Jupitermedia Corp.’s Jupiter Research is predicting that online airline ticket sales this year will grow to $19 billion, a 14% increase over the $16.8 billion in sales in 2002. Online growth of air ticket sales contrasts sharply with Jupiter’s expected 5% decline in airline passengers this year.
"Despite the turmoil in the airline industry, online airline ticket sales will continue their strong growth in 2003," said Jared Blank, senior analyst with Jupiter Research. "Although fewer people are flying than in past years, today's travelers are taking advantage of the lower fares and customer service features only found online."
Jupiter Research's new report "2003 Online Airline Ticket Sales: Measuring the Impact of War and SARS" projects that 34% of airline ticket sales to leisure and unmanaged business travelers will take place online this year, compared to 28% last year. "The efforts made by airlines to push travelers to their web sites are definitely paying off this year, especially for low cost carriers," Blank adds. "Airlines will also benefit from the growth of the online population, as 2.5 million more people will purchase airline tickets online in 2003 than in 2002."
The report also finds that the growth of the online channel will not signal a financial turnaround for most carriers. The slow economy, drop in business travelers, depressed fares and intense competition from low cost carriers will make 2003 another difficult year for the airline industry, Jupiter says. "The web is a bright spot for airlines, but it will not be bright enough to improve their shaky financial situations," Blank said.
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