Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF)

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
U.S. airlines move 50,000 tons of cargo per day
In 2011, the average value of a kilogram of U.S. merchandise exported by air was 117 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
From 2000-2010, U.S. airlines carried 15% more traffic while using 2.1 billion fewer gallons of fuel
Domestically, airlines drive 5% of economic activity but account for 2% of man-made GHG emissions
From 2000-2010, airlines reduced GHG emissions by 10% while transporting 15% more passengers and cargo
From 1975-2010, the number of U.S. residents exposed to significant noise levels fell 95%
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 2000-2010, U.S. airlines improved the on-time arrival rate from 72.6% to 79.8%
From 2000-2010, U.S. airlines halved the flight cancellation rate from 3.30% to 1.76%
Airfares are a bargain: From 2000-2010, U.S. CPI rose 27% while average domestic fare (excl. taxes) rose just 1%
Adjusted for inflation, the average round-trip domestic fare in 2010 fell 21% (from $398 to $316) compared to 2000
2007 domestic flight delays cost the United States approximately $31 billion
In 2011, the value of U.S. merchandise exported by air reached an all-time high of $424B
In 2011, U.S. exports of air-travel services reached an all-time high of $36.7B, driving the largest trade surplus in this category since 1992
In 2011, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent $50.5B on fuel, up $11.7B ($32M/day) from 2010
In 2011, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage ever recorded
In 2011, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of involuntary denied boardings ever recorded
In 4Q 2011, U.S. airlines posted the second-lowest quarterly on-time arrival rate ever recorded
FAA projects U.S. air travel demand to top 1 billion passengers in 2024
In 2011, US airlines flew 80 million passengers in scheduled international service- a record high
In 2011, US airlines flew at 241.2 billion revenue passenger miles in scheduled international service- a record high
In 2011, US airlines operated 299.9 billion available seat miles in scheduled international service- a record high

	Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF)
	PubZone1 For decades, U.S. airlines have provided passenger and cargo transport services to the military in peacetime and wartime. Edgar Gorrell, the first president of the Air Transport Association, presented the concept of voluntary civil airlift participation in wartime to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The modern partnership is known as the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), formalized through a series of presidential executive orders and memoranda of understanding, the first of which was signed December 15, 1951. Under the CRAF program, U.S. airlines commit to support Department of Defense (DoD) airlift needs when those needs exceed the military's own airlift capability. In emergencies, DoD can activate U.S. civil aircraft and crews on 24-48 hours notice. The U.S. Transportation Command, with approval of the Secretary of Defense, is the activation authority for all three CRAF stages: (I) minor regional crises, (II) major regional contingencies and (III) national mobilization. Each stage of activation is used strictly to provide the amount of civil augmentation airlift needed by DoD. Although the U.S. Air Mobility Command (AMC) controls the aircraft missions, the carriers continue to operate and maintain the aircraft with their own resources. When fully activated, CRAF is capable of providing over 90 percent of troop-carrying capability, over 40 percent of cargo-carrying capability, and 100 percent of aeromedical evacuation capability. This heavy reliance on the U.S. commercial airline industry is reflected in National Security Decision Directive 280 and Joint Staff war plans. CRAF was fully activated for the first time on August 17, 1990, to support Gulf War operations. Between August 1990 and March 1991, CRAF carriers flew two-thirds of the passengers and one-fourth of the cargo to the Arabian Peninsula. In preparation for further military engagement in the Middle East, Air Force General John W. Handy re-activated Stage I of CRAF on February 8, 2003, ultimately employing 51 passenger aircraft from 11 commercial carriers (American, ATA, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian, North American, Northwest, Omni, United, US Airways, World) completing over 1,625 missions and airlifting 254,143 troops. During this same period, voluntary participation by 16 commercial carriers moved 11,050 short tons of cargo in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The call-up was deactivated on June 18, 2003. Considerations for CRAF participation include aircraft out-of-service time and costs, crew scheduling (especially with respect to pilot reservists), insurance, equipment conversion, and peacetime financial incentives. Among the most recent studies of CRAF is "Issues Regarding the Current and Future Use of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet," published by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office in October 2007. Sources: U.S. Air Mobility Command; Ronald N. Priddy, A History of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet in Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Desert Sortie; Robert J. Serling, When the Airlines Went to War, 1997; ATA research. PubZone2	U.S. airlines are indispensable facilitators of the U.S. economy.