In Brief: April saw a notable surge in air ticket sales through U.S. travel agencies, with total revenues exceeding $10 billion, indicating a strong recovery in the travel sector.
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April U.S. Travel Agency Air Ticket Sales Surpass $10 Billion – Image Credit Unsplash
Passenger Trips and Total Sales See Year-Over-Year Increases
Today, Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) released data showing April’s U.S.-based travel agency air ticket sales totaled $10 billion. This represented a 15% increase from April 2025.* April also saw total passenger trips settled by ARC reach 26.4 million, a 3% year-over-year increase.
Results for April 2026 showed:
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ARC Ticketing Metric
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Total
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Month-Over-Month
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Year-Over-Year
|
|
Total Sales
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$10 billion
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-4 %
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+15 %
|
|
Total Passenger Trips
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26.4 million
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-6 %
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+3 %
|
|
U.S. Domestic Trips
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16.6 million
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-6 %
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+2 %
|
|
International Trips
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9.8 million
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-5 %
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+4 %
|
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Average Ticket Price
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$623
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0 %
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+16 %
|
|
Average Economy Class Ticket Price**
|
$566
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-1 %
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+20 %
|
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Average Premium Class Ticket Price***
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$1,431
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-1 %
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+16 %
|
“While April’s average ticket prices were up year over year, month-over-month prices remained steady,” said Steve Solomon, ARC’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We have another month of data demonstrating that traveler demand remains strong. Ticket prices and continued geopolitical uncertainty are not leading to a decline in the number of passenger trips.”
NDC transactions accounted for 20.1% of the total ARC-settled transactions in April 2026 — up from 19.6% in April 2025. In April 2026, 1,197 travel agencies reported NDC transactions.
More detailed information is available on ARC’s sales statistics page.
*Ticket Sales
- Results are based on monthly sales data ending April 30, 2026, from 9,893 U.S. retail and corporate travel agency locations 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 traveling 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.
**Average Economy Class Ticket Price
- Economy Class is defined as tickets for U.S. domestic travel purchased in April 2026 under fare codes excluding First Class, Business Class and Business Class Premium.
***Average Premium Class Ticket Price
- Premium Class is defined as tickets for U.S. domestic travel purchased in April 2026 under fare codes assigned to First Class, Business Class and Business Class Premium.
