Increased Passenger Trips in 2017 Spur 3.4 Percent Sales Increase

ARC EMD Processing for Ancillaries Increased 58 Percent 

 

 

ARLINGTON, Va. – Jan. 17, 2018 – Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) reported today that the consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies increased 3.4 percent* in 2017 compared to 2016, totaling $88.5 billion vs. $85.6 billion. December 2017 ticket sales were up nearly one percent at $5.4 billion compared to $5.3 billion in December 2016.

 

The sales increase can be partly attributed to the decrease in the average ticket price, increase in passenger trips and strong economic conditions throughout 2017. Overall, in 2017 the average price to fly a domestic roundtrip itinerary dropped about one percent to $483 compared to 2016, continuing the trend of decreasing average ticket prices since 2015. The number of passenger trips settled by ARC for U.S. travel agencies also increased 3.5 percent to 268,906,109, up from 259,717,133 in 2016.

 

Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD)** sales and transactions also continue to increase over time. EMD sales comprised nearly $77 million of the year-to-date sales vs. $50 million in 2016. EMD transactions increased 58 percent to 1.3 million in 2017 vs. about 825,250 in 2016.

 

More detailed information is available on ARC’s website.

 

 

About ARC

The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) is the premier driver of air travel intelligence and commerce in the travel industry with leading business solutions, travel agency accreditation services, process and financial management tools and high-quality data. In 2017, ARC settled $88.5 billion worth of airline ticket transactions for more than 7,000 travel agencies with 12,000 points of sale. Established in 1984, ARC is an ISO 27001 certified company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with offices in Louisville, Kentucky, Tampa, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.arccorp.com and www.twitter.com/arctalk.