ARLINGTON, Va. – ARC, the financial settlement link between airlines and travel sellers, reported today that the consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies in 2011 increased 6.11 percent year-over-year compared to 2010, and 25 percent over 2009. Last year’s ticket sales totalled a record $82.1 billion, compared to $77.4 billion in 2010, and $65.8 billion in 2009.
Passenger segments in 2011 fell 2.9 percent โ at 370.1 million segments, compared to 381.1 million in 2010 โ while reflecting a 2.9 percent increase over 2009. Ticket transactions in 2011 were down somewhat, at -2.09 percent compared to 2010, while 5.1 percent above 2009.
For December 2011, the consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies increased 3.9 percent* compared to December 2010, and 12.3 percent over the same period in 2009. Total December 2011 ticket sales were $4.9 billion, compared to $4.7 billion in 2010, and $4.4 billion in 2009.
December 2011 passenger segments fell 4.6 percent โ at 28.1 million segments, compared to 29.5 million in December 2010 โ while reflecting a 2.2 percent decrease over the same period in 2009. Ticket transactions for December 2011 were down, at -4.5 percent compared to the same period in 2010, while 1.7 percent below the same period in 2009.