ARC: US travel agency air ticket sales up nearly two percent in August

ARLINGTON, VA – Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), the premier driver of air travel intelligence and commerce in the travel industry, reported today that the consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by US-based travel agencies decreased by 4 percent in the first eight months of 2016 as compared to 2015, totaling $59.9 billion vs. $62.4 billion. August 2016 ticket sales were up 1.8 percent to $7.1 billion against the same month last year. Ticket transactions were up 8.4 percent at 14 million in 2016 vs. 2015.

Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD)** sales comprised $26.7 million of the year-to-date sales vs. $10.1 million in 2015, and $5.3 million of the August 2016 sales as compared to $1.7 million in August 2015. EMD transactions increased 312.2 percent to 393,153 so far in 2016 vs. 95,383 in 2015.