Fueled by a strong U.S. dollar, international demand remained stout in November 2024, particularly on European and Asian routes, and domestic U.S. airfares hit a two-year high. Meanwhile, U.S. hotel demand remained sturdy in what would prove to be a strong fourth quarter.
• The total number of international passenger trips settled by ARC in November increased 3.4 percent year over year, while domestic U.S. trips declined 0.2 percent. Nevertheless, the average U.S. domestic fare reached $576, the highest monthly figure since October 2022. Trips settled by corporate agencies, however, declined from prior-year levels after two months of growth.
• IATA called out "strong performance" by carriers on European and Asia-Pacific routes for a string year-over-year increase in demand, highlighted by nearly a 10 percent jump in European demand. Some of this was leisure demand by travelers taking advantage of a softer euro compared to the U.S. dollar—Delta's Glen Hauenstein, as one example, would go on to call outbound European travel "an incredibly screaming buy—but corporate demand appeared sturdy too. "Close-end business travel going in the transatlantic has been incredibly strong," according to Hauenstein.
• Even in a year in which lower-tier demand growth notably softened on inflation concerns, November marked the sixth month since April in which U.S. occupancy increased or held steady year over year after a year's straight of monthly declines.
