After a slight year-over-year dip in August, air tickets sold in September by U.S. corporate agencies, those with at least 70 percent self-reported corporate and government business, increased 2.2 percent compared with September 2023, according to the latest monthly report from Airlines Reporting Corp.
September U.S. air ticket sales exceeded $8 billion, a 5.8 percent increase year over year. That figure also was near even with August 2024 air ticket sales, declining just under 1 percent.
Total passenger trips grew 6.8 percent compared with a year prior to more than 23.6 million. Domestic trips grew 6.4 percent versus September 2023 to more than 15.3 million, while international trips grew 7.5 percent to more than 8.3 million.
On a month-over-month basis, however, total trips declined 2.8 percent, with domestic trips down 2.2 percent and international trips down 3.9 percent.
About 18.6 percent of ARC's monthly transaction volume came from New Distribution Capability transactions, up 19.2 percent year over year. About 855 travel agencies reported NDC transactions for the month.
The September average price of a U.S. domestic roundtrip ticket was $547, up from the $515 reported in August 2024 and up from the $536 reported a year prior.
"While we saw a typical seasonal slowdown after a busy summer, September's year-over-year data showed increases in both sales and total passenger trips," ARC chief commercial officer Steve Solomon said in a statement. "Demand for travel remains strong, with both domestic and international travel expected to outpace 2023 for the remainder of the year."
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