Many fliers are open to spending more for features they care about, but some airline retail models haven’t captured the full value of customer preferences, Senior Partner Alex Cosmas and coauthors explain. While price is the most important attribute in an airline ticket bundle, customers are willing to pay the most to upgrade for baggage allowances, followed by seat selection and flexibility, according to a McKinsey survey. Travelers are not as interested in upgrade eligibility and lounge access.
Image description:
A paired bar chart displays the relative importance of an airline ticket bundle based on attributes. The percentage on the left represents the relative importance of an attribute when selecting a bundle, and the bar chart on the right indicates the average maximum amount customers are willing to pay for upgrades. The relative importance is as follows: price at 34%, baggage at 16%, seat selection at 10%, flexibility at 9%, miles collections at 7%, snacks and drinks at 6%, Wi-Fi at 5%, priority boarding at 4%, lounge access at 4%, and upgrade eligibility at 4%. The maximum amount customers are willing to pay for upgrades are: baggage at $112, seat selection at $57, flexibility at $54, snacks and drinks at $27, Wi-Fi at $18, priority boarding at $15, lounge access at $14, miles collections at $13 and upgrade eligibility at $12.
Note: This image description was completed with the assistance of Writer, a gen AI tool.
Source: McKinsey Consumer Survey on airline retailing preferences, March 2025 (n = 7,000).
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To read the article, see “The eight myths of airline retailing,” May 22, 2025.