Round Trip is your weekly roundup of what’s been happening in the passenger experience and airline ancillary revenue space. Here are the top stories from this past week:
Viva Ancillary! 5 Ways to Rethink the Pipeline
Industry expert, Tom Bacon, dives into the 5 areas airlines should be thinking about when it comes to ancillary revenues. He explains how ancillary products follow an S curve in take-up rates and airlines must introduce new ancillary products to sustain a growing source of revenue. The five areas he believes airlines should explore are bag fees, other service elements, third-party services, tech & mobile, and broader distribution.
Air Berlin Files for Bankruptcy After Shareholder Pulls Plug
After Etihad announced it would no longer provide financing for Air Berlin, the airline filed for bankruptcy. Air Berlin, Germany's second largest airline, will receive a loan from the government to ensure that no travelers are left stranded during their upcoming trips and will allow the airline to operate until November. With over 7,000 employees, the company will focus on securing jobs. Air Berlin had been working towards decreasing its debt load of 1.2 billion Euros and had started leasing out 38 planes to Lufthansa's Eurowings and Austrian Airlines this past December. Unfortunately, Etihad decided that after 6 years, it could no longer afford supporting the airline.
Level Launches ‘Pair and Pay’ Mobile Payment Option
Level passengers will now be able to pair their personal Android and Apple devices with their seatback screen to pay for services and items onboard. Eventually, the app will allow passengers to pay for IFE content like movies or TV shows. Passengers are able to store their payment information (credit or debit) in the Levelair app so they can easily purchase in one click. The payment service is currently available for flights from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Punta Cana.
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