Conference & Meetings World Supplements Airline Supplement | Page 8

Airline Supplement

Passenger fees soars 18.8%
The airline industry is
pocketing more revenue
than ever from passenger
fees, according to a
forecast on airline revenue
by Wisconsin-based
IdeaWorks Co.
By the end of 2015, the
world's airlines collected
an estimated $59.2bn in
passenger fees and other
income besides airfares,
which amounts to an
18.8% increase over last
year, according to the
report, which was based
on financial records and
analysis of 180 airlines.
Many airlines now charge

fees to check bags, board
early and buy food, drinks
and other extras including
charges to connect to
onboard Wi-Fi. The move
accelerated during the
recession as a means of
boosting revenues.
$22.5bn of the total
comes from transactions
such as the sale of
frequent flier miles to credit
card companies and
commissions from bookings
of hotel rooms and rental
cars by airline passengers.
The fees generate nearly 8%
of the industry's total revenue,
up from 6.7% in 2014.

Grouping business
with Virgin & Delta
Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines have
combined group teams and define
a group as 10 or more passengers
travelling out and back together in
Economy, or eight people in Premium
Economy or Upper Class.
Group tickets have a degree of
flexibility and you can pre-assign
group seating. If you have at least
20 passengers arriving at the airport
with a group leader a dedicated group
check in point can be provided.
A deposit is required, £50 for
Economy groups and £100 for
Premium Economy. Upper Class is
£200. Final commitment is due six
weeks prior to departure.

Agency views
Randle Stonier is founder & CEO of UK-based
event agency AddingValue
and books direct with Virgin, Emirates and
EasyJet although the agency works through Meon
or Airpartner for the likes of BA because of smaller
volume.
“In terms of alliances; we don’t tend to book
multi destination trips whereby you would tap into
a Star or oneworld alliance. In case of two centres
for instance whereby a regional flight is required,
we would rely on the affiliated airline; for instance
Singapore Airlines and Silk Air or Virgin and Delta.
“Airlines are keen to ensure you approach them
for groups but not all of them put their money
where their mouth is. This tends to become clear
once a group is booked and we discuss seating,
special treats, group check in etc. Virgin tend to

be better at this than most.”
In terms of what can go wrong, Stonier says
dealing with EasyJet is “a serious concern” due to
having to deal only through the call centre and
not through a dedicated person. “Changes in
bookings can be very costly,” he says.
“Emirates are great as they are able to offer you
tons of regional departures to Dubai avoiding the
need to route all guests through a London airport.
“Ticketing with Virgin and Emirates is great with
only 1 week prior to departure as their cut off.”
Dave Ball, of the FMI Group agency says his clients
prefer an agent to manage their flights and the only
time people may book their own travel would be if the
cost of the flights could be charged back through an
in-housecostingsystemorviathetravelcompanythat
manages the business travel.

Photo Credit: J. Rofer

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23/12/2015 15:33