Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) released data showing net sales from ARC-accredited travel agencies totaling $4.1 billion in July 2021, a 947% increase compared to July 2020 and the second consecutive month of sales totaling more than $4 billion.
July 2021 represents the first monthly decrease in overall sales after seven consecutive months of growth. This follows the typical seasonal pattern of sales decreasing from June to July each year.
Month over month, July 2021 results showed:
- Total passenger trips down 4%.
- U.S. domestic trips decreased 2%.
- International trips decreased 10%.
“We typically see a slowdown in new air ticket sales during the summer months as consumers finish their summer vacation travel,” said Chuck Thackston, managing director of data science and research at ARC. “While airlines and organizations watch the new COVID-19 variants to determine the impact on travel, we anticipate new bookings and ticket sales to follow a similar pattern to prior years.” The latest weekly ticket and sales volumes can be found on ARC’s COVID-19 data page.
Total passenger trips settled by ARC in July 2021 increased 229% year over year from 5.1 million to 16.8 million. U.S. domestic and international passenger trips increased 230% and 226% YOY, respectively. Overall, U.S. domestic passenger trips totaled 12.1 million compared to 4.7 million for international trips. The average U.S. round-trip ticket price increased to $458 in July 2021, up from $321 in July 2020.
Year over year, July 2021 EMD sales increased 311% to $7,159,107, while EMD transactions increased 366% to 151,578.
