Airline revenue is growing at nearly twice the pace of overall carrier revenue, shows a new report.
The SeatMaps.com Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue by IdeaWorksCompany finds that among the 58 airlines appearing in both the 2025 and 2026 editions, total ancillary revenue increased 13.4%, compared with a 7.2% increase in total revenue.
Billion-dollar ancillary revenue has become routine.
. . . USD1 Billion Plus
Thirty airlines generated at least USD1 billion in ancillary revenue in 2025, up from 27 airlines in 2024.
Frontier Airlines led the world in ancillary revenue as a share of total revenue. Ancillary revenue accounted for 60.2% of the airline’s total revenue.
Jet2.com achieved a new Yearbook record for ancillary revenue per passenger. The airline generated USD100.73 per passenger.
The figures from 2025 financial reports show that per passenger, Air New Zealand generated an estimated USD23, while Qantas generated USD63 and Jetstar USD39.
. . . Economic Miracle
United Airlines was top for total ancillary revenue. The the carrier’s 2025 result was USD11.5 billion, which is 9.3% higher than 2024.
Ancillary revenue gains over the past five years have been powered by the airline industry’s embrace of seat assignment fees and greater reliance on branded fares, says Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorksCompany.
Ancillary revenue has demonstrated ‘remarkable durability’ in both good times and bad.
“It has adjusted reliably to economic challenges, often more effectively than passenger fares, which truly makes it an economic miracle for the airline industry,” says Sorensen.
