“Favorite” may not be the first word that comes to mind when travelers think about the ever-expanding roster of airline ancillary fees, but some are less objectionable than others.
A study by Switchfly, an SaaS platform for travel commerce, loyalty programs and shopping, reveals the majority of consumers (69 percent) routinely pay extra fees when flying, with checked bags (28 percent), preferred seating (22 percent) and in-flight meals (22 percent) leading the list of most common expenditures.
What’s more, almost half of consumers surveyed (49 percent) preferred a base fare with à la carte ancillary offerings over a more expensive bundled fare that includes checked baggage, meals, drinks and in-flight entertainment. When given the option of a no-frills base fare, a mid-tier fare with added ancillaries, or a higher priced bundled fare with even more ancillaries, most airline consumers chose the mid-priced bundled fare.
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