Today, Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) announced that September 2024 U.S. travel agency air ticket sales totaled $8 billion — a 6% increase from September 2023. September’s total passenger trips reached 23.6 million, marking a 7% increase compared to the same month in 2023.
Metrics from September 2024 show:
| ARC Ticketing Metric | Total | Month-Over-Month Variance | Year-Over-Year Variance |
| Total Sales | $8 billion | -1 % | +6 % |
| Total Passenger Trips | 23.6 million | -3 % | +7 % |
| U.S. Domestic Trips | 15.3 million | -2 % | +6 % |
| International Trips | 8.3 million | -4 % | +8 % |
| Average Ticket Price | $547 | +6 % | +2 % |
“While we saw a typical seasonal slowdown after a busy summer, September’s year-over-year data showed increases in both sales and total passenger trips,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. “Demand for travel remains strong, with both domestic and international travel expected to outpace 2023 for the remainder of the year.”
In September 2024, 18.6% of ARC’s monthly transaction volume came from New Distribution Capability (NDC) transactions — a 19.2% increase year over year. A total of 855 travel agencies reported NDC transactions during the month.
About ARC
ARC’s data platform is the intelligence behind air travel, connecting the industry ecosystem and powering commercial decisions for airlines and our partners. We manage the world’s most comprehensive airline ticketing dataset, comprised of over 12 billion annual passenger flights operated by more than 480 airlines in over 235 countries. ARC’s trusted reporting and settlement services process more than $95 billion in U.S.-based agency air sales annually. ARC leads industry collaboration between airlines, agencies, corporate buyers and other partners to enable a thriving air travel retailing ecosystem.
Notes:
*Ticket Sales
- Results are based on monthly sales data ending September 30, 2024, from 10,360 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.
