Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) data shows ARC-accredited travel agency air ticket sales totalled $8.4bn in May 2022, a 135% year-over-year increase from May 2021. The total marks an 8% month-over-month increase from April 2022 and the first time total monthly sales have eclipsed $8 billion since January 2020.
For the month of May 2022, total sales increased by 8% compared with the previous year, with total passenger trips up by 1% (U.S. domestic trips decreased 1%, with international trips up by 6%).
Leisure agencies are showing particular strength heading into the summer months. Year over year, the share of leisure-focused agency tickets sold through May for travel planned between June and August increased 52% compared to the share of corporate and online ticket agency sales. U.S. leisure destinations including Orlando, FL, Denver, CO, and Maui, HI, will see a greater share of total passenger numbers during the summer months.
“Demand remains strong for air travel heading into the summer travel season,” said Steve Solomon, vice president of global customers and data products at ARC. “Now that the U.S. inbound international testing requirement has been dropped, we anticipate international passenger trips to continue their upward trajectory.”
International trips settled by ARC in May 2022 increased 82% year over year to 8.4 million, while U.S. domestic trips increased 28% to 14.3 million over the same period. Total passenger trips settled in May 2022 increased 43% year over year from 15.8 million to 22.8 million.
The average U.S. round-trip air travel ticket cost $628 in May 2022. EMD sales increased 145% year over year to $17,112,669. EMD transactions increased 64% to 244,702 over the same period.**
More detailed information is available on ARC’s sales statistics page. Additional breakdown of corporate, leisure and online ticket sales can be found on the ARC COVID-19 data page.