Just when it seemed like all obvious ancillary revenue streams were nearing exhaustion, Spanish budget carrier Clickair has come up with a new cash-generating innovation. It has introduced a new Internet booking feature, giving passengers the option of paying a €2 ($2.70) fee to lock their chosen fare for 24 hours, or €5 to guarantee it for up to 72 hours.
Clickair is yet to formally announce the initiative (apparently that's planned for next week), but the airline's chief Alex Cruz referenced it during a session at the French Connect networking conference in Shannon,
Cruz said the 'lock your fare' service was turned on last week, giving passengers an opportunity to hold fares while researching accommodation or other elements of their trip. If the time lapses and the fare has not been confirmed, it is re-released for sale.
He adds: "It takes about 30 minutes to see [web initiatives like this] working. During the first two days we generated low five-digit numbers just from the fees, and we had a 60% conversion rate. It's another revenue stream."
You have to hand it to them; it's simple, logical and - judging by the response of some other airlines at the conference - is unlikely to remain isolated to Clickair for long.
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