Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) today revealed its most recent data for August 2022, which shows that air ticket sales made through ARC-accredited travel agencies totaled $7.3 billion last month, representing a 127-percent increase over the same period last year.
Also in August, the average cost of a round-trip U.S. domestic flight fell for the third month in a row, coming in at $526. While the average price of an air travel ticket decreased five percent from July 2022, it was still 32 percent higher than in August 2021.
August 2022’s month-over-month results:
— Total sales increased by six percent.
— Total passenger trips increased by nine percent.
— U.S. domestic trip sales increased by 11 percent.
— International trip sales increased by five percent.
“Travelers responded to declining airfares by purchasing air travel tickets at a rate we typically don’t see this time of year,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. “Leisure air travel ticket sales were above pre-pandemic levels for the entire month of August, while online travel agencies and corporate-focused travel agencies showed minor gains.”
The total number of passenger air travel trip sales settled by ARC increased 43 percent year over year from 15.2 million in August 2021 to 21.7 million in August 2022, and sales of international trips rose 74 percent to 7.4 million over the same period.
Meanwhile, Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD) sales—charged for such products and services as seat upgrades, checking baggage, fees for unaccompanied minors and pets in the cabin, etc.— increased 116 percent over last year to $13.8 million, and EMD transactions grew 92 percent to 248,821 over the same period.
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Source: TravelPulse
