Airlines Overlook Half a Billion Pounds of Secondary Revenue

The tech company Zamna conducted new research, according to which Airlines seem to leave half a billion pounds of untouched ancillary revenue from passengers looking for assurance that they would be able to board their desired flights.

Independent market research conducted with a poll from over 2,000 consumers from the UK revealed that 76% of passengers are willing to pay extra on top of their airfare for a confirmed travel documentation check, such as a passport check against border rules, destination entry forms, VISA, proof of vaccination and health certificates, against the destination prior to arriving at the airport.

The survey shows that travellers are willing to pay £5.32 on average for the peace of mind prior to flight. This will accumulate £510 million of safety revenue for airlines courageous enough to find and implement a solution for the problems currently plaguing the air travel industry.

What’s more, 35 per cent among these 76 per cent of consumers is actually ready to pay up to £10 for the assurance of such a service.

The survey also highlighted that 64 per cent of participants believed that it is the airline's responsibility to ensure that the passenger’s flight-related paperwork is in order prior to arriving at the airport, while 16 per cent have contradictory beliefs. In the  prior belief, in the event that a passenger misses their flight, the airline should provide a document check over a full refund.

Irra Ariella Khi, the CEO of Zamna, said, “With the industry struggling to sustain losses of £9.54 billion now is the perfect time to highlight as much as half a billion pounds in potential revenue to airlines - and that’s just in the UK alone,”. She also adds,  “Aside from the financial gains, a huge portion of the pain felt by airlines and travellers alike can also be eased with simple, available tech improvements that digitise document handling in advance. However, much of the new tech being introduced by airlines and airline groups is just not working; the need for more equipment and behavioural changes generated by the solutions causes pain for all, whether that’s downloading a new app, having to print a document or present a QR code. The passport is the only globally recognised identity document, and we have been travelling on it for decades; it should be, and is, the only thing one needs to travel with total confidence if the tech is right.”

Khi also made some warning comments that any changes implemented must be present on all travel-related tech platforms such as global distribution systems (GDS), passenger service systems (PSS), and customer relationship management (CRM) for airlines to access this additional revenue of such high scale. She also explains, “It’s so important that new technology solutions in this field are industry-wide, affect all airlines positively, and are inclusive of passengers - avoiding costly and limiting vendor locks, and instead serving a global price-sensitive, Covid-exhausted audience. It must also allow airlines to be prepared for whatever is thrown at them with evolving markets, ever-updating regulations, and changing customer requirements,”.

Aside from yielding profit margins of large quantities through proper implementation of omnipresent tech-powered solutions, we can also notice significant operational efficiencies created through the right technology. Also, let’s consider how it will reduce the risk of inflicting heavy regulatory fines which are caused by providing incorrect passenger information to governments. Furthermore, check-in processes that are slow and labour-intensive can be accelerated or bypassed altogether by erasing some manual checking procedures that are still prevalent at airports. So in conclusion, adopting the available solutions can result in placing the long and slow-moving lines of UK travellers and the recent staff-shortage in the past.

“We’re entering a new era of travel and airlines need to get on board,” Khi concluded. “Tech that supports the bottom line, while assuring passengers and reducing pressure on airline staff, is the key to airlines securing recovery.”