CarTrawler‘s latest ancillary revenue collaboration with IdeaWorks focuses on mobile and shows that airlines are coping better with selling seat selection than checked-in baggage.

The report looks at how 25 airlines perform, with IdeaWorks opting for Android over iOS because, globally, Android is used on nearly nine in ten of the world’s smartphones.

The airlines were chosen based on passenger traffic data.

Ryanair, IndiGo, Emirates and Air France were highlighted as providing examples of great mobile retailing, with Ryanair “the most advanced of those reviewed for this report.”

IdeaWorks specifically likes how Ryanair’s Android app works for seat allocations, with the carrier also getting the thumbs up for having incorporated five or more a la carte option to its mobile booking menu.

But it is seat selection and checked baggage which IdeaWorks focuses on, thinking along the lines that these are the ancillary items most popular with passengers on desktops (and thereby generating the most revenues for the airlines).  It found that while seat selection is generally working well on mobile, many airlines are struggling to when it comes to selling checked-in baggage.

JetBlue for example, is highlighted as having a disconnect between how its branded fares are displayed on desktop and on mobile, with the latter “very unfriendly for shoppers.” Air France on the other hand has mastered selling bags online by following three simple steps – let the passenger know what bags are included in the fare, make sure the fees are displayed clearly and offer the option to click for more details.

But ancillaries is about more than seat assignment and bags – the study talks about “airport lounge access, bonus miles, rail ticket connections, and even paying to have your pet join you in the passenger cabin.”

IndiGo offers its passengers the chance to pre-order meals through a clean and efficient design, but is missing out by not going into more detail (or rather, not giving passengers the option for more details).

The study concludes with a handy summary of what airlines’ mobile presence needs.

Click here to read the 15-page report in full as a PDF.

NB Image by Reno Martin/BigStock