U.S. Travel Agents See Rise in Air Ticket Sales

The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) delivered some good news to travel agents this week when it reported that consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies rose 5.14 percent year-over-year in the first-half of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

The revenue total was $48.5 billion from January through June this year versus $46.1 billion in 2013. Sales for June 2014 were up 7.4 percent at $7.6 billion compared to June 2013 at $7.1 billion.

Ticket transactions through June 2014 increased 2.41 percent over the same period in 2013 to 77.5 million. Year-to-date passenger segments increased 2.6 percent to 186.5 million, compared to 181.7 million in 2013.

ARC is the financial settlement firm between the airlines and travel agents.

The rise in sales should be of little surprise to most industry observers. The Associated Press reported that its own analysis found that the average domestic roundtrip ticket, including tax, was $363.42 in 2013, up more than $7 from the prior year. The AP analyzed fare data from ARC, which processes ticket transactions for airlines and more than 9,400 travel agencies, and found that airfare has risen by nearly 12 percent since 2009.