The Independent
Since the rise of budget airlines such as Spirit and Frontier, U.S. airlines have dramatically shifted how they make money. Rather than earning profit margin on airfare itself, which is highly competitive, airlines are increasingly focused on “ancillary revenue” from add-on fees, credit card rewards programs and seat upgrades. Between 2019 and 2021, ancillary fees as a percentage of total revenue for major U.S. airlines jumped six percentage points, from 16.1% to 22.2% , according to a report by IdeaWorksCompany, an airline industry reporting firm. That follows a steady drumbeat of increased fee revenue going back to at least 2007.