The consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies totaled $8.8 billion in May, a 5.7 percent year-over-year rise, according to Airlines Reporting Corp. The average ticket price for a U.S. domestic round-trip was $496. U.S. domestic passenger trips—a passenger trip is defined as a trip from one airport to another within the U.S. using either direct or connecting flights—rose 3 percent, and international passenger trips rose 3.8 percent. The number of EMD transactions, which involve non-ticket airline services like seat upgrades and other miscellaneous services, declined 10.8 percent to 114,430 while the dollar amount of EMDs rose 18.7 percent. An ARC spokesperson said that owes to a jump in high-dollar EMDs like deposits toward group/tour bookings.
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