Unused airline tickets are a quiet drain on corporate travel budgets. They expire, go unclaimed, and often slip through the cracks of manual tracking systems. For AerCap Singapore, that was the reality—until a structured audit process turned those losses into recovered revenue.
The problem: Refunds lost in the system
AerCap, a global leader in aviation leasing, was losing money on unused airline tickets. The culprits: fragmented data, manual tracking, and a lack of visibility into expiration timelines. With no centralized system to monitor unused tickets, refunds were routinely missed.
This wasn’t a minor leak. It was a recurring financial loss.
The fix: Quarterly audits, zero admin headache
BCD Travel Singapore stepped in with a pragmatic solution: a quarterly audit process designed to identify and recover the value of unused tickets. The approach was simple but effective:
- Systematic auditing of all unused tickets every quarter
- Detailed reporting on ticket status, refund eligibility, and value
- Refund processing completed within 4-8 weeks
- Performance-based pricing—clients only pay for successful recoveries
There was no manual tracking. No chasing airlines. No internal resource drain.
The outcome: Over US$224K recovered in one year
In 2024 alone, AerCap reclaimed more than US$224,000 in refunds—money that would have otherwise been forfeited. The process required no additional headcount, no new software, and no disruption to existing workflows.
“BCD’s solution has revolutionized the way we manage unused tickets, saving us considerable time and effort while recouping refunds that would have otherwise been forfeited,” said Gail McCarthy, Travel Manager at AerCap.
Why this matters
According to IATA, 10% of airline tickets go unused globally—representing over US$10 billion in potential losses each year. For companies with frequent travel, the financial upside of reclaiming those funds is substantial.
“Our goal is to simplify travel expense management for our clients. With this proactive approach, we ensure that no unused ticket goes unnoticed, turning potential losses into cost-saving opportunities,” said Richard Mo, Director of Program Management at BCD Travel Asia Pacific.
