The total consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies in the first half of 2019 rose 3.38 percent year over year, totaling $52.4 billion, according to Airlines Reporting Corp. For the month of June, the total dollar value of airline tickets reached $7.9 billion, a 0.38 percent year-over-year increase. The average price of a round-trip ticket was $512.
Passenger trips settled by ARC for U.S. travel agencies in the first half of the year increased 2.4 percent year over year to 162 million. For June, passenger trips rose 1.24 percent to 24 million. U.S. domestic trips rose 1.42 percent to 15 million, while international passenger trips rose 0.93 percent to 8.9 million. The trips handled by agencies that self-report as handling at least 70 percent corporate/government business rose 1.02 percent.
In the first half of 2019, electronic miscellaneous document sales, which cover ancillary services like seat upgrades, rose 2 percent year over year to $44 million, and EMD transactions fell 2.55 percent to 669,259. For June, EMD sales reached $6.8 million, up 13.32 percent, while EMD transactions rose 14.92 percent to 113,897.
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