ATA Testimony by Jim Casey before the House Railroads Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee on the Lithium Battery Rulemaking Process

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

	ATA Testimony by Jim Casey before the House Railroads Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee on the Lithium Battery Rulemaking Process
	PubZone1 November 16, 2009 The Air Transport Association of America’s members, which are the largest U.S. passenger and all-cargo airlines, strongly support efforts to assure the safe transportation of hazardous materials. As in other areas of civil aviation, success in these efforts depends on the collaborative work of government, labor, manufacturers, shippers and airlines that are committed to a disciplined, data-driven approach. No one has a monopoly of knowledge in this area. We appreciate that the sponsors of H.R. 4016 want to improve the safety of the carriage aboard aircraft of lithium-batteries and electronic devices that use them. Legislation, however, is not the best way to pursue that goal. Instead, a notice-and-comment rulemaking proceeding is a far better means to examine the facts, bring necessary expertise to bear and develop whatever changes such an empirical focus shows are needed. The opportunity to do so is before us. A proposed lithium battery rule is under review at the Office of Management and Budget. Shortly, therefore, all interested stakeholders should have the opportunity to contribute to an examination of the carriage aboard aircraft of lithium batteries. That is the way to proceed and will allow a timely exploration of this subject. We emphasized this point in our November 4th letter to Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Mica. In contrast, the legislation under consideration, which would not be enacted into law for some time and by its own terms would not require a final rule until two years after its enactment, could have the unintended but very real consequence of interrupting the anticipated rulemaking proceeding. A rulemaking proceeding would enable the various interested parties to participate in assessing the need for and implications of additional regulatory requirements. Such wide-ranging participation is essential. This is a complex area where the benefit of expertise in illuminating its different facets is a critical ingredient to the decision-making process. Safety is the dispositive consideration in any such undertaking. We, nevertheless, must recognize that government action in this area could have serious effects on airlines and the welfare of their employees, as well as on the manufacturers, shippers, and retailers that depend on air transportation. With respect to airlines, both passenger and cargo airlines transport devices containing lithium batteries. Moreover, because lithium batteries are indispensable to so much of what today we take for granted, those entities that are involved in the manufacture, distribution and sale of electronic devices have an unmistakable stake in the outcome of this legislation and any rulemaking proceeding. This is not an insular subject. Ill-conceived requirements could have serious, adverse results throughout our economy. As we also noted in our November 4th letter that maximizing harmonization of any new U.S. requirements with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards is an important concern for two reasons. First, most ATA members transport cargo internationally as well as domestically. Neither safety nor efficiency will be advanced if unnecessarily disparate hazmat requirements govern their operations. Second, we believe that the United States must maintain its leadership role in ICAO by advancing harmonized international standards. That role would not be advanced by a legislatively mandated, unique U.S. rule, which would signal to other ICAO members that they should feel free to take the same approach. That would be a serious blow to what should be a common goal of seamless requirements. Congress’ interest in this important matter is very understandable. Its most helpful response, however, would be to urge the executive branch to accelerate the initiation of the expected rulemaking proceeding, rather than pursuing this legislation. PubZone2	A4A advocates measures to support aviation safety, security and well-being.