The total air tickets sold by U.S.-based corporate travel agencies in August remained relatively stagnant compared with June and July, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp., even as online and leisure ticket sales picked up slightly.
Total tickets booked in August by U.S. corporate agencies, those with at least 70 percent self-reported corporate and government business, fell 90 percent year over year after declines of 90.8 percent in July and 90.5 percent in June. Trips booked in August through online travel agencies, meanwhile, fell 60.2 percent year over year, compared with a 69.7 percent drop in July.
Meanwhile, the total consolidated dollar value of August air ticket sales by U.S. agencies was $751 million, compared with $387 million in July. The average U.S. round-trip ticket price decreased from $483 in August 2019 to $321 in August 2020.
The total number of passenger trips settled by ARC for its agency clients fell 75.6 percent year over year to 6 million. U.S. domestic trips declined 72.3 percent year over year, and international trips fell 81.2 percent year over year.
Electronic miscellaneous document sales, which cover ancillary services, in August decreased 73 percent year over year to $1.8 million, while EMD transactions decreased by 70 percent to about 35,500.