Airline sales are up! At more than $4.4 billion, total sales reported and settled by ARC for December 2009 constituted the strongest final month of the year since 2005. Total transactions were also comparatively strong eclipsed only by December 2006. Total fares in the final month of the year closed at $3.7 billion or 9.2 percent ahead of December 2008 and just below 2007’s figure.
Total sales reported by ARC were $4,408,893,034, a 8.59 percent increase. Reflecting the 2009 sales decline was $65,806,123,574, down 17.29 percent year-to-date (YTD). Total transactions totaled 8,916,308, up 6.87 percent for the month but down 136,701,546, or 5.48 percent, YTD. Domestic fares were $1,956,312,853, up 5.05 percent but at $29,900,910,178 YTD there was a 17.3 percent drop. International fares were $1,784,781,819, a 14.19 percent gain but down $25,689,838,076 YTD— a 19.50 percent drop compared to the same period last year.
ARC said reporting carriers totaled 188 and retail locations reporting totaled 15,928. STP locations included 941 while VTC locations reporting totaled 926. Average daily sales by ARC accredited agency locations (calendar month) were $7,992.
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