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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

Price of Air Travel Versus Other Goods and Services

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A change in the price of any good or service over time has little value in isolation. Therefore, it is common practice to adjust the values in a time series for inflation. The adjusted (restated) values are then presented in "real" (rather than "nominal") terms. In the example below, however, rather than restating the various items in real (inflation-adjusted) terms, they are shown in their original values, facilitating comparisons with each other and with movements in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI), a federal metric designed to capture the price of a representative basket of U.S. goods and services. *Congress enacted legislation deregulating domestic airline passenger service in October 1978.

 
 

Product (Unit)

1978*

2000

2011

2011 vs. 1978

College Tuition: Public (Year)1

$688

$3,508

$8,244

1098%

College Tuition: Private (Year)1

$2,958

$16,072

$28,500

863%

National Football League (NFL) Game (Ticket)9

$9.67

$49.35

$77.36

700%

Prescription Drugs (Index)2

61.6

285.4

425.0

590%

Major League Baseball (MLB) Game (Ticket)10

$3.98

$16.22

$26.91

576%

Gasoline (Gallon, Unleaded)4

$0.67

$1.51

$3.53

427%

Vehicle (New)3

$6,470

$24,923

$29,793**

360%

Single-Family Home (New)5

$55,700

$169,000

$222,600**

300%

CPI-U (All Urban Consumers)2

65.2

172.2

224.9

245%

Movie Ticket6

$2.34

$5.39

$7.89**

237%

Postage Stamp (First-Class)7

$0.15

$0.33

$0.44

193%

Whole Milk (Index)2

81

156.9

209.5

159%

Eggs (Dozen, Grade A, Large)2

$0.82

$0.91

$1.77

116%

Air Travel (Round-Trip Domestic Fare)8

$186

$314.46

$343.46

84%

Air Travel (Round-Trip International Fare)8

n/a

$935.26

$1,159.82

n/a

Apparel: Clothing/Footwear/Jewelry (Index)2

81.3

129.6

122.1

50%

Television (Index)2

101.8

49.9

6.6

-94%

 
* Domestic fare data commences in 1979; international fare data commences in 1990
** 2011 data not yet available; 2010 data used as a placeholder 
 

1. The College Board – based on beginning of academic year
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – includes hedonic “quality-change” adjustments
3. National Automobile Dealers Association – average retail selling price
4. U.S. Department of Energy – Monthly Energy Review, Table 9.4
5. U.S. Department U.S. Census Bureau – median value
6. National Association of Theatre Owners
7. U.S. Postal Service – Publication 100
8. A4A via U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics – excludes taxes; first column reflects 1979 (1978 data not avaialble)
9. National Football League, average nonpremium ticket
10. Major League Baseball, average nonpremium ticket



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