March air ticket sales for US travel agencies totaled $9.4 billion, according to Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) — a 3% decrease from March 2023. For the first quarter of 2024, total sales and passenger trips were higher than the first quarter of 2023 by 3% and 5%, respectively.

Other data showed that: total passengers were up 5% month over month in March and down 1% year over year; US domestic trips were up 5% month over month and up 1% year over year; international trips were up 5% month over month and down 4% year over year.

The average ticket price in March for a roundtrip ticket settled through ARC for an itinerary that included only US domestic travel was $571, the same as the previous month and 2% more than a year ago.
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Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer, said that despite March’s slight decrease in year-over-year sales totals, airlines and US travel agencies experienced a positive first quarter in 2024. He said US domestic travel demand powered much of that growth. With the summer travel season nearing, said Solomon, “the strong dollar is helping drive demand to international destinations by US-based travelers.”

March ancillary sales (including fees for products and services like upgraded seats and checked bags) increased 21% year over year to $32 million, while ancillary transactions increased 43% to 534,211 over the same period.

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