U.S. travel agency air transactions processed through ARC in September increased 2.6 percent year over year.

Excluding exchanges and refunds, the mega category showed a 2.6 percent increase while online agencies as a group experienced another month of decline, dropping 2.4 percent. For all other agencies, transactions increased 7.6 percent year over year. The mega segment includes American Express, BCD Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Egencia, HRG and Omega World Travel. Meanwhile, after a period of decline, average fares now have increased for several months in each of the three ARC agency segments. For mega agencies, the average roundtrip fare (excluding taxes) in September was $730, up from $707 a year earlier. For online agencies, the average fare jumped to $385 from $362, and for all others it rose $10 to $634.