According to Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) in a statement released yesterday, the month of April saw the consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by U.S.-based travel agencies had increased 5.9% year over year to $9.1 billion. The organization reported that airline ticket sales had risen 3% year over year in March, as well.Reports show that the average U.S. round-trip ticket price was $499, up from $487 in March. The total number of passenger trips settled by ARC for U.S. travel agencies rose 4.1% year over year to 27.7 million. MORE Airlines & Airports April saw U.S. domestic trips rise 4.2% versus March’s 2.7%, while international trips grew 3.9% in April, compared to a 4.3% increase in March. Passenger trips settled by agencies that self-report as doing at least 70% corporate/government business rose 3.9% in April and 1.7% in March. Electronic miscellaneous document sales, which cover ancillary purchases, rose 23.7% to $8.6 billion last month, having climbed 4.6% to $7.9 million in March. ARC attributed April’s 23.7% increase in sales volume to ancillaries for group travel, such as tour groups. April EMD transactions fell 3.9% to 116,408, having decreased 8.4% to 117,868 the previous month.According to an ARC spokesperson, a similar single-month spike occurred at this time last year, but increases are not expected to continue through the rest of the year. Let's block ads! (Why?)