April U.S.-based agency air ticket sales were more than $9.1 billion, representing a 4.2 percent increase year over year, and setting a new record for the month, according to the latest report from Airlines Reporting Corp. The figure, however, is down 2.2 percent from March 2024.
Tickets sold by U.S. corporate agencies, those with at least 70 percent self-reported corporate and government business, were up 9.4 percent year over year, after declining 5 percent last month, the first decline since 2021.
Total April 2024 passenger trips exceeded 25.5 million for an 8.5 percent increase compared with April 2023. That figure also was nearly even with the March 2024 total. U.S. carriers had more than 16.1 million domestic trips, up 11.3 percent year over year and 2.2 percent month over month. International trips reached 9.4 million, up 3.4 percent from a year prior, but down about 4 percent from March.
“April domestic demand broke from seasonal norms with a monthly increase in U.S. passenger trips booked,” ARC chief commercial officer Steve Solomon said in a statement. “As travel agencies navigate the shifting air travel retailing landscape, their value to both business and leisure travelers continues to be on display.”
The April average price of a U.S. domestic roundtrip ticket was $551, exactly even with April 2023, and down from $571 in March 2023.
April electronic miscellaneous document sales, which include fees for such ancillary products as upgraded seats and checked bags, increased 20.5 percent year over year to more than $30.3 million. That figure also was down 6.4 percent month over month. Ancillary transactions increased 46.3 percent year over year to more than 535,300 and were up slightly from the 534,200 reported in March 2024.
