Glossary

What is Ancillary revenue?

Ancillary revenue is income from services stripped out of the ticket price and sold separately, such as bags, seats or changes.

Ancillary revenue is income from services stripped out of the ticket price and sold separately, such as bags, seats or changes.

Also called: Unbundling, Ancillaries.

How it works#

Unbundling lowers the advertised base price and moves the margin into components that appear later in the booking path. For price comparison that means only the total including the bag and seat actually needed is comparable. At network airlines unbundling keeps spreading into fares that used to include everything.

Not to be confused with#

Ancillary revenue is not the same as hidden fees: the services are itemised and optional, but comparing them against all-inclusive prices becomes harder.

In German#

The German term is Zusatzerlöse. German version of this term

  • Basic economy: Basic economy is a network airline’s cheapest fare, with baggage, seat selection and changes stripped out of the price.
  • Seat selection fee: A seat selection fee is a charge for choosing a specific seat before departure instead of having one assigned at check-in.
  • Drip pricing: Drip pricing is a sales practice in which mandatory costs only become visible step by step during the booking process.

Articles that use this term#

TopicEvery article and term onBooking and flight search.
CalculatorStrategy CallWebinar