Air Ticket Sales by U.S. Travel Agents Continue to Run 8 Percent Ahead of Last Year

Ticket Transactions Down 1.66 Percent Compared to Same Period 2010

News provided by

Jun 10, 2011, 11:40 ET

ARLINGTON, Va., June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 increased 7.79 percent^* year-over-year in the first five months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010, and 31 percent over the same period in 2009. January through May 2011 ticket sales totalled $36.7 billion, compared to $34 billion in 2010, and $28 billion in 2009.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110310/MM63033LOGO )

Year-to-date passenger traffic for the first five months of 2011 fell 2.2 percent – at 149.4 million flyers, compared to 152.8 million in 2010 – while reflecting a 5 percent increase over the same period in 2009. Ticket transactions for January through May 2011 were down slightly, at -1.66 percent compared to the same period in 2010, while up 7 percent over the same period in 2009.

Of the cities with the highest salary and wage earners based on IRS returns**, passengers from the following locations purchased the most first class, round-trip airline tickets from January through May 2011:


Rank	Zip Code	City
1	90212	Beverly Hills, Calif.
2	06830	Greenwich, Conn.
3	94027	Atherton, Calif.
4	33480	Palm Beach, Fla.
5	19041	Haverford, Pa.

More detailed information is available at https://www.arccorp.com/news/stat/2011-05.jsp

About ARC:
As the financial backbone of the travel industry, ARC enables commerce among travel agencies, airlines, and travel suppliers, and offers them secure and accurate financial settlement services. More than 15,000 travel agencies and 190 airlines use the company's transaction settlement services that, in 2010, totaled more than $77 billion in value. ARC also supplies transactional data to organizations, facilitating better business decisions through fact-based market analyses. Established in 1984, ARC is headquartered in Arlington, Va. For more information, visit www.arccorp.com.

Notes for Editors:

* Ticket Sales and Top Destinations

Results based on sales data ending May 31, 2011 from 15,186 U.S. retail and corporate travel agencies, satellite ticket printing offices, and online travel agencies.
Does not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airlines.
Total sales are equal to the total amount paid for a ticket, which includes taxes and fees.

**First Class Ticket Information

One hundred highest income (salaries and wages) ZIP codes with at least 1,000 IRS tax returns submitted for 2004-tax year.
Data is based on tickets with minimum value of $2,000 and purchased from Web-based travel sites.
Round trip tickets.
IATA Class Codes P, F, and A
Based on ZIP code on charged credit card.

SOURCE ARC