a few people might want to take a look at DOT data, including table 1F which includes the percentage of ancillary revenue (defined by the DOT) and it will be noted that WN is in the top 10 airlines in terms of % of ancillary revenue to total revenue while AA and UA do not make that list.
WT, I did look at the table 1F and I downloaded the spreadsheet data, and unfortunately, the DOT data is, in this case, unreliable. How am I so certain of this fact? For some reason, AA, UA, CO and US are not reporting all of their frequent flyer mileage sales to partners to the DOT.
Table 1D is the key to uncovering the problem with the DOT data in this case. Table 1D includes pet transportation fees, frequent flyer mileage sales to partners and standby passenger fees. For Q2, DL reported $264 million and WN reported $215 million; both of those numbers are believable. DL charges pet fees, sells miles to partners and may charge standby fees (but I admit that I don't know). WN sells RR credits to partners and charges pet fees but does not charge standby fees.
For Q2, AA reported $20.7 million and MQ reported $10.6 million. I would argue that MQ numbers be added to AA for consistency, since Comair and ASA report zero as it appears that DL includes the amounts collected by its regionals, but that's not the key problem. AA charges pet fees and sells a lot of frequent flyer miles to Citi and lots of other partners. In 2010, it sold 115 billion miles to partners and that equals a billion dollars for the year (about $250 million per quarter) even if each mile sold for a little less than a penny each. AA does not charge "standby" fees but does charge a $50 same day confirmed fee (dunno if that fee is counted by DOT as a standby fee).
See the problem? AA (including MQ) reported a whopping $31.3 million total for the quarter for pet fees, frequent flyer mileage sales and standby fees. That doesn't pass the smell test. The $215 million reported by WN is just about all of its "other revenue" from its 10-Q, lending some credibility to its number. The DL total of checked bag fees plus reservation change fees plus misc revenue adds up just about all of its "other revenue" from its 10-Q. The AA total is only about 1/2 of its quarterly "other revenue" as shown in its 10-Q.
The DOT data for US, UA and CO appear to be similarly lacking.
Sometimes you have to do more than just download the BTS data and parrot it. Sometimes you have to employ some critical thinking to analyze whether the data is within the realm of reality. In this case, table 1F is unreliable.
WT: I frequently challenge your summaries of various data, not because I don't like you but because I would like to rely on the numbers you post. You post a lot of "DL is getting this percentage of that revenue and AA is getting only this percentage of that revenue" sort of posts. To the extent that your dataset consists of BTS filings, they may or may not be accurate. I don't ever want to rely on your numbers and then be blindsided with a successful challenge to my (your) numbers.
The assertion that WN gets a higher percentage of its revenue from ancillary sources defies reason, when you consider that WN does not charge change fees or first or second bag fees. All it has are RR credit sales plus pet fees plus its early bird boarding fees. And those are about 6% of revenue. AA charges bag fees, change fees, pet fees and sells over 100 billion AAdvantage miles each year. AA's ancillary revenue percentage is nearly double that of WN.