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 31, 2019

October 31, 2019

Overhead bins are a battleground. Here’s what airlines are doing to fix the problem they caused.
Washington Post
“We’ve been living with the legacy of that since then,” says Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorksCompany, which consults with airlines on fees.  Last year, according to an estimate from the consultancy, global airlines charged more than $28 billion in baggage fees. That includes checked luggage, charges for bags that are extra-heavy or oversize and some carry-on bags. That total is up from $13.4 billion in 2014.

October 28, 2019

October 28, 2019

Why Are Airline Websites So Bad at Inspiring Travel?
Skift
Airlines have a problem: They are pretty good at selling flights, but they fail again and again when it comes to inspiring travel, and selling related products, from hotels to vacation packages, and bottles of booze.  Enter Jay Sorensen, a former director of marketing at Midwest Airlines, a consultant, and the president of IdeaWorksCompany, which recently published Finding the Path to Fix Airline Retail.

October 15, 2019 – Press Release

October 15, 2019

Becoming the “Amazon of Travel” Should Not Be a Goal for Airlines
CarTrawler-sponsored analysis shows airlines how to stop treating air travel as a commodity and dominate the travel planning process.  It’s hard to believe we are nearing the 24th anniversary of airline websites – Alaska Airlines sold the first air travel ticket online in December 1995. Fast forward to today, airline websites still promote two core functions: transactions and information retrieval. At present, airline websites are little more than cash registers surrounded by shelves of merchandise. This report encourages airlines to move from a transaction focus to become robust retailers of travel.

October 15, 2019 – Report

October 15, 2019

Finding the Path to Fix Airline Retail
It’s hard to believe we are nearing the 24th anniversary of airline websites – Alaska Airlines sold the first air travel ticket online in December 1995. Fast forward to today, airline websites still promote two core functions: transactions and information retrieval. At present, airline websites are little more than cash registers surrounded by shelves of merchandise. This report encourages airlines to move from a transaction focus to become robust retailers of travel.

A podcast of this report has been recorded, and is available at Spotify and Google Podcasts.  Click this link to listen on Spotify.

September 29, 2019

September 29, 2019

Non-ticket revenues account for more than 10 per cent of airline earnings
Business Traveller
Airlines generated more than $55.7 billion in revenues last year selling everything but airline tickets, according to a report from B2B travel technology platform CarTrawler and ancillary revenue strategists IdeaWorksCompany.  The yearbook and ancillary revenue guide included data on non-ticketed income from 76 airlines and states that such revenues have “remade the business models of the global airline industry.”

September 19, 2019

September 19, 2019

Airlines Reached 52 Billion Francs Through Additional Sales
Travelnews – Switzerland (This article was published in German)
Das Geschäftsmodell der Airlines hat sich grundlegend verändert. Zu diesem Schluss kommt die Idea Works Company nach der Untersuchung der Zusatzumsätze von 154 Fluggesellschaften weltweit.  2008 veröffentlichte das Unternehmen Idea Works Company ihr erstes CarTrawler-Jahrbuch über die ausserhalb des reinen Beförderungspreises generierten Umsätze von Fluggesellschaften. Damals wurden 23 Airlines detailliert mit ihren Zahlen aufgelistet und die Buchbarkeit von zusätzlichen Leistungen wurde als «einen jungen und fragilen Trend» eingestuft. Nun ist die Ausgabe 2019 mit Ausweisung detaillierter Zusatzumsatzzahlen von 76 Fluggesellschaften erschienen und zeigt, dass sich das Geschäftsmodell der Flugbranche massiv verändert hat.

June 26, 2019 – Press Release

June 26, 2019

British Airways Greatly Boosts Reward Seat Availability, and Entire Industry Shows Dramatic Improvement
The 10th annual Reward Seat Availability Survey finds Southwest, JetBlue, Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines atop the rankings.  The IdeaWorksCompany Reward Seat Availability Survey answers the question, “How easy is redemption for the most popular basic reward type offered by the world’s top airlines?” This year’s survey assesses 20 top airlines, with Etihad, Qatar, and Singapore as newcomers for 2019.  The net result is better reward seat availability for 2019 compared to 2018.  Of the frequent flyer programs surveyed this year, 13 provided better overall reward availability for 2019, with only three programs showing decreased availability.

Click here for 2019 Worldwide Reward Survey FAQs.

April 30, 2019 – Press Release

April 30, 2019

Global Baggage Fee Revenue Jumps to $28.1 Billion
CarTrawler Global Estimate of Baggage Fee Revenue reveals 110% increase from 2014 estimate of $13.4 billion.  IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenues, and CarTrawler, the leading technology platform providing transport solutions for online businesses, recently estimated ancillary revenue at $92.9 billion worldwide for 2018. This CarTrawler Global Estimate of Baggage Fee Revenue identifies baggage as a $28.1 billion component and provides a worldwide summary of baggage fee policies for 20 top airlines.

February 19, 2019 – Press Release

February 19, 2019

European Airlines Lead 2018 a la Carte Revenue Estimate at $22.5 Billion with Asian Carriers 2nd at $18.8 Billion
IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenues, and CarTrawler, the leading technology platform providing full end to end transport solutions for online businesses, recently estimated airline a la carte revenue at $65 billion worldwide for 2018. The CarTrawler Global Statistics of a la Carte Revenue adds regional details and 2014 comparisons to the figures from the earlier November 2018 release.  A la carte activity is a significant component of ancillary revenue and consists of the amenities consumers can add to their air travel experience. These include fees paid for checked baggage, assigned seats, buy-on-board meals, early boarding, and onboard entertainment.

November 27, 2018 – Press Release

November 27, 2018

Airline Ancillary Revenue Projected to Be $92.9 Billion Worldwide in 2018
IdeaWorksCompany, the foremost consultancy on airline ancillary revenue, and CarTrawler, the leading provider of online car rental distribution systems, project airline ancillary revenue will reach $92.9 billion worldwide in 2018. The CarTrawler Worldwide Estimate of Ancillary Revenue represents a 312% increase from the 2010 figure of $22.6 billion, which was the first annual ancillary revenue estimate.  Earlier this year, CarTrawler and IdeaWorksCompany reported the ancillary revenue disclosed by 73 airlines for 2017. These statistics were applied to a larger list of 175 airlines to provide a truly global projection of ancillary revenue activity by the world’s airlines for 2018.
Click here for 2018 Worldwide Estimate Infographic (JPG file).

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