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  • 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

News Speeches

News section: belly view of a plane flying overhead

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A4A and its board members speak on behalf of the industry at events and testify before Congress. Speeches on the state of the industry, economics and other industry topics, as well as congressional testimony, can be found in this section (The oral delivery may have varied slightly from the written text; the content of these statements was current at the time that they were prepared. However, information contained in these statements may have changed with the passage of time).


 


Future of the Aviation Industry (4/18/2012)
Remarks by Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit with a brief introduction by A4A CEO Nicholas E. Calio.
Remarks to MRO Americas 2012 (4/10/2012)
Nick Calio's speech to MRO Americas 2012
Remarks to the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading – ISTAT Annual Conference (3/19/2012)
Nick Calio's speech to the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading – ISTAT Annual Conference
Remarks by JetBlue President and CEO Dave Barger on the State of the Aviation Industry Aviation: Policy in Washington (11/16/2011)
Before the Northeastern University CEO Breakfast Forum, JetBlue President and CEO Dave Barger spoke on issues impacting the airline industry, including taxes, NextGen, energy, environment and the economy.
Remarks to the Aero Club of Washington (10/18/2011)
Nick Calio's remarks to the Aero Club of Washington.
Remarks to the International Aviation Club (9/27/2011)
Nick Calio's speech to the International Aviation Club
The Washington Perspective (8/29/2011)
Nick Calio's speech to the Boyd Group 16th Annual International Aviation Forecast Summit.
ATA President and CEO Nicholas Calio: U.S. Aviation is at an Inflection Point (4/27/2011)
Speech before the National Chamber Foundation Annual Aviation Summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
MRO Americas 2011 Opening Address (4/12/2011)
ATA Senior Vice President of Safety, Security and Operations Tom Hendricks delivered the opening address at MRO Americas 2011.
Glenn Tilton Speech to the Aero Club of Washington (11/17/2010)
Glenn Tilton, Chairman, Air Transport Association and Chairman of the Board of Directors, United Continental Holdings, Inc., delivered remarks to the Aero Club of Washington regarding U.S. global competitiveness and the role of aviation.
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A4A is a leading source for key aviation information.

What the Experts Say:
“The technology we use today is very safe, but it limits our ability to grow efficiently. We must move to the greater safety and efficiency we will achieve through the precision of GPS. The whole world is going in this direction and we need to create templates for others to follow.”
Michael P. Huerta, acting administrator, FAA

​Innovation and Collaboration in the Second Century of Flight-Aero Club

05/15/2012
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