Ryanair made more through the sale of added extras than any other airline outside the US, according to new research.
The Irish low-cost carrier made $2.3 billion from ancillaries such as reserved seats and checked in bags in 2017, according to the study by US consultancy IdeaWorks.
A total of 28.2% of Ryanair’s income came from ancillary revenue last year, with half of passengers paying for assigned seating, up by 23% in a year.
Those paying extra for priority boarding rose from 4% to 20% year-on-year.
It was the fifth largest earner from ancillaries after United Airlines at $5.7 billion, Delta, American and Southwest and above Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Alaksa Air, Air Canada and easyJet in tenth place at $1.3 billion.
The research found that 73 leading airlines made $47.2 billion from added extras.
The world’s top ten airlines made $29.7 billion in only 12 months
Overall, the $47.2 billion represents 9.6% of total sales for the 73 airlines covered by the survey.
“The largest single source of a la carte revenue remains checked baggage, with assigned seating a distant second,” said Michael Cunningham, distribution senior vice president at report sponsor CarTrawler.
“These are tried and trusted sources of revenue. But savvy airlines know they have more opportunities to serve their customers better.
“That includes boosting mobile web booking capabilities, implementing dynamic pricing methods, and reaching to capture more travel spending, particularly from hotel, sightseeing, and car hire.”
Ryanair told The Times: “All optional extras are visible on our website, Ryanair has no hidden extras and all optional services/fees are brought to customers’ attention and agreed prior to booking.”
EasyJet said: “In recent years our ancillary revenue has grown, driven by the increased popularity of our products including allocated seating, new hold luggage options including a smaller, cheaper bag and improvements in our inflight bistro range.”