Ancillary management of low cost carriers

In order to provide competitive advantage in the airline sector, where competition is high and operating costs are constantly rising, different airline models have emerged. Low cost carrier model, which is one of these airline models offer more affordable prices for their passengers by separating and simplifying their services from the main product which is traveling between two points. These services, which are separated from the main product of airlines, are called ancillary services. The purpose of this study is to examine the airline ancillary services in order to create ancillary service strategy in low cost carriers. For this purpose, ancillary services was investigated in a Turkish low cost carrier which has both domestic and international flights. In this respect, five questions were examined separately for both 14 a la carte ancillary services and 9 commission based ancillary services. In the relevant literature, limited ancillary services studies were carried out by the survey method. Different from the previous studies, this study was carried out by Delphi method. In this way, it was aimed to reach more accurate and practical results with the consensus of the 17 airline ancillary management experts. In three rounds Delphi method, descriptive statistics were analyzed after each round. In this study, experts' consensus was calculated on the given judgments related to ancillary services. As a result of the Delphi method, consensus point was increased after each round and it was determined that there was a consensus on the all of judgments after the third round. Ticked change right, ticked refund right and excess baggage were found the most effective a la carte ancillary services for the airline selection of passengers; airport transfer and private passenger lounges were found to be the most effective commission based ancillary services. Ticked chance right was found among the a la carte ancillary services; airport transfer and car parking services were found among the commission based ancillary services for the easiest ancillary service willing to pay for the customers when start to sell. The right to carry excess baggage selling is found the most important a la carte ancillary for should be sold by the airline; car rental selling and private passenger lounges selling are found the most important among the commission based ancillaries for should be sold by the airline. The most appropriate a la carte ancillary service is found seat selection for selling with bundle, while the commission based ancillary service were found airport transfer service. Among the a la carte ancillary services seat selection and in-flight entertainment systems; among the commission based ancillary services private passenger lounges and fast track services are observed the most important ancillary services which could be purchased in order to increase the travel experience even if it is not needed.