According to a recent analysis from travel intelligence firm Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC), total air ticket sales by U.S. travel agents reached $7.2 billion in October, a 2% decrease from sales in October 2022.
Despite this nominal decrease, the overall number of passenger journeys made last month increased four percent to 21.7 million, bolstered by a five percent increase in domestic air travel in the United States.
"October's air travel data looked similar to 2022, with a slight decrease in sales and passenger trips from the prior month," ARC's chief commercial officer, Steve Solomon, said.
Furthermore, ancillary sales for October 2023 increased by 26 percent year on year, rising from $16.7 million to $21.1 million. The real number of auxiliary transactions increased by 28 percent within the same time period, reaching 364,678.
The word "ancillary sales" refers to add-on items and services like seat upgrades, checked luggage, unaccompanied minor fees, pet-in-cabin costs, and so on.
The research underlined that the statistics supplied does not include air travel tickets purchased directly from airlines by customers.
The analysis is based on information gathered from 10,480 retail and corporate travel agency sites in the United States, as well as satellite ticket printing facilities and internet travel agencies.