The Signal: January 2026

After a year of hesitation and uncertainty, the new year kicked off with some signs of momentum in overall travel demand, but business demand in particular was more uneven.

Airlines Reporting Corp. started off 2026 with a noteworthy milestone: U.S.-based agency air ticket sales in January exceeded $10 billion, first time in any month since the company started tracking that data that sales reached eight figures. 

"January's agency air ticket sales reflect the optimism for continued travel demand expressed by several North American airlines in their recent earnings call," ARC chief commercial officer Steve Solomon said in a statement. "The travel agency channel remains a key driver of airline revenue, particularly as travelers show sustained interest in international destinations and premium cabin offerings."

Solomon did not include corporate travel demand as an area of strength, for good reason. The number of air tickets sold in January by U.S. corporate travel agencies and settled by ARC dropped 2.7 percent year over year, the 11th month out of the most recent 13 that it has declined, a sign that many businesses haven't turned the page from the macroeconomic uncertainty and tenuous approach to travel that marked 2025.

The January spike in air demand, outside of corporate, came as domestic airfares were on the rise, foreshadowing trends that would take hold later in the winter. The January average price for a U.S. domestic roundtrip ticket was $581, up from $570 in December 2025 and $557 in January 2025. Outside of November 2025, when it was one dollar more, the January average was the highest monthly figure reported by ARC since June 2022, when it was $605. 

International air demand growth far outpaced that of domestic demand in January, according to the International Air Transport Association. International demand, as measured in revenue passenger kilometers, increased 5.9 percent year over year. That includes a 3.4 percent increase on traffic on North American carriers, a rate lower than the increase in other regions. Note that January demand was affected by the shift in the Lunar New Year from January in 2025 to February in 2026.

Overall domestic air demand in January increased 0.1 percent year over year, dented by declines in domestic demand in China (affected by Lunar New Year) and Australia. U.S. domestic demand also declined 0.7 percent. Still, "the fundamentals are in place for demand to continue strong growth in 2026," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement.

U.S. hotel revenue per available room in January increased 0.4 percent year over year, the first such monthly increase since March, according to real estate data provider CoStar, parent company of hotel analytics firm STR. U.S. occupancy, however, declined for the 11th straight month, albeit only by 0.2 percent year over year.