In Brief: U.S. travel agency air ticket sales exceeded $10 billion in September 2026, signaling robust travel demand and reinforcing the importance of agency channels for hotel partners seeking to capture related guest spend.
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April U.S. Travel Agency Air Ticket Sales Surpass $10 Billion – Image Credit Unsplash
Q3 2026 Sales Reach $29.7 Billion, an 18% Increase From 2025
Today, Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) released data showing U.S.-based travel agency air ticket sales totaled $10.2 billion in September 2026, an 18% increase from September 2025.* Passenger trips reached 25.7 million in September 2026, a 2% year-over-year increase. Third-quarter 2026 sales totaled $29.7 billion, up 18% from $25.1 billion in the third quarter of 2025, while passenger trips for the quarter rose 3.5% to 77.4 million.
Results for September 2026 showed:
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ARC Ticketing Metric
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Total
|
Month-Over-
|
Year-Over-Year
|
|
Total Sales
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$10.2 billion
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+4 %
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+18 %
|
|
Total Passenger Trips
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25.7 million
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0 %
|
+2 %
|
|
U.S. Domestic Trips
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16.7 million
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+1 %
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+2 %
|
|
International Trips
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9 million
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-3 %
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+1 %
|
|
Average Ticket Price
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$669
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+7 %
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+2 %
|
|
Average Economy
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$608
|
+7 %
|
+21 %
|
|
Average Premium
|
$1,562
|
+7 %
|
+14 %
|
“Demand for travel remains strong despite geopolitical uncertainty and inflationary pressure, with over 77 million airline trips ticketed through travel agencies in the third-quarter. This reflects a 3.5% increase in trips from the same period in 2025,” said Steve Solomon, ARC’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Even as the summer season wound down, passenger volume held steady with September air ticket sales of $10.2 billion, up 4% from August. Overall, September capped an exceptional third-quarter.”
NDC transactions accounted for 21.2% of total ARC-settled transactions in September 2026, which is a 7% increase from the previous year. In September 2026, 1,264 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 September 30, 2026, from 9,863 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 September 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 September 2026 under fare codes assigned to First Class, Business Class and Business Class Premium.