London - The average 2013 airfare paid globally by AirPlus International customers fell to €542 from €553 in 2012. AirPlus also revealed at its annual U.K. press briefing here last week that its global issuing volume increased to €11.8 billion from €11.4 billion, but profits nearly were halved to €19.5 million owing to various extraordinary items. The company also reported a major increase in virtual card transactions and announced new capabilities for corporate clients' card administrators for controlling what cardholders can and cannot spend.
Starting next quarter, those new capabilities will enable card administrators to apply different spending controls for each of their cardholders, instead of the current set-up in which one set of controls applies across the entire company, said U.K. managing director Yael Klein. Examples include limiting transaction amounts, accessing cash withdrawals and blocking certain merchant category codes that determine the types of vendor with which the card can be used.
In terms of 2013 results, in Germany, by far the largest AirPlus market, the average 2013 airfare dropped to €501 from €518 a year earlier. The number of domestic flights booked through AirPlus fell 3.4 percent, but flight bookings to the rest of Europe rose 0.6 percent while intercontinental flight bookings grew 1.7 percent. The proportion of tickets booked in business class rose one percentage point to 5 percent for both domestic and European flights but fell four percentage points to 39 percent on intercontinental flights.
The average 2013 hotel rate for German customers was unchanged at €219, while the average car rental rate fell to €175 from €182 and the average train fare rose to €107 from €104.
In the United Kingdom, the average 2013 airfare paid was unchanged at £448, and the proportion of bookings in business class on all routes also was unchanged at 8 percent.
Growth in AirPlus 2013 issuing volume amounted to €400 million, following three consecutive years of increases above €1 billion. Klein blamed the slowdown on soft travel demand in the company's most established markets. "2013 wasn't as good as we hoped," she said. "Growth was there, but it was moderate. In the U.K. it was 3.6 percent but we are used to more, and hence we're a little disappointed. However, the figures are good if you compare us to the rest of the market."
Outside Europe, 2013 growth figures were considerably better. China was the top performer for AirPlus, with issuing volume up 46 percent year over year, while the United States grew 16 percent.
Overall, AirPlus claimed to sign 1,900 new customers worldwide during 2013, taking its total to 41,900. Global transactions increased by 10 million to 145 million. The company also reported a 238 percent jump in transaction volumes for its AIDA virtual card payments solution. AirPlus launched that solution in additional markets during 2013 and established partnerships, including those with Amadeus and hotel distribution company HRS. "The majority of our investment is going into virtual and mobile payments at the moment," said Klein.
Despite a €10 million increase in revenues to €298 million, 2013 profits fell significantly. AirPlus cited a major write-off caused by the insolvency of a hotel booking platform customer of its Acceptance acquiring and processing subsidiary, amortizations from the previous year and the relocation of its headquarters in Neu-Isenburg, Germany.