Ancillary revenue goes up 21%

Ancillary revenue in the global airline industry rose 21% last year, according to analysis from IdeaWorks and CarTrawler. Low-cost carriers saw a 33% jump in extra fees, while the U.S. majors realized a 19% increase. Ancillary revenue at United Continental came out on top at $5.681bn. Spirit Airlines, Allegiant and Ryanair all showed a 24% increase in ancillary revenue. Interestingly Jet2.com, Spirit, and Qantas Airways all now make more than $50 per passenger. But Southwest, which is alone in the US LCC market for not charging for hold baggage still managed to increase ancillary revenue by 16% to $1.885bn.