AirPlus Gets A+ on Ancillary Fees Report

AirPlus has cracked the code on reporting airline ancillary fees.

Travel managers will find these reports extremely useful.  You’ll know with great  certainty what your travelers are buying from each airline. You’ll be able to answer important questions, such as:

• How much are we spending on Ancillary Fees (AF)?
• What are the biggest sub-categories of AF – baggage fees, onboard fees, upgrades, extra mileage, etc. (and therefore, implications for negotiations)?
• What’s the average

Why Ancillary Revenues Don’t Much Matter

Let’s cut to the nub of this issue.  No one will  ever know for sure if ancillary revenues make airlines more profitable.  There are just too many moving parts in an airline’s  revenue stream.  Sure, airlines may report an extra billion dollars in ancillary revenue (AR, from here on) – but what did fares do?

If fares went down, then maybe the extra AR revenue

Social Scanning, Fuzzy Shopping and More Travel Innovations

**Update: The four finalists are noted below in bold purple text.**

The Phocuswright Travel Innovation Summit showcased 34 firms yesterday. Each has an interesting new angle on some aspect of the travel business. For me, the firms in the social scanning and fuzzy shopping categories were the most intriguing.  See this post for my take on the implications for travel procurement.

What’s Next in Travel Innovation?

Today I watched 34 firms pitch their innovations at a major travel industry conference. Nearly all were aimed at the leisure travel segment, but keep reading…because innovations in the consumer market will shape the face of business travel.