The average price of a U.S. domestic roundtrip ticket
declined again in November versus a year prior, according to Airlines Reporting
Corp.’s latest report.
Following October’s 4 percent year-over-year decline,
November’s fare was $547, down 2 percent compared with October 2022. The fare
also was down 2 percent on a month-over-month basis.
Total November 2023 U.S. air ticket sales were up 3.4
percent year over year to nearly $6.8 billion but were down 6.6 percent
compared with October 2023. The number of passenger trips were up 7.5 percent
compared with November 2022 to nearly 20.5 million, but they too were down about
5.6 percent month over month.
“U.S. consumers continue to spend on international air
travel,” ARC chief commercial officer Steve Solomon said in a statement.
“Our data reflects a slight increase in international passenger trips from
October to November, which is uncommon for the time of year. Despite seeing the
typical declines in month-over-month air travel sales and passenger trips,
airlines reported a record number of travelers for the Thanksgiving holiday
season.”
The number of November U.S. domestic trips was up 7.4
percent year over year to nearly 12.9 million, however they were down about 9
percent compared with October 2023. International trips were the only metric to
increase both by year and by month. They were up nearly 7.6 percent year over
year to nearly 7.6 million and were up 1.2 percent month over month.
November electronic miscellaneous document sales, which
include fees for such ancillary products as upgraded seats and checked bags,
increased 43.2 percent year over year to more than $22.5 million, and were up
about 6.6 percent month over month. Ancillary transactions were up 4.7 percent
versus November 2022 to nearly 380,000. They also were up about 4.1 percent
month over month.
