U.S. travel agencies in February processed 5.6 percent fewer air transactions than they did a year earlier,

according to ARC. Total air sales including refunds and exchanges dropped 4.1 percent, the third decline in the past four months. Excluding refunds and exchanges, domestic transactions and airfare sales in February each decreased by about 6 percent while international transactions and airfare sales slid down 5.5 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. However, processed airline fees rose 3 percent year over year. Year to date, the total value of airline tickets sold by U.S. travel agencies increased 0.2 percent to $15 billion, while transactions were down 1.1 percent and passenger segments down 0.7 percent, according to ARC.