ARC Reports 2019 Travel Agencies Sales Running Nearly 3% Ahead of Last Year

YTD Sales Total $84.4 Billion as Passenger Trips Increase 2%

ARLINGTON, Va. – Nov. 14, 2019 – Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) announced today that U.S.-based travel agency sales for the first ten months of 2019 are trending 2.82% ahead of the same period in 2018.^* The consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold so far in 2019 is $84.4 billion.

 

In October 2019, agency sales increased 1.5% compared to October 2018, totaling $8.3 billion vs. $8.1 billion. The average U.S. round-trip ticket price in October 2019 decreased to $506 from $509 compared to October 2018.

 

The total number of passenger trips settled by ARC for U.S. travel agencies in October 2019 increased by 1.5% to 25,396,350 from 25,023,487 compared to the same period last year. U.S. domestic trips increased 2% while international passenger trips grew 0.5%.

 

Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD)** sales in October 2019 totaled $6.7 million, an 11% increase compared to the same period in 2018. EMD transaction volume increased 18% in October 2019 compared to October 2018.

 

More detailed information is available on ARC’s website.

 

About ARC:

An industry leader in air travel distribution and intelligence, ARC provides channel-agnostic tools and insights to help the global travel community connect, grow and thrive. ARC enables the diverse retailing strategies of its customers by providing flexible settlement solutions, innovative technology and access to the world’s most comprehensive air transaction dataset. In 2018, ARC settled $94.8 billion in transactions between airlines and travel agencies, representing more than 295 million passenger trips. For more information, please visit arccorp.com.

 

Notes for Editors:

*Ticket Sales

• Results are based on monthly sales data ending October 31, 2019, from 11,961 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.

 

• Average ticket price (in USD) 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 either 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 of 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.