World Aviation Festival has opened a contest to find aviation’s next money-making idea. And no one, mercifully, needs to sell another bag of lukewarm almonds to enter.
The World Aviation Festival 2026 will run at FIL in Lisbon from 13 to 15 October. The event will welcome more than 4,500 guests and 600 speakers, its organiser says.
Its new Ancillary Arena will put five shortlisted start-ups, founders and independent thinkers in the spotlight. They will pitch live to senior airline commercial leaders. The contest takes its cue from Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den, although the prize is built for aviation rather than prime-time television.
Ideas could cover retail, loyalty, service or an untapped source of income. The aim is simple: give passengers something useful and give airlines a sound new way to earn. It is where aviation innovation meets the balance sheet.
That balance matters. Travellers know how fast a cheap fare can gain the trimmings of a Christmas ham. The best airline ancillary revenue ideas should add real value. They should not be one more fee wearing a clever hat.
The need is plain. IATA’s June 2026 figures forecast a global airline net margin of just 2.0 per cent this year. Average net profit is tipped to be only US$4.50 for each departing passenger. In that climate, a good extra product can be much more than an optional extra.
Daniel Boyle, General Manager of Transport at WAF organiser Terrapinn, said: “Margins are tight, costs are rising, and airline executives are looking for new ways to grow revenue. The Ancillary Arena will put five innovators directly in front of the people responsible for finding those opportunities. We want to uncover ideas that could change how airlines do business – and help the strongest one take its next step.”
Six minutes to win the room
The official Ancillary Arena program sets a brisk pace. Each finalist gets three minutes to pitch. Another three minutes follow for questions and frank feedback from the judges. They will then weigh the ideas and choose the one with the best real-world promise.
That pace should keep waffle off the menu. It should also spare the room from PowerPoint decks built like Russian novels.
The final starts at 1.15 pm on Thursday 15 October and runs for 45 minutes. The winner will receive a free six-square-metre stand at the next World Aviation Festival. That is a valuable shopfront before airline leaders, possible partners and future customers.
Entries are now open through the official competition page. For innovators with a strong idea, Lisbon may offer the runway. The judges will decide whether it has wings.
By: Prae Lee – © 2026.
Read Time: 2 minutes.
Author Bio:
You can tell a great deal about a person by how they meet a Bangkok morning. Prae Lee doesn’t charge into it; she glides, unhurried, as if time itself has agreed to behave. There is a calm assurance about her, the sort earned by knowing both your roots and your destination.
A graduate of Chulalongkorn University, she took her business degree with quiet pride, then polished it further in Singapore and Australia. Travel didn’t change her. It refined what was already there: curiosity, discipline, grace.
Back in Bangkok, she slipped modern life into the family business, mastering social media with an instinct for listening and selling with Thai gentleness.
Prae never seeks attention, yet everything she touches grows brighter.
Now with Global Travel Media, she writes with authenticity, drawing on culture, travel and a rare, steady confidence.
