This wasn’t just the Easter weekend, it was also the weekend when the iPad hit the stores. Before I could get over the initial frenzy, I saw an article on Mashable that talked about a university buying iPads for all its incoming freshmen! That bold idea got me thinking…does the iPad have the potential of chancing the way airlines do business too?

In fact, there’s been ample debate already, with the queen of in-flight entertainment (IFE), Mary Kirby, concluding that it’s a fad, even as the CIO of JetStar, Stephen Tame was quoted as saying that the iPad “may lead in the future the end of airline in-flight entertainment systems”.

Why does the iPad matter for airlines?
It matters because no longer are mobile devices limited to small screens only centimeters wide, with the iPad. Combine that with the advent of in-flight wifi and we’re talking business.

I’m not talking about every passenger carrying on-board an iPad. That’s probably not possible. At least not very soon, and not across nations. What I’m suggesting is that it might be a good idea for airlines that do not have …

RyanAir has a new lounge at Stansted. And it’s for real! RyanAir is known for being creative about ancillary revenues. We all know about the much-discussed toilet charge. But did you know that RyanAir has recently opened a new lounge at Stansted Airport? For under 18 bucks, you get breakfast, wifi, sofas and even showers before you board your flight. And the lounge has received some rave reviews as well.Now this is a sort of service I’m sure many wouldn’t mind paying for – because it’s value-added charges, not charges for un-bundling, as is generally the case.AirAsia has a shop in a mall in KLForget about in-flight shopping – that’s old school and increases the aircraft’s weight. AirAsia now has not one, but two “kiosks” in Kuala Lumpur. One is at the LCCT itself, and a new one has come up at Pavillion Mall. They promise even more outlets soon! Here, you can buy AirAsia merchandise like plane models, t-shirts and even hand-bags.…

As promised at the start of the year, SimpliFlying will be bringing you more Guest Columns from leading aviation practitioners around the world. Our second guest article of the year is written by Oussama Salah, who is an aviation expert based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Being a Jordanian who flies around the region a lot and works in the sector, he shares with us his thoughts on why the proposed checked-in bag fee by Etihad is not a good idea. —–—–—– “ETIHAD may charge for second piece of luggage” This  was a remark made by James Hogan Etihad’s CEO, otherwise I would have thought it was a joke. Why would an aspiring and highly branded airline with cash flushed owners want to do something like this? Etihad operates in a highly competitive and well connected market, whether it is the UAE, MENA or the Indian subcontinent. The traveling public (both Arabs and Indians) in the region is traditionally price sensitive and is used to weight and not number of bags. It is basically a visit friends and relatives (VFR) market used to carrying gifts and shopping across continents, …

Note: This is a cross-post from Steven Frischling’s Flying with Fish blog. Steven Frischling, aka: Fish, is a self employed photographer, and founder of The Travel Strategist, who has flown approximately 1,000,000 miles since he began to track his mileage 2005.
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Throughout the past year airlines have suffered massive financial losses due to record high fuel prices, a weakening global economy and declining demand for airline seats.

In an attempt to increase their financial stability many airlines in the United States, and around the world, turned to the ancillary revenue generated by charging passengers for their baggage.   As angered as passenger have been regarding the checked baggage fees they have helped major airlines in the United States collect more than US$1,145,385,850 in revenue during 2008…and baggage fees weren’t even initiated by most airlines in the United States until the middle of the second fiscal quarter of 2008.

The fourth fiscal quarter of 2008 saw airlines pull in US$498,600,000 alone!

Checked baggage fees have always provided a significant revenue source for airlines, however prior to the past year this revenue was for excess baggage and overweight baggage. Airlines that do not allow any free-checked baggage, such as American Airlines, now consider all …

This is a guest post by Rob Mark from Jetwhine.com in Chicago. We’ve decided to begin a little cross-posting here at SimpliFlying and at Jetwhine.

A commercial pilot and journalist, Rob has been writing Jetwhine as the blog of “aviation buzz and bold opinion,” for two and a half years. His posts are never dull because you never need to try to figure out where he and his co-writer Scott Spangler stand on an issue. Enjoy.

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For as long as I can remember, Southwest Airlines, now the largest U.S. domestic airline, created in the 1970s by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, has been the low-cost airline others most want to emulate. The need to copy isn’t just about money, although Southwest has a profit history better than any other airline in the world. Most Southwest look-a-likes have, in fact, been dismal failures.

Southwest has a record of solid labor relations – despite last week’s pilot contract rejection – and a culture of customer fun in an industry that most others have never been able to duplicate. Southwest simply delivers a solid, consistent service at a …

Note: This is a cross-post from Steven Frischling’s Flying with Fish blog, and the original can be read here. Steven Frischling, aka: Fish, is a self employed photographer, and founder of The Travel Strategist, who has flown approximately 1,000,000 miles since he began to track his mileage 2005.
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Everyday hundreds of thousands of travellers take to the internet to search for the lowest airfare for their travels. Eventually many of these travellers with find themselves at the website of a Low-Cost-Carrier (LCC) lured in by the promise of cheap fares…but really what the cost of flying with an LCC?

Irish carrier Ryanair is one of the most notable LCC’s in the world, with a network that operates from a staggering 32 ‘Hub’ airports. Ryanair is known for charging for everything…what exactly is ‘everything?’ well how about they charge you to check in for your flights…either online or at the airport…rates vary.

How do the rates vary? Well if you check in online, and you booked your ticket online your check in fee is €5 (US$6.75), but if you check in online but you booked your ticket via the telephone your check in fee is €10(US$13.50).

Can’t check …

63% of airline executives think that ancillary revenues will be a major source of profits in the future. But are they getting it right with the short-term moves like charging for water and then reversing the charge? Probably not. And this was the issue I addressed in my webinar entitled “Airlines 2.0: 5 ways to unleash the potential of ancillary revenues in a downturn.” The webinar was very well received with some very interesting questions asked by the participants.
And I’m sharing the slides from that webinar here. The slides include a bonus video (see slide 14) which I couldn’t show during the webinar since it wasn’t possible to do it remotely. But I’ve integrated them here exclusively for my blog readers.
Here’s what you’ll learn from these slides:

Make un-bundling work to suit your customers’ lifestyles

Entice customers through “reverse-bundling” in the recession
Maximize existing revenue channels, without compromising the brand
Cultivate new revenue channels using Web 2.0 tools, like Facebook, Twitter and blogs
Increase conversion rates for ancillary channels
Keep the brand intact while …

I was recently interviewed once again by Addisson Schonland, of the IAG Podcast fame. This time, it was about a topic I’ve

recently writting about, ancillary revenues, and what I will be covering in my upcoming webinar on April 16, 2009.

Here’s the interview, for your listening pleasure (click the title to listen).

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Making ancillary revenue work with brand strategy
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April 08, 2009 01:11 PM PDT
This subject is attracting ever more interest as airlines try to find news ways to separate customers from their money. In truth customers understand that airlines need to make money to stay afloat – but do they have to nickel and dime to such an extent? Is there no way to make the pocket pilfering feel less like an consumer funded industry bailout?

Shashank Nigam, CEO of Simpliflying.com takes …

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I discovered this outrageously funny video about airline fees. The point to note is that this video is predicting airline fees in “the year 2007″! And true enough, by the end of 2007, and throughout 2008, we started seeing the rise in airline fees for everything from checking-in a second bag, to a cup of water (which I think qualifies for a human right violation). When ancillary revenues are pursued independently of brand strategy, here’s what happens. Enjoy!

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