Following today's interim trading report, Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) retained its crown as the clear leader when it comes to generating nonticket, ancillary revenues from its passengers.
Ancillary revenues increased by 27.5% to €1.29 million in the first six months of the year, compared to passenger ticket revenues increasing by 49.1% to €1.76 billion.
Therefore, as a percentage of total revenues, non-ticket sales accounted for 42% of total revenues.
In comparison, budget competitor Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA)’s ancillary revenues comprised 29% of its €8.57 billion total revenues in the first half of 2023.
Over at easyJet plc, ancillary revenues for the past financial year totalled just 26% of total group revenues, making Hungary’s Wizz Air the clear leader of the budget airline pack when it comes to milking passengers for extra costs.
What comprises these ancillary, or non-ticket, sales exactly?
It’s a broad church, combining the following:
- Baggage charges
- Currency conversion charges
- Check-in fees
- Priority boarding (inlcuding extended legroom and reserved seats)
- Loyalty programme membership fees
- On-board refreshments
- Commissions generated from travel insurance, bus transfers, premium calls, car rentals and other ground and on-board services
Unfortunately, Wizz Air, nor its competitors, like to itemise these ancillary revenues, so we can’t determine how much they earn from beer sales, for instance.