Total air tickets sold in September by U.S.-based travel agencies reached $1.2 billion, the first time sales surpassed $1 billion since March 2020, representing a 56 percent month-over-month increase, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp. Compared with September 2019, however, air ticket sales were 85 percent lower.
The price of average U.S. round-trip ticket in September was $343, a drop from $496 in September 2019.
Total number of trips in September was 7.6 million, up 25 percent compared with August, but 69 percent lower than September 2019. September's total U.S. domestic trips totaled 5.6 million, up 24 percent month over month and down 65 percent year over year. Total international trips were 2 million, up 29 percent month over month and down 76 percent year over year.
Online agency ticket sales are leading the recovery relative to sales for corporate and leisure travel agencies, according to ARC. In September, online travel agency sales were down 51 percent year over year while sales by corporate travel agencies and leisure travel agencies were down 86 percent and 71 percent, respectively. ARC reported that all three segments have shown increases since dipping slightly at the beginning of August.
September's electronic miscellaneous document sales, which cover ancillary services like seat upgrades, were higher than August 2020 but fell on a year-over-year basis. EMD sales rose 26 percent month over month and fell 66 percent year over year to $2.3 million, while EMD transactions rose 55 percent month over month and fell 50 percent year over year, totaling 55,036.