Wizz Air at 56% – Corriere.it

On board a single aisle jet (photo IM Sovile / Unsplash)
The resumption of travel causes the sale of in-flight extras to take off. In 2022, passengers will pay a record 115 billion euros only for options, from priority boarding to checked baggage, from seat selection to high-altitude Wi-Fi connection, from food to a few centimeters more for legs. On average, almost a fifth of the ticket price derives from the purchase of the so-called ancillary services, but as regards low cost, the weight rises up to about 60% of Wizz Air. this is the estimate that the Courier obtains by comparing the forecasts of the airlines, the preliminary data of the booking platforms and the forecasts of Iata, the international association of airlines.
In the last few years The 2022 figure thus beats the historical record of 2019, pre Covid, which was about 106 billion euros, according to a report by IdeaWorks and CarTrawler who have been studying evolution for some time and have recently published the consolidated analysis on 2021 for each company. The years of the pandemic – which saw travel restrictions and the collapse of traffic – have little statistical value on the subject because the weight of the extras jumped up to 24% of the ticket in 2020, a year that saw travelers go down to 1.8 billion compared to 4.5 billion in 2019.
Forecasts This year, the calculations show, against an average outlay of 161 euros per passenger – considering national, international and intercontinental flights – the expenditure for ancillaries by the approximately 3.8 billion passengers envisaged by the IATA of over 30 euro each, more than the almost 23 euro in 2019. Moreover, the purchase of optional extras costs more can also be seen from the fact that the sum requested by the airlines on average is higher for the same service than three years ago. This is money that goes entirely into the company’s coffers because services such as priority boarding do not require an operational expense on the part of the carrier, he explains to the Courier an insider.
The strategies Over the years, airlines have become even more creative to extract value, that is, to make their travelers spend more. There are those who attack customers / passengers with e-mails: in 2021 the Air France-KLM group sent 71 million. There are those who bought the hotel chain and then sell the rooms on the company’s website (see Air Greenland). Some – like Air Asia – have created a super app where you don’t just buy flights, but book car passes, food or take out a mortgage.
The options Not only. On the ever-growing list there are companies that, obviously for an extra outlay, take the baggage directly home (the case of China Southern). There are those who ask for money to leave the seat next to them empty (Eurowings) or to take the entire row in Economy to sleep on some intercontinental flights (Lufthansa). There are those who offer half-price food on board in the afternoon (the Norwegian low-cost Flyr) and those who have exploited the Covid for non-destination flights – with departure and arrival at the same airport – for 95 euros (the Asian company T’way Air). And who, aware of the different economic availability of their customers, offers on the one hand the choice of seat (cost 30-40 euros per couple), and on the other has introduced the option of close seats: the case of Wizz Air which in 2021 they charged 10-12 euros, but this year they have already risen to 20 (per way).
In 2021 The recently published report by IdeaWorks and CarTralwer for 2021 estimates that the 75 airlines surveyed – out of approximately 630 passenger transport companies worldwide – recorded $ 48.4 billion in ancillary revenues. At the absolute level, the three American giants dominate, aided by the various loyalty programs and the issuance of co-branded credit cards: American Airlines with 5.9 billion, Delta Air Lines with 5.8 billion and United with almost 5.5 billion. But if you go and see in relation to the average outlay of customers, Wizz Air ranks first in the world (56%), the American low cost Frontier second (54.9%), third the rival USA Spirit (54.3 %).
Per passenger By studying the data on the basis of average spending – and not considering the Asian low-cost HK Express which in 2021 had very few passengers for Covid – the British company Jet2.com dominates with 87.2 dollars of extras charged per passenger, therefore the Australian Qantas $ 85.9 and Air Canada ($ 70.6). The trend is not destined to stop also because it is a way to calm the base fare and not to make passengers go away. I immediately hire those who can bring me a new way to earn another euro from each passenger, he told a while ago at Courier Michael O’Leary, managing director of Ryanair, the largest low cost in Europe (and second in the world). Anyone who has an idea just need intercoms in Dublin.
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