Ancillary Revenue Grows Twice as Fast as Fares, Yearbook Shows

Ancillary revenue across 63 airlines grew by $13.2 billion on a like-for-like basis, expanding at twice the rate of overall airline revenue. The figures come from IdeaWorksCompany's 2026 SeatMaps.com Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue, published in its 19th year and running to 110 pages, drawing on 2025 data. Total ancillary revenue now stands at $145 billion. The divergence between ancillary and fare income shows no sign of narrowing.

The context is an industry running on remarkably thin arithmetic. IATA forecasts total airline revenues of $1.053 trillion in 2026, up 4.5% on the prior year, against operating expenses of $981 billion, up 4.2%. Net profit is forecast at $41 billion, a net margin of 3.9% and an average of $7.90 per passenger. Ancillary income matters precisely because it flows at higher incremental margins than base fares, and it has proved more elastic in growth terms. Against a cost base approaching $1 trillion, $13.2 billion is not a rounding error; for many carriers it is the difference between a profitable year and a marginal one.

What pressures make ancillary income structural?

Fuel offers no relief. IATA projects consumption will climb to 106 billion gallons in 2026, a 2.7% rise on the 103 billion gallons burnt in 2025. Fare recovery covers only part of that shortfall, and ancillary revenue does the work that ticket pricing alone cannot.

Sustainability obligations pile on. IATA's figures point to sustainable aviation fuel incremental costs of $4.5 billion in 2026, with SAF supply at 2.4 million tonnes, or 0.8% of total consumption. CORSIA compliance costs are forecast to climb from $1.3 billion in 2025 to $1.7 billion in 2026. Passengers encounter these expenses only indirectly for now, but the margin squeeze they produce makes ancillary income a structural necessity rather than an optional line.

How did loyalty programmes become collateral?

The clearest evidence of the ancillary model's maturation sits on carrier balance sheets. Between July 2020 and March 2021, loyalty programme securitisations enabled Delta, United and American to raise a combined $25.8 billion, according to DWU Consulting: $9.0 billion for Delta, $10.0 billion for American and $6.8 billion for United. What was long described as a marketing function became the most bankable asset on those balance sheets.

DWU Consulting reports United repaid all of its MileagePlus loyalty-secured debt in 2024 and 2025, a sign the asset held its value. A points currency underwriting billions in secured financing is the full-stop on any lingering doubt about how far the model has matured at the largest full-service carriers.

Is unbundling still a low-cost phenomenon?

The Yearbook's scope suggests not. Full-service carriers have adopted seat selection fees, checked baggage charges in lower fare classes, premium economy upsells and co-branded credit card revenues that once belonged exclusively to the low-cost and ultra-low-cost segment. Spirit's collapse is a reminder that ancillary revenue alone cannot rescue a structurally weak operation. Its fate underlines rather than undermines the logic: ancillary income works best as a supplement to a healthy core business, not a substitute for one.

Djois Franklin, Chief Executive of SeatMaps, framed the finding plainly: "Ancillary revenue growth on the pace and scale revealed in this Yearbook, double the rate of overall revenue and increasing $13.2 billion among like-for-like airlines, puts a spotlight on how both core and ancillary products are merchandised." The word merchandised carries weight. Selling a bundle of separable products, rather than seats, requires a retail capability carriers have spent years building, and the figures suggest that investment is paying off.

Does an ageing fleet cap the ceiling?

One complicating factor deserves attention. IATA projects average aircraft age will exceed 15 years in 2026, the highest figure ever recorded, as supply chain difficulties delay deliveries. Older airframes constrain the premium cabin retrofits, Wi-Fi installations and seatback entertainment upgrades that support some of the fastest-growing ancillary categories. Connectivity is itself an ancillary product, whether sold to passengers directly or monetised through advertising and retail partnerships. A fleet stuck on older metal cannot offer it as easily.

On 16 September 2026, IdeaWorksCompany released version 1.1 of the Yearbook, correcting the one-page listings for Emirates and Volaris. The ceiling on ancillary growth, if one exists, is not visible in the published data; what is visible is that carriers with mature loyalty programmes, flexible fare structures and genuine retail capability are pulling ahead of those still treating ancillary income as a secondary line.