Aer Lingus, Pegasus, Spirit, SWISS and WestJet Provide Excellent Online Examples of a la Carte Promotion

Dublin, Ireland, 22nd February, 2016: Shopkeepers know the best store layout balances an efficient shopping experience with the placement of subtle detours that cause consumers to consider buying more. Retail methods can fill airline shopping carts too; airline websites can easily apply these practices to booking path design. This requires airline executives to think like retailers and to create websites that go beyond enabling simple transactions to becoming destinations that engage and excite consumers.

The latest report from IdeaWorksCompany, sponsored by CarTrawler, reviewed the websites of airlines all over the world and details good practices regarding booking paths ─ and also what airlines should avoid:

Aer Lingus offers a good example for airlines to follow with a clean and concise presentation of its a la carte baggage policy through the use of simple graphics and transparent pricing.
Pegasus takes a robust approach to onboard catering; compelling visuals and a minimum of online spacerepresent a good model for airlines to consider.
Spirit treats seat assignment like items on a store shelf and marks every available seat with a price. Consumers reacted to this fee transparency with seat assignment sales of $76 million for 2014.
SWISS provides the best example for the presentation of branded fares, which likely encourages more than 40% of consumers to trade up to premium-priced Classic and Flex fares.
WestJet packs a lot of car rental promotion into a modest amount of space with multiple brands, transparent pricing that includes all fees and taxes, and the lure of bonus frequent flier points.
“Path to Profits: How the Best Airlines Promote a la Carte Sales in the Booking Path” was released today as a free 16-page report available at the IdeaWorksCompany website. The 2016 Ancillary Revenue Report series is sponsored by CarTrawler. To download the report, please click this link.

About CarTrawler: CarTrawler’s connects business and leisure customers and online travel retailers with more road and rail transport solutions than they will find anywhere else. Over 70 international airlines and 2,000 travel retailers around the world trust CarTrawler to provide their customers with real-time access to over 1,500 leading and independent car rental agents, coach transfers, rail networks and chauffeur drive services at 30,000 locations in 174 countries. CarTrawler also owns and operates the Cabforce, Holiday Autos and Argus Car Hire brands. The company headquarters and Customer Centre of Excellence are located in Dublin, Ireland, with additional offices in Boston, London and Helsinki. CarTrawler is private equity backed by BC Partners and Insight Venture Partners. For further information, please visit www.cartrawler.com.

About IdeaWorksCompany: IdeaWorksCompany was founded in 1996 as a consulting organization building brands through innovation in product, partnership and marketing, and building profits through financial improvement and restructuring. Its international client list includes airlines and other travel industry firms in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. IdeaWorksCompany specializes in ancillary revenue improvement, brand development, customer research, competitive analysis, frequent flier programs, and on-site executive workshops. Learn more at IdeaWorksCompany.com.