Airlines’ Add-On Fees Boost Revenue by $22 Billion, WSJ Reports

Airlines increased revenue by a total of almost $22 billion last year through adding special fees to ticket sales, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a study by Amadeus IT Group SA and IdeaWorks Co.

According to the study, to be released today, 47 of the world’s biggest carriers, accounting for almost half of global airline revenue, reported ancillary sales of 15.11 billion euros, 38 percent more than in 2009, the newspaper said.

Ian Wheeler, who heads distribution and marketing at Amadeus, an airline-technology provider, told the Journal in an interview that “ancillary revenue is a growth market” and is here to stay.

Services formerly included in ticket prices that are now often charged for include baggage and food; fees for in-flight Internet connections are another source of revenue, according to the Journal.

Click here for web link

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alan Purkiss at apurkiss@bloomberg.net