New data from Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) shows U.S.-based travel agency air ticket sales totaled $8.7 billion in September 2025 — an 8% year-over-year increase and the highest monthly sales total for September recorded by ARC.

Third-quarter air ticket sales and passenger trips reached $25.1 billion and 74.7 million, respectively. Both figures represent a 4% increase year over year and were record-high results for a third quarter.

Passenger trips issued through online travel agencies and leisure agencies in September increased 2% and 3%, respectively, year over year. Passenger trips issued through corporate travel agencies remained flat over the same period.

Results for September 2025 showed:

ARC Ticketing Metric	Total	Month-Over-Month Variance	Year-Over-Year Variance
Total Sales	$8.7 billion	+5 %	+8 %
Total Passenger Trips	25.2 million	+3 %	+7 %
U.S. Domestic Trips	16.3 million	+4 %	+6 %
International Trips	8.9 million	0 %	+7 %
Average Ticket Price	$558	+5 %	+2 %
Average Economy Class Ticket Price	$501	+3 %	+1 %
Average Premium Class Ticket Price	$1,368	+5 %	+6 %

"Strength in pricing and passenger demand helped ARC-accredited agencies close out the third quarter at record levels," said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. "This trend underscores sustained traveler confidence as well as the expanding vacation travel window into the fall as the industry prepares for the busy holiday travel season."

NDC transactions accounted for 19.9% of the total ARC-settled transactions in September 2025 — up from 18.6% in September 2024. In September 2025, a total of 1,130 travel agencies reported NDC transactions.