After the year-over-year decline in the number of trips booked
via corporate agencies leveled off in June, the drop widened again in July,
despite total U.S.-based air ticket sales for the month exceeding $8.1 billion,
a 2.3 percent increase year over year, Airlines Reporting Corp. announced
Wednesday in its latest monthly report.
The number of trips in July sold by corporate agencies,
those with at least 70 percent self-reported corporate and government business
and settled by ARC, declined nearly 3 percent year over year, after dropping
just 0.38 percent in June. It is the seventh month in a row with a
year-over-year drop in the number of trips booked through corporate agencies.
The July total number of passenger trips reached 24.9
million, an increase of 3.3 percent year over year. Domestic trips were up 3.9
percent compared with July 2024 to more than 16 million, while international
trips increased nearly 2.3 percent to about 8.9 million.
"July's results show continued demand for air travel,
with ARC-accredited agency sales and passenger trips higher year over year for
the second straight month," ARC chief commercial officer Steve Solomon
said in a statement. "Travel agencies are starting the second half of the
year with positive momentum as ticketing trends have normalized after some
volatility earlier in the year."
New Distribution Capability transactions in July accounted
for 21.5 percent of the total ARC-settled transactions for the month, up from
the 19.7 percent reported in July 2024. A total of 1,039 travel agencies
reported NDC transactions in July 2025.
The July average price for a U.S. domestic roundtrip ticket
was $528, up from the $523 a year prior, but down from the $536 reported in
June 2025.
The average price in July of an economy-class ticket increased
about 1 percent year over year to $482. The average price for a premium-class
ticket increased 4 percent for the same period to $1,262.
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