Airlines are under growing pressure to unlock new sources of revenue while modernizing the traveler experience. Margin constraints, evolving loyalty behavior, and rising customer expectations have exposed the limits of flight-only booking models. Travelers no longer think in terms of individual components; they think in complete trips.
Dynamic packaging has emerged as one of the most effective ways for airlines to meet this shift. By bundling flights with hotels, cars, activities, and other travel services, airlines can increase cart value, activate loyalty members, and retain control of the customer relationship. But while many vendors claim to offer dynamic packaging, the capabilities, scalability, and commercial impact of these platforms vary widely.
This guide outlines how airlines should evaluate dynamic packaging providers, what capabilities truly matter, and how to identify partners that can deliver measurable revenue, loyalty engagement, and long-term growth—without adding operational complexity.
Why Choosing the Right Dynamic Packaging Provider Matters More Than Ever
Airlines today face a clear revenue and loyalty plateau. Travelers expect fully packaged, end-to-end travel experiences, yet many airline programs still offer little beyond the flight itself. Internal industry analyses show that nearly half of loyalty members remain inactive, and more than 35 trillion points sit unredeemed—creating mounting financial liability and reduced engagement.
Dynamic packaging is no longer simply an enhancement to an airline’s digital storefront. It has become a strategic revenue engine capable of producing higher cart values, deeper loyalty activity, and more frequent repeat bookings. But realizing these gains depends entirely on selecting the right dynamic packaging provider. Differences in technology maturity, inventory depth, integration strength, and operational support ultimately determine whether airlines unlock meaningful incremental revenue—or leave value on the table.
The Expanding Role of Dynamic Packaging in Airline Growth Strategy
Revenue Diversification Beyond the Seat
Dynamic packaging allows airlines to monetize far more than the seat itself. Hotels, car rentals, activities, and insurance each introduce high-margin revenue opportunities that compound across the itinerary. Industry benchmarks show hotel packages delivering roughly 20 percent margin, car rentals generating 15 to 25 percent, and activities often exceeding 20 percent. When these components are surfaced within a single booking flow, airlines increase revenue per traveler without adding operational complexity.
Loyalty Transformation Through Choice
Expanding redemption options is one of the most effective ways to boost loyalty engagement. Programs that introduce meaningful non-air rewards see a 37 percent increase in redemption activity and a 28 percent reduction in outstanding liability. More choice leads to more engagement—and fewer dormant members quietly accumulating unused points.
Elevated Passenger Experience
Travelers increasingly value convenience over traditional loyalty perks. A seamless, end-to-end planning experience reduces friction and positions the airline as a full-service travel partner rather than a transactional carrier. Dynamic packaging strengthens the brand by delivering value, personalization, and continuity throughout the journey, improving satisfaction and long-term loyalty.
A Practical Framework for Evaluating Dynamic Packaging Providers
When assessing potential partners, airlines benefit from a structured evaluation approach that balances technology, commercial flexibility, and operational readiness. The following criteria reflect the core capabilities required to support sustainable growth.
Key Criteria Airlines Should Use When Evaluating Dynamic Packaging Providers
Technology Foundation & User Experience
A modern dynamic packaging provider must deliver a high-performance, mobile-first platform designed for conversion. Fast search results, intuitive navigation, and seamless booking flows are essential—particularly during peak demand periods. AI- and machine-learning-driven recommendations help surface relevant hotels, activities, or bundles that increase attachment rates and reduce abandonment.
A frictionless, branded experience is foundational. It is often the difference between a high-value packaged trip and an abandoned cart.
Inventory Breadth, Quality & Commercial Flexibility
Inventory remains one of the most important differentiators among dynamic packaging vendors. Airlines need access to broad, global supply across hotels, activities, car rentals, and insurance—often measured in hundreds of thousands or millions of bookable options. Leading providers blend GDS content with direct contracts and third-party sources, while offering configurable merchandising rules, markup controls, and margin flexibility.
Inventory scale is not just a numbers game. It directly determines an airline’s ability to deliver competitive value, personalize offers, and unlock high-margin ancillary revenue.
Integration Strength: PSS, Loyalty, Data & APIs
The best airline packaging platforms integrate cleanly with loyalty systems, PSS environments, payment providers, and enterprise data stacks. Support for cash, points, points-plus-cash, vouchers, and promotional logic must be native—not bolted on. Enterprise-grade security standards, including SOC 2 and PCI compliance alongside fraud monitoring, are non-negotiable.
Integration efficiency translates directly to speed-to-revenue. Airlines should not wait six to twelve months to launch new income streams.
Scalability, Personalization & Performance
A mature dynamic packaging platform must perform reliably at scale. This includes handling millions of annual searches, supporting multi-market deployments, managing localization and currency, and maintaining performance during demand spikes. Personalization capabilities—especially AI-driven recommendations and targeted offers—allow airlines to optimize conversions and tailor experiences by route, traveler type, or loyalty status.
The goal is not simply processing bookings, but accelerating revenue through intelligence and automation.
Operational Support & Travel Service Model
Packaged travel products are inherently high-touch. Airlines need a partner that offers 24/7 multilingual traveler support across the entire package, not just the flight component. Dedicated account management, optimization insights, and proactive issue resolution protect NPS scores and reinforce trust. A solutions-driven service model becomes an extension of the airline’s own customer experience.
Commercial Models, Transparency & ROI Measurement
Airlines should closely evaluate pricing structures, markup flexibility, and access to performance analytics. Transparent reporting should make it easy to track ancillary revenue, redemption uplift, liability reduction, attachment rates, cart value growth, and repeat bookings. Packaged trips routinely generate three to five times higher cart value than flight-only bookings, making measurement essential for long-term ROI management.
Things Airlines Should Watch Out For
Certain warning signs can signal future challenges. Limited or regional-only inventory restricts the ability to serve global travelers and compete on value. Legacy architectures often require heavy IT involvement, slowing innovation and delaying launches during peak leisure demand. Long implementation timelines—frequently stretching six to twelve months—represent lost revenue rather than operational caution.
Hidden fees or rigid commercial models can quietly erode margins and limit experimentation. Poor user experience, outdated booking flows, or slow search performance undermine conversion and customer trust. Restrictive contract terms that limit flexibility or stall innovation may prevent airlines from adapting as traveler expectations evolve. Left unaddressed, these issues compound into operational drag and missed revenue opportunities.
High-Value Questions Airlines Should Ask Vendors
A successful evaluation depends not only on what the dynamic packaging platform can do, but also on how transparently the vendor can demonstrate their capabilities. Airlines benefit from asking direct, insight-driven questions that reveal technical maturity, operational readiness, and long-term partnership potential. The right questions will quickly distinguish a capable dynamic packaging vendor from one that cannot support sustained, scalable growth.
Key questions to ask include:
- How do you source, manage, and optimize global inventory across hotels, cars, and activities?
- What is your average implementation timeline, and can you provide recent examples?
- How do you support loyalty redemptions, including points, cash, and points-plus-cash?
- What are your security, compliance, and fraud-prevention standards?
- How do you measure and report revenue uplift from dynamic packaging?
- What operational support do you provide during disruptions or complex itineraries?
- How customizable is the white-label experience from search to checkout?
These questions help airlines evaluate the vendor’s ability to deliver real, measurable value, not just provide a technology layer. The goal is to identify a dynamic packaging provider that combines depth, flexibility, and performance with a long-term commitment to airline growth.
Building the Internal Business Case for Dynamic Packaging
To secure internal alignment, airline teams must clearly articulate the financial and loyalty impact of dynamic packaging. This includes forecasting ancillary revenue growth per booking, demonstrating higher conversions from inclusive trip planning, and quantifying reductions in point liability through expanded redemption options. Automated merchandising and personalization also deliver operational efficiencies that support broader digital modernization goals.
Data shows that more than 40 percent of members who redeem non-air content return within six months—reinforcing the long-term value of diversified reward strategies. Tying these outcomes to strategic priorities such as differentiation, loyalty expansion, and digital retail transformation strengthens the investment case.
The Right Partner Can Transform Airline Revenue
Dynamic packaging has evolved into one of the most effective engines for airline growth. But the impact depends entirely on selecting a partner that offers global inventory, powerful technology, fast implementation, and a service model built for end-to-end traveler support. When airlines choose the right dynamic packaging platform, they unlock new ancillary revenue, reduce liability, elevate loyalty engagement, and deliver a seamless travel experience that keeps customers returning. The right vendor doesn’t just add functionality—it transforms the airline’s digital storefront into a high-performing revenue channel.
Schedule a demo to see how Switchfly helps airlines turn dynamic packaging into measurable revenue.
