October U.S. air ticket sales were up 12.1 percent year over year to nearly $8.13 billion, according to Airlines Reporting Corp. Sales increased 1.1 percent month over month, which was a turnaround from 2023 when sales decreased 5.6 percent from September to October.
Total passenger trips for October increased 9.3 percent year over year to nearly 23.7 million. Domestic and international trip demand each were strong, with domestic trips up 9.3 percent compared with October 2023 to 15.5 million and international trips up 9.5 percent to nearly 8.2 million. On a month-over-month basis, total passenger trips remained steady, with the number of domestic trips up 1.2 percent, while international trips declined 1.6 percent.
Air tickets sold in October by U.S. corporate agencies, those with at least 70 percent self-reported corporate and government business, increased 4.5 percent year over year, which also was up from the 2.2 percent increase reported in September.
About 19.1 percent of ARC's October transactions were through New Distribution Capability, up 14.4 percent year over year, with 822 agencies reporting NDC transactions for the month, down from 855 in September.
The October average price of a U.S. domestic roundtrip ticket was $557, even with October 2023 and up from the $547 reported in September 2024.
"October's air travel data showed a strong start to the fourth quarter," ARC chief commercial officer Steve Solomon said in a statement. "Increased sales were driven largely by a strong dollar, and the yearly increase in international passenger trips is a positive trend of what we expect to continue through the end of the calendar year."
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