U.S. Travel Agencies Sold $8.9 Billion in Air Tickets in January
by Jessica Montevago /
Travel agencies began the new year with a $228 million year-over-year increase in air ticket sales, Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) reported this week.
The value of tickets sold by agencies last month totaled $8.9 billion, a 2.6% increase when compared to January 2019.
While sales at online travel agencies decreased 0.33% in January 2020, leisure travel agencies increased by 2.74% for the same period.
According to research from Skift, travel agencies, both traditional and online, are responsible for 40% of the $54.8 billion in revenue from the travel arrangement and reservation services sector, which outperforms all other travel sectors. Total sector revenue for 2020 is estimated at $57.5 billion.
The total number of passenger trips settled by ARC for its agency customers increased 2.4% to 28,349,928, compared to 27,686,121 in January 2019.
U.S. domestic trips increased by 3.6% while international passenger trips were up 0.4%. The average domestic roundtrip ticket price last month was $478, a $2 increase over January 2019, contributing $21,506 in average daily sales.
Total dollar amount for EMD transactions – sales of ancillary services including fees for products and services such as upgraded seats, checked luggage, an unaccompanied minor, and pet-in-cabin – amounted to $8,553,293 last month, up 24.13% year-over-year.
The ARC’s results are based on 11,812 U.S. retail and corporate travel agency locations, satellite ticket printing offices and online travel agencies.