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

BTS Monthly Employment Data for U.S. Passenger Airlines

Comprehensive monthly employment data for U.S. passenger airlines (that operate at least one aircraft with the capacity to carry combined passengers, cargo and fuel of 18,000 pounds) is available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Most of the data is stated in terms of full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), wherein two part-time employees compose one FTE. BTS.gov also allows users to search passenger and cargo airline employment data by month. Some additional data is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has a special report on Air Transportation. The Federal Aviation Administration collects information on active pilots by type of certificate in its U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics. According to Table 30 of its annual FAA Aerospace Forecasts, there are more than 142,000 active airline transport pilots in the United States.

U.S. Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-Time Equivalents (Thousands)
1990	454.8
1991	443.0
1992	447.8
1993	443.6
1994	434.5
1995	431.6
1996	441.0
1997	432.5
1998	446.5
1999	479.7
2000	520.6
2001	520.1
2002	471.6
2003	441.2
2004	438.7
2005	421.2
2006	404.3
2007	413.1
2008	407.6
2009	385.9
2010	378.1
2011	386.0

Source: BTS Table 3

In 2011, according to Unionstats.com, an estimated 44.3% of U.S. air transportation (broadly defined via Census Industry Code 6070) workers were covered by collective bargaining agreements, versus 7.6% of all U.S. private sector employees. The Railway Labor Act, the comprehensive statutory framework for the resolution of labor-management disputes in the airline and railroad industries, was drafted by labor and management and passed by Congress in 1926 without amendment. It provided for mandatory mediation, voluntary arbitration in contract negotiations, and potential Presidential Emergency Boards to enhance dispute resolution. Key 1934 amendments established the current three-member structure of the National Mediation Board (NMB) and authorized it to resolve employee-representation disputes.

U.S. airlines are indispensable facilitators of the U.S. economy.