ARC Reports August Ticket Sales Nearly Double
Month over month figures show both domestic and international trips are up, but still far below last year
Airlines Reporting Corp., the company which manages transactions between airlines and travel agencies, has released its August data showing that net sales from ARC-accredited travel agencies nearly doubled over the month of July.
August sales totaled $751 million, up 94 percent over July 2020. However the total dollar volume still represents a 90 percent drop compared to August 2019, when sales totaled $7.8 billion.
Month over month, August 2020 results show a 19 percent increase in the total number of passenger trips, including a 22 percent rise in US domestic trips and a 10 percent bump in international trips over July.
While passenger trips are steadily rising, ARC says that the sharp increase in August net sales is largely attributable to other factors, including an increase in international fares paid, slowing refunds and accelerating travel agency sales.
“ARC is continuing to see gradual improvements in air travel demand over the past month. In addition to passenger trip growth, we are also seeing dramatic improvements in month-over-month net sales for both cash and credit forms of payment, especially for international fares,” said Chuck Thackston, ARC’s managing director of data science.
“Given airlines’ recent announcements to remove change fees, as well as their efforts to stimulate demand through enhanced safety measures, we will continue to closely monitor these improving trends in travel demand,” Thackston added.
