of IdeaWorksCompany and author of the report. “It directly conflicts with the objective to add members and to grow them into loyal customers who buy a bigger array of services.”

Paid Seating Becomes Most Prevalent Offer in the Booking Paths of 25 Airlines – Press Release

February 18, 2025

The 2025 Almanac of Airline Retail navigates booking complexity and is the first Pro Series Report by IdeaWorksCompany.

The standard boarding instruction airline passengers hear is now the #1 item they find in online ticket booking paths, according to the new Almanac of Airline Retail. Paid seating tops the list of a la carte items for sale at 25 leading global airlines – and it’s no wonder. Seat assignments are the most conspicuous aspect of flying today, outstripping the top item a decade ago, checked baggage.

The Almanac offers 52 pages of booking path (web, Apple, Android) data and analysis; here are some unique features associated with several of the airlines:

• Air Canada and Ryanair offer 5 bundled fares – the highest number found.
• Air France provides elite status points when its Flying Blue members contribute to carbon reduction efforts.
• Frontier and Spirit Airlines are tied for the biggest shopping carts. Each offers 10 a la carte items in their booking paths; Ryanair appears in 3rd place with 9.
• Frontier inserts a 30-day All-You-Can-Fly pass into its booking path.
• Korean Air was the only airline not offering bundled fares among the 25.
• Ryanair gives free seat assignments to kids with the Family Plus bundle.
• Spirit Airlines has consumers “toggle” between checking a bag or bringing a larger carry-on bag when buying the Go Savvy fare.
• Turkish Airlines offers the ability to block a middle seat for a fee.

The 2025 Almanac of Airline Retail is a 52-page Pro Series Report from IdeaWorksCompany and is designed for airline and travel industry professionals. It’s available for sale at the IdeaWorks store: https://ideaworkscompany.com/store/

Click here to view/download the graphic from page 1 of the press release as a JPG file.

Low Cost Carriers Surrender to FFP Popularity – Press Release

December 3, 2024

Low Cost Meets Loyalty was issued today as a 15-page report to analyze the FFPs of these ten airlines: Air Arabia, AirAsia, Azul, Frontier, GOL, IndiGo, JetBlue, Pegasus, Viva Aerobus, and Vueling. Decades ago airline executives predicted “low cost” and “loyalty” were an impossible combination. But today, loyalty is now firmly embraced by LCCs.

Airline Ancillary Revenue Skyrockets to $148.4 Billion Worldwide for 2024 – Press Release

October 29, 2024

The CarTrawler worldwide estimate leaps nearly 26% above 2023 and nearly $39 billion above the pre-pandemic year of 2019. CarTrawler, the leading B2B provider of car rental and mobility solutions to the global travel industry, and IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultant on ancillary revenue, project airline ancillary revenue will increase to $148.4 billion worldwide for 2024, compared to $117.9 billion for 2023 and well above the previous $109.5 billion record in 2019. This CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents an increase largely built on 2023 passenger growth and increasing market share gains by low cost carriers.

Click here to view/download the graphic from page 1 of the press release as a JPG file.

Click here to view/download the graphic from page 2 of the press release as a JPG file.

2024 Big Book of Airline Data Reveals $918 Billion in Revenue for 2023, Up More Than 32% From Prior Year – Press Release

October 22, 2024

IdeaWorksCompany, a foremost consultant on ancillary revenue, frequent flyer programs, and airline retail, has released the 5th edition of its annual data compendium: The Big Book of Airline Data by IdeaWorksCompany.

The new edition provides a world of data for individual airlines, regional compilations, airline alliances, employment data, and frequent flyer membership totals. The collection of data allows for interesting comparisons; here is a sampling of global results for 2023:

• Asia & Pacific airlines experienced the largest year-over-year traffic growth of 116.2%; the region also has the largest share of global traffic at 32.1%.
• Canada and US airlines remain the world’s largest revenue producers with a 29.4% share of global airline revenue. However, Asia & Pacific had the highest year-over-year growth of airline revenue at 80.9%.

Low-Cost Carriers Reach Ancillary Revenue Records While Traditional Airlines Stumble – Press Release

September 24, 2024

Top-performing LCCs gain 13.1% on a per passenger basis, but traditional airlines drop 4.3% in the 2024 CarTrawler Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue. The 2024 edition of the CarTrawler Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue by IdeaWorksCompany, released today, describes ancillary revenue activities and results for 68 airlines in 2023, revealing divergences in trends and providing an assessment of the industry as a whole. While total ancillary revenue for the top 10 airlines surpassed pre-pandemic levels by over 41%, the report highlights the changing fortunes among air carriers.

Click here to download a JPG graphic of the top 10 airlines ranked by ancillary revenue as a % of total revenue.

This report is now available for purchase in our store: https://ideaworkscompany.com/store/

Buckets of Cash: Airport Lounges Are Big Business, With Delta Sky Clubs Serving More Than 30 Million Guests Annually – Press Release

May 21, 2024

Airport Lounges Are the Hottest Ticket was issued today as an 18-page report to describe the economics of lounges and consumer fascination with these airport retreats. The following are key findings from the report:

Co-branded credit cards contribute 40% of guests for airline-operated lounges in the US, with just 5% of guests purchasing single visit passes.
Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance together offer access to more than 2,300 lounges worldwide.
Delta’s Sky Clubs likely generated more than $772 million for the airline in 2023.
Capital One, which is set to add 300 million customers with its purchase of Discover Card, operates 50+ Capital One Cafes in urban settings, and airport lounges at Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, and Washington Dulles.

Nine Airline Companies Comprise a $30 Billion Dollar Club Courtesy of Co-Branded Credit Cards – Press Release

April 16, 2024

Co-branded credit cards deliver wheelbarrows of money for some airlines. The latest IdeaWorksCompany report explores how this has transformed frequent flyer programs (FFPs) and contemplates the effect upon customer loyalty. Many airlines have shifted from sole reliance on behavioral loyalty, which relies upon a customer’s expectations for service and quality. Carriers now embrace transactional loyalty which emphasizes exchange relationships where something is given and something is received. The report advises caution about over-reliance on the co-branding bounty and suggests focusing more on the overall customer experience. Airline Loyalty Becomes a Multi-Billion Dollar Club was issued today as a 16-page report. It describes how airline FFPs generate revenue in the billions and provides abundant analysis and research on the business of co-branded credit cards.

Frequent Flyer Programs Deliver Lower Reward Value in the Era of Basic Economy Fares and Co-Branded Cards – Press Release

April 2, 2024

The 2024 Reward Seat Availability Survey reviews Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United flight rewards. The IdeaWorksCompany Reward Seat Availability Survey answers the question, “How costly is points redemption for the most popular basic reward type offered by top US airlines?” Key overall findings include:

• Prices of rewards (in miles or points) has increased significantly since 2019 and, moreover, by 7 points above the rate of inflation for the same period.
• Reward payback for 2024, which measures the reward value provided per dollar spent on base fares, dropped overall more than half from 2019.
• Basic economy fares are disrupting the value provided by frequent flyer programs through policies which reduce or eliminate mileage/points accrual

This year’s survey assesses six US airlines and repeats the same methods used 5 years ago in 2019. The IdeaWorksCompany Reward Seat Availability Survey is based upon 600 booking and fare queries made by the IdeaWorksCompany at the websites of six frequent flyer programs to assess low-priced everyday reward seat availability. Lowest-price rewards are an important benefit for most members and the primary topic of this survey.

Branded Fares Dominate Ancillary Revenue for New Airlines All Over the World – Press Release

March 19, 2024

New entrant airlines provide a unique marketing lesson because they begin with an empty canvas. In theory, start-up teams scan the competitive environment and select features they believe will produce success. Today, new airlines overwhelmingly rely upon branded fares as their primary ancillary revenue method. This is a significant change from ten years ago when these were much rarer. Branded fares provide the best ancillary revenue results and are based upon marketing research which has shown many consumers prefer a “middle choice” rather than opting for the lowest or highest price. Seven Young Airlines Try Their Ancillary Revenue Wings was issued today as a 16-page report. It provides six recommendations for boosting ancillary revenue through the branded fares method.

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