Air Ticket Sales Hit Record $8.7 Billion as Strong Demand Extends Into Fall

Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) released its September 2025 numbers Thursday, and they showed that the travel industry is again raising the bar for itself with $8.7 billion in total ticket sales, the largest September figure ever recorded by ARC.

That $8.7 billion total, which includes all U.S.-based travel agency sales processed by ARC, is up 5% over August and 8% over September 2024.

Part of it is an increase in the average ticket price, which, at $558, is up 5% over August and 2% over September 2024. That includes an increase in the economy class ticket price (3% over last month and 1% over last year) and the premium class ticket price (5% over last month and 6% over last year).

But there has also been a steady increase in people traveling, both domestically and internationally, that has kept up effectively since the world reopened post-pandemic. In September, domestic trips, at 16.3 million, were up 4% over August and 6% over September 2024; and international trips, flat month-over-month, were up 7% over the same period last year.

The numbers are a good barometer for the travel industry, which keeps humming along as it enters the fourth quarter, a period that typically includes some of the busiest weeks annually for the industry.

“Strength in pricing and passenger demand helped ARC-accredited agencies close out the third quarter at record levels,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. “This trend underscores sustained traveler confidence as well as the expanding vacation travel window into the fall as the industry prepares for the busy holiday travel season.”