ARC: Air Ticket Prices Dropping, Sales Still Up

The latest data from the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) show some continuing trends in the travel industry.

The first is that air ticket prices continue to drop—for the third month in a row, the average price of a U.S. round-trip ticket was below year-over-year levels. In June, the average round-trip ticket price was $555, down 1% from May and 8 percent from June 2022.

The second is that ticket sales continue to increase year-over-year, though there are some softening trends. That includes total trips dropping 8% from May, with both domestic trips and international trips dropping, and domestic trips being down 1% year-over-year. International travel year-over-year remains strong with a 10% boost.

Overall, the first-half data from 2023 shows just have far things have come for the industry since the COVID-19 shutdown. According to ARC, total sales for the first six months of 2023 were 27% higher than the first six months of 2022 and down just 0.3% compared to 2019. Total passenger trips were up 11% over the same period compared to 2022 and down 12% compared to 2019.

“Air travel’s resiliency was on full display through the first half of 2023,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. “Despite some economic headwinds, both business and leisure travelers showed strong demand, airlines continued to add flights, and travel agency sales continued to increase.”