The 2020 edition of the CarTrawler Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue by IdeaWorksCompany is the largest ever, with 81 airlines disclosing results.
2019 was a year of overwhelmingly good ancillary revenue for airlines – which bolstered the industries resilience for a difficult 2020.
This year’s 81 airlines represent a very robust 68.6% of IATA’s worldwide airline industry traffic estimate for 2019; over all, ancillary revenue as a percentage of total airline revenue was 12.1% for 2019, which is a significant increase above the 10.7% for 2018.
“Covid-19 has had an enormous impact on the travel industry but there is also cause for optimism,” said Aileen McCormack, Chief Commercial Officer at CarTrawler.
“Thankfully, a significant number of the world’s largest airlines have realised the value of investing in a superior ancillary revenue platform, which is apparent by the outstanding results we see from last year and which has cushioned the financial blow of Covid. The travel industry has work to do to regain the losses caused by the pandemic, but we have strong foundations on which we can recover and thrive. By working together we can drive recovery into the next decade.”
Airline activity has significantly decreased during 2020. IATA’s annual mid-year projection of current year activity shows around a 50% drop in airline revenue and passenger traffic. The second quarter of 2020 financial disclosures collected from 17 airlines revealed the ancillary revenue average among these carriers was 21.7% for the first quarter of 2019 and 22.1% for 2020. Half the carriers showed increased ancillary revenue for 2020, while the other half showed decreases.
The world’s airline industry is facing an epic struggle, which has also created a crisis for employees. The exceptional ancillary revenue of 2019 added a layer of cash to airline balance sheets which acted as a cushion for the turbulent 2020 that was to come.
The full report is available at https://ideaworkscompany.com/reports/
