The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) is reporting that the consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies increased by10.68 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2011 compared to 2010, a 32 percent increase over the same period in 2009.
First quarter 2011 ticket sales totaled $21.8 billion in 2011, compared to $19.7 billion in 2010, and $16.5 billion in 2009. Results were based on sales data from 15,324 U.S. retail and corporate travel agencies, satellite ticket printing offices and online travel agencies. Data does not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airline-based websites. Total sales were equal to the total amount paid for a ticket, which includes taxes and fees.
Year-to-date passenger traffic for the first quarter of 2011 was down slightly at 86.2 million air passengers, compared to 87.6 million in 2010, while reflecting a 5.9 percent increase over the same period in 2009. Ticket transactions for the first quarter of 2011 remained nearly flat, at -0.30 percent compared to the same period in 2010, while it was up 11 percent over the same period in 2009.
Of the top 10 busiest airports in the U.S., John F. Kennedy International in New York continued its growth in 2011, leading passenger traffic volume year-over-year by posting a 7.38 percent increase for January-March 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. Overall year-over-year passenger traffic volume for the top 10 busiest airports in the U.S., on average, was slightly down at -2.19 percent.
Other top 10 U.S. airports and their volume changes included: San Francisco International (-0.39 percent); Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (-1.77 percent); Los Angeles International (-2.13 percent); Houston George Bush Intercontinental (-0.76 percent), Denver International (-4.66 percent); Las Vegas McCarran International (-5.18 percent); Chicago O’Hare International (-4.54 percent); Phoenix Sky Harbor International (-2.68 percent); and Dallas-Fort Worth International (-7.21 percent).
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