U.S. Air Ticket Sales Down 4% for February, First Decline in Seven Months

For the first time since July 2024, U.S. air ticket sales are down year-over-year for a month.

According to data released by the Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) on Thursday, total air ticket sales by U.S. travel agencies for February were down 4% year-over-year at $8.4 billion. Part of that is a drop in the average air ticket price, which is down both for economy (1%) and premium (2%) tickets year-over-year.

Total passenger trips for February were also down 1% at 24 million compared to the same month last year. The change in trips was seen more in domestic itineraries than international. Travel within the U.S. was down 2%, according to ARC, while international travel was flat.

Steve Solomon, ARC’s chief commercial officer, called the numbers a reflection of “the overall demand volatility” seen by airlines over the past few weeks.

“Macroeconomic trends are creating a more dynamic environment for consumers, businesses and airlines in the short term,” he said.

The decline breaks a streak of growth for the industry. Last month, ARC reported that January 2025 air ticket sales totaled $9.3 billion, up 5% from January 2024 and significantly higher than December 2024. It marked the seventh straight month of year-over-year gains for the travel industry.

The decline in ticket sales comes as airlines grapple with a shifting market. Delta CEO Ed Bastian, speaking at the JP Morgan Investor Conference earlier this month, said Delta has cut its growth forecast in half — from 8% to 4% — due to several factors. Those include January’s severe weather, the American Airlines crash in Washington, D.C., that he called a “triggering event” for a stall in corporate bookings, and Delta’s crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Bastian also pointed to a drop in economic confidence, adding that Delta has seen “weakness in the economic indicators and consumer sentiment around travel.”