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U.S. Travel Agencies Air Ticket Sales Reach $9 Billion in May 2024 – Image Credit Unsplash+
$53 Billion Six-Month Total Exceeds 2023 and 2019 Levels
Today, Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) announced that U.S.-based travel agency air ticket sales totaled $53 billion from January to June 2024 — the highest total recorded by ARC for a consecutive six-month period.
Through the first half of the year, total results showed:
|
ARC Ticketing Metric |
Total |
Year-Over-Year Variance |
|
Total Sales |
$53 billion |
+1 % |
|
Total Passenger Trips |
149 million |
+5 % |
|
U.S. Domestic Trips |
86.8 million |
+8 % |
|
International Trips |
56.2 million |
+2 % |
|
Average Ticket Price |
$552 |
-1 % |
“Travel demand remains strong for both domestic and international trips, with average ticket prices down year over year for the first six months,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. “Both corporate and leisure travel spending are experiencing similar growth rates and airlines look to continue this momentum through the end of summer and into the fall.”
June 2024 travel agency air ticket sales totaled $7.6 billion — a 6% decrease year over year. June showed healthy increases in both domestic and international trip counts, with a 5% decrease in average ticket price explaining the year-over-year drop in total dollar sales.
Results for June 2024 showed:
|
ARC Ticketing Metric |
Total |
Month-Over-Month Variance |
Year-Over-Year Variance |
|
Total Sales |
$7.6 billion |
-16 % |
-6 % |
|
Total Passenger Trips |
22.7 million |
-12 % |
+2 % |
|
U.S. Domestic Trips |
14.2 million |
-12 % |
+4 % |
|
International Trips |
8.5 million |
-11 % |
-2 % |
|
Average Ticket Price |
$526 |
-3 % |
-5 % |
New Distribution Capability (NDC) transactions continue to comprise a growing percentage or ARC’s monthly transaction volume. In June 2024, 21.5% of ARC’s monthly transaction volume came from NDC — a 14.4% increase year over year. More than 1,000 travel agencies processed NDC transactions in June 2024.
More detailed information is available on ARC’s sales statistics page.
*Ticket Sales
- Results are based on monthly sales data ending June 30, 2024, from 10,353 U.S. retail and corporate travel agency locations, satellite ticket printing offices and online travel agencies. Results do not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airlines.
- The average ticket price (USD) is for a round-trip ticket settled through ARC for an itinerary that included only U.S. domestic travel.
- Passenger trips include the total number of passengers taking a trip from one airport to another using direct or connecting flights. Newly issued trips are added, and refunded trips are deducted to provide a net view of traveling passengers.
- U.S. domestic passenger trips include the total number settled through ARC where the itinerary is wholly within the U.S. International passenger trips include the total number settled through ARC where some or all the travel occurs to airports outside the U.S. or originates outside the U.S.
- Total sales are equal to the total amount paid for a ticket, which includes taxes and fees.