Total air tickets sold in November by U.S. corporate travel agencies remained relatively stagnant from September and October compared with 2019 levels, according to Airlines Reporting Corp., and leisure and online agency sales didn't recover much either.
Total tickets sold in November by U.S. corporate agencies, those with at least 70 percent self-reported corporate and government business, fell 86.2 percent year over year after declines of 86.5 percent in October and 87.3 percent in September. Trips booked by online travel agencies, meanwhile, in November decreased 50.1 percent year over year, versus 48.8 percent in October.
The total consolidated value of November air ticket sales by U.S. agencies was $1.18 billion, down 82.8 percent year over year and down from $1.43 billion in October. Declines in sales and total trips from October to November are typical, ARC managing director of data science and research Chuck Thackston said in a statement.
The total number of passenger trips settled by ARC in November for its agency clients fell 67 percent year over year to nearly 7 million. U.S. domestic trips in November declined 66 percent year over year to 4.7 million, according to ARC.
The average November U.S. round-trip ticket price was $368, down from $496 in November 2019.
"As coronavirus vaccines become more widely distributed in the coming months, we're hopeful to see sales and bookings rise," Thackston said.