ARC’s official May 2026 data confirms the NDC figure first reported by TDN, alongside fresh numbers on ticket sales, pricing, and passenger volumes.
Airlines Reporting Corporation has released its official May 2026 sales data, confirming the NDC adoption figure first reported by TDN in its recent interview with ARC President and CEO Lauri Reishus. NDC accounted for 21.6 percent of total ARC-settled transactions in May, a slight increase from 21.4 percent during the same month last year.
The stability of that figure suggests that NDC has moved beyond the early adoption phase and into a period of steady operational expansion. The industry is no longer asking whether NDC will gain traction. It is working through the post-booking servicing capabilities that Reishus identified as the real bottleneck to faster growth.
The number of agencies reporting NDC transactions also continued to expand, reaching 1,197 in May. While the pace of growth has moderated compared with the early phases of adoption, the figure suggests that NDC participation is broadening across the agency community even as transaction share remains relatively stable.
The broader sales data tells a story of resilient demand. US-based travel agency air ticket sales totaled 9.8 billion dollars in May 2026, a 15 percent increase year over year, even as total passenger trips settled by ARC held steady at 25.7 million, essentially flat against May 2025.
With passenger volumes essentially unchanged, higher fares accounted for much of the increase in sales. Average ticket price rose 18 percent year over year to 628 dollars, with economy class fares up 20 percent and premium class fares up 14 percent.
“The May sales data indicates that air travel demand continues to endure, despite evolving economic and political circumstances,” said Steve Solomon, ARC’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Travelers are showing a continued prioritization of travel, keeping overall demand steady as we begin the summer travel season.”
International trips slipped slightly, down 1 percent year over year to 9.5 million, while domestic trips rose 1 percent to 16.2 million. Both segments were down modestly month over month, a normal seasonal pattern heading into peak summer travel.
The settlement infrastructure for modern airline retailing is increasingly in place. What remains is the slower work of scaling servicing, workflows, and agency adoption across the broader distribution ecosystem.
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