Destination retailing: sell the rest of the trip
In short: Airlines know first who travels, when and where, yet destination spend goes elsewhere. How to sell transfers, activities and services in a single order.
Written for: Airline ecommerce, ancillary, partnership and retailing leaders.
The airline is the first to know someone is travelling; if it does not offer them the rest of the trip, it is handing it to someone else.
An unused information advantage
At booking, the airline knows the destination, dates, number of travellers and often the purpose of the trip. That is valuable information for selling accommodation, transfers, activities, insurance or parking. Yet most of that spend ends up with OTAs, activity platforms or directly at the destination.
At the World Aviation Festival 2026, one startup puts it bluntly — "Your passenger just booked. Why are you giving away the rest of their trip?" — and other sessions explore putting holidays and ancillaries into a single order and the future of ancillary products customers actually value.
Why now is different
The order accepts third-party products
In the ticket model, selling a transfer or activity meant a parallel process. With ONE Order, the airline can include own and third-party services in one record, with a single payment and joint post-booking handling.
Customers expect to buy in one place
Travel platforms have taught customers to sort everything out in one session. We saw this in selling flight plus hotel from the direct channel; the next step is the rest of the destination services.
What to sell and when
At booking: trip-related, highly relevant products such as insurance, parking or transfers.
Between booking and departure: activities, car hire, lounges or upgrades, while the customer is planning.
At destination: last-minute experiences and services through the app. At the airport, the opportunity is shared with the airport operator, as discussed in who owns the passenger.
The sequence must avoid overloading checkout: selling too early risks losing flight conversion, the core product.
Business model decisions
1. Which products and which partners. A few reliable partners in key destinations are worth more than an endless catalogue.
2. How revenue is shared. Commission, margin or a mixed model, with an impact on payment settlement and reconciliation.
3. Who serves the customer. If the transfer fails, the customer will blame the airline; service agreements must reflect that.
4. How the offer is presented. Personalised by destination, profile and moment, consistent with airline offer personalisation and bundles.
Metrics
Third-party revenue per passenger and net margin.
Take-up rate by product and destination.
Impact on flight conversion when the offer is shown.
Incidents and complaints linked to third-party services.
Repurchase among customers who bought destination services.
Conclusion
Selling the rest of the trip is one of the biggest revenue opportunities in the direct channel, and the order model removes much of the complexity that used to prevent it. The key is choosing the right products and partners, getting the timing of the offer right and accepting that third-party experience is brand experience too.
Consumer Services Hub helps airlines design their retailing strategy beyond the flight, from catalogue to measurement.
Consumer Services Hub - Strategic ecommerce consultancy for B2C service companies
Written by
Rodrigo MarotoFounder of Consumer Services Hub. Consultant and strategist with 15+ years of experience in ecommerce, digital product management, and consumer services.
View LinkedIn profileGrow airline direct revenue
We audit booking funnels, ancillaries and retailing capabilities end to end.
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