Low-cost carrier apps benefiting from diverse ancillary offerings

As travelers grow accustomed to individualized offerings - paying for things like insurance, baggage and seat and meal selection separately - airlines stand to gain by unbundling services.

According to research from Videc, which analyzed airline apps on Android devices, low-cost carriers in particular are profiting from ancillary sales over full-service carriers.

Half of airline apps sell insurance, though low-cost carriers offer more additional services such as seat selection (68%), additional baggage (61%) and meal purchase options (27%).

One in two low-cost carriers offers priority check-in via app, and those airlines are also more likely to distribute emerging ancillaries such as Wi-Fi and priority baggage options.

For non-air ancillary offerings – such as hotels and car rentals – most selections route to an in-app browser over a native booking experience.

One in four apps sells hotels, while 15% offer car rentals; Uber is emerging as an additional ancillary option from some apps.