Travel Agency Air Ticket Sales Up 3% YTD Through August vs. 2018

Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) announced today that the consolidated dollar value of 2019 airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies through August was $68 billion, a 3% increase compared to the same period in 2018. August 2019 sales decreased 1.6% to $7.9 billion compared to $8 billion in August 2018.* The average U.S. round-trip ticket price was $483, approximately a 1% decrease from August 2018.

The total number of passenger trips settled by ARC for U.S. travel agencies decreased about 1% to 24,817,349 compared to 24,944,296 in August 2018. U.S. domestic trips decreased 0.6% while international passenger trips dropped 0.3%.

Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD)** sales in August 2019 totaled $6.8 million, a 6.2% increase compared to the same period in 2018. EMD transaction volume increased 5.2% in August 2019 compared to August 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 August 31, 2019, from 11,996 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.

**Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD)

• Includes fees for products and services such as upgraded seats, checked luggage, an unaccompanied minor, pet-in-cabin, etc.

©2019 Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). All rights reserved.