Monthly U.S. Travel Agency Sales Reach Highest Total Since February 2020

By: Airlines Reporting Corp. via Business Wire

March 17, 2022 at 11:01 AM EDT

February Sales Eclipse $5 Billion, Growing 48% Month over Month

Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) today released data showing ARC-accredited travel agency air ticket sales totaling $5.4 billion in February 2022, a 253% year-over-year increase from February 2021.* The net sales total marks the highest level since February 2020, a month before the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact travel. The previous pandemic high for sales was $4.4 billion in November 2021.

Month over month, February 2022 results showed:

Total sales up 48%.
Total passenger trips increased 21%.
U.S. domestic trips up 17%.
International trips up 28%.

“Leisure demand nearing pre-pandemic levels and accelerated corporate travel bookings fueled another strong month of sales,” said Steve Solomon, vice president of global sales, marketing, operations and customer experience at ARC. “With the U.S. domestic travel market steadily rising, we are monitoring the war in Europe and its impact on the strong international travel growth to start the year.”

Total passenger trips settled by ARC in February 2022 increased 114% year over year from 9.3 million to 19.8 million, aided by a 158% increase in international trips. U.S. domestic trips were up 96% year over year to 12.9 million.

The average U.S. round-trip ticket price in February 2022 was $464, a 34% increase from $346 in February 2021. The 2022 total was down 5% from the pre-pandemic February monthly average of $488.

February 2022 EMD sales increased 202% year over year to $9,298,339. EMD transactions increased 175% to 177,014 over the same period.**

More detailed information is available on ARC’s sales statistics page. Additional breakdown of corporate, leisure and online ticket sales can be found on the ARC COVID-19 data page.

About ARC:

ARC accelerates the growth of global air travel by delivering forward-looking travel data, flexible distribution services and other innovative industry solutions. We are a leading travel intelligence company that possesses the world’s largest, most comprehensive global airline ticket dataset, including more than 15 billion passenger flights representing 490 airlines and 230 countries and territories. Our solutions and expertise strengthen economies and enrich lives by connecting stakeholders across the travel ecosystem. For more information, visit arccorp.com.

Notes:

*Ticket Sales

Results are based on monthly sales data ending February 28, 2022, from 10,728 U.S. retail and corporate travel agency locations, satellite ticket printing offices and online travel agencies. Results do not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airlines.
The average ticket price (USD) is for a round-trip ticket settled through ARC for an itinerary that included only U.S. domestic travel.
Passenger trips include the total number of passengers taking a trip from one airport to another using direct or connecting flights. Newly issued trips are added, and refunded trips are deducted to provide a net view of traveling passengers.
U.S. domestic passenger trips include the total number settled through ARC where the itinerary is wholly within the U.S. International passenger trips include the total number settled through ARC where some or all the travel occurs to airports outside the U.S. or originates outside the U.S.
Total sales are equal to the total amount paid for a ticket, which includes taxes and fees.

**Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD)