A4A Reports Strong Air Travel Demand this Winter Period; 2012 Airfares Remain a Bargain

Commercial aviation helps drive more than 10M American jobs and 5 cents of every dollar of U.S. GDP
Commercial aviation drives more than $1 trillion per year in economic activity
In 2012, U.S. airlines moved more than 48,000 tons of cargo per day
In 2012, the value of a kilogram of U.S. merchandise exported by air averaged 121 times the value exported by sea
For every 100 airline jobs, some 360 are supported outside of the airline industry
Federal taxes constitute $61 – or 20% – of the price of a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket
In 2011, U.S. airlines carried 16 percent more passengers and cargo using 10 percent less fuel than in 2000
Domestically, airlines drive 5% of economic activity but account for 2% of man-made GHG emissions
From 2000-2011, airlines reduced GHG emissions by 11% while transporting 16% more passengers and cargo
From 1975-2011, U.S. airlines and their partners reduced significant noise exposure by 99%
Commercial air travel is the safest form of intercity transportation in the United States
In the most recent decade, scheduled air service on U.S. airlines was seven times safer than in the 1970s
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines improved the on-time arrival rate from 72.6% to 81.9%
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines reduced the flight cancellation rate sharply from 3.30% to 1.29%
Airfares are a bargain: From 2000-2012, U.S. CPI rose 33% while average domestic fare rose just 13%
Adjusted for inflation, the average round-trip domestic airfare fell 15% from 2000
2007 domestic flight delays cost the United States approximately $31 billion
In 2012, the value of U.S. merchandise exported by air reached an all-time high of $427B
In 2012, U.S. exports of air-travel services reached an all-time high of $39.5B, driving a $5.1B trade surplus
In 2012, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent more than $50B on fuel, averaging 36% of operating expenses
In 2012, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage ever recorded
FAA projects U.S. air travel demand to top 1 billion passengers in 2027
In 2012, US airlines flew 83.4 million passengers in scheduled international service - a record high
In 2012, the total value of merchandise exported from or imported to the United States by air exceeded $927 billion
In 2012, 7.15 teragrams of merchandise was exported from or imported to the United States by air

	A4A Reports Strong Air Travel Demand this Winter Period; 2012 Airfares Remain a Bargain
	PubZone1 Projects 42 Million Passengers Will Fly on U.S. Airlines over 21-Day Winter Holiday Period WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2012 – Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, is predicting solid winter holiday travel demand, driven by a recovering economy and air travel that continues to be a bargain, as nearly 42 million passengers will fly between Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, and Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. Total passenger volumes represent a slight reduction of less than 1 percent or about 300,000 passengers over the three-week period. Planes are expected to be about 85 percent full over the period, and the busiest days could reach 90 percent, as carriers have better matched seating capacity to demand to cope with record fuel prices and other rising costs. Daily passenger volumes are expected to range from 1.5 million to 2.3 million. The busiest days will occur on the weekend preceding Christmas (Dec. 21-23, 2012), the day after Christmas (Dec. 26, 2012) and Jan. 2, 2013. Carrier websites should be the “go to” source for airline passengers to register to receive electronic flight status updates, and check-in and print boarding passes prior to arriving at the airport. Passengers are also reminded to allow adequate time to get to the airport and for security screening. Additional travel tips can also be found on the A4A Passenger Travel Tips webpage. “U.S. carriers are reporting strong bookings relative to capacity this winter holiday period,” said A4A Vice President and Chief Economist John Heimlich. “This is a great time to travel, as carriers are staffed to accommodate the influx of holiday travelers and airfares remain a bargain, having significantly trailed U.S. inflation.” While average airfares have risen modestly year over year, the price of air travel has not kept pace with overall U.S. inflation. Heimlich noted that in real terms it costs 14 percent less to fly today than it did in 2000. ABOUT A4A Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and more than 10 million U.S. jobs. # # # PubZone2	A4A is a leading source for key aviation information.