How Airlines Can Reduce Their Payments-Related Expenses

Pascal Burg of Edgar, Dunn and Company has written a comprehensive white paper (PDF) exploring techniques that airlines are using to reduce their payments-related expenses.

We estimate that the total cost of accepting payments by card for the US airline industry amounted to approximately $1.5 billion dollars in 2003 which represents the total merchant fees paid by all US airlines to MasterCard and Visa "acquiring" banks and the likes of Amex and Diners Club. This is equivalent to $12.50 per average airline ticket.