SpiceJet opens its site to advertisers

Low cost airline SpiceJet is all set to earn additional revenue through its website, SpiceJet.com, by allowing companies to advertise on it. SpiceJet.com, which is used by consumers to check flight schedules and book tickets, contributes 75 per cent of the airline’s ticket booking revenue.

According to Samyukth Sridharan, chief commercial officer, SpiceJet, “Worldwide, airline companies earn 15-20 per cent of their revenue through non-ticketing initiatives. Currently, 6-7 per cent of our revenue comes from non-ticketing areas such as on-board advertisements, on-board courier services, food and beverage sales, excess baggage charges, on-board insurance and on-board item sales. We are working at increasing this revenue to 10-11 per cent in the next 24-36 months. Offering advertisements on our site is a step in that direction.” Revenue earned through non-ticketing areas is called ancillary revenue.

SpiceJet.com receives 10-11 million page views per month and it has around eight lakh consumers registered with it. The websites of other airlines such as Kingfisher, Jet Airways, GoAir and Indigo do not carry any ads on their websites.

SpiceJet.com is targeting financial services, mobile handset manufacturers, mobile operators and consumer durable companies as potential advertisers. It is offering various advertising options to its clients – banners on the home page and the flight schedule page, pop-up windows and ad space on the exclusive e-mailers that are sent to users registered with the site.

Spicejet has roped in some big names to advertise on the site. Tata-AIG and ICICI have signed in for banner advertisements, Samsung has opted for e-ticket advertisements, and India Today and Nokia have chosen to advertise through e-mailers.