Monthly Sales Total Indicates Robust Demand Amid Year-Over-Year Ticket Price Decline
Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) today released data showing May 2023 U.S. travel agency air ticket sales increased 7% year over year to $9 billion.* The May total marks the second time monthly sales have eclipsed $9 billion this year, trailing the $9.6 billion March record.
The average price of a U.S. round-trip air travel ticket sold in May fell below year-over-year levels for the second consecutive month. The 2% month-over-month increase in average ticket price followed identical pre-pandemic trends for April to May.
Results for May 2023 showed:
| ARC Ticketing Metric | Total | Month-Over-Month Variance | Year-Over-Year Variance |
| Total sales | $9,039,970,807 | +3% | +7% |
| Total passenger trips | 24,118,842 | +3% | +6% |
| U.S. domestic trips | 14,771,993 | +2% | +3% |
| International trips | 9,346,849 | +3% | +10% |
| Average ticket price | $562 | +2% | -11% |
“The record-setting Memorial Day travel weekend confirmed the continued strong demand for U.S. domestic and international air travel,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. “Travelers will be relieved to see both lower airfare prices and increased seat capacity compared to last year as they book travel for what could be the busiest summer travel season ever for several popular destinations.”
Ancillary sales increased 56% year over year to $26,637,478. Ancillary transactions increased 45% to 355,575 over the same period.**
More detailed information is available on ARC’s sales statistics page.
