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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

Safety Record of U.S. Air Carriers

PubZone1
​As noted by the National Safety Council® (NSC) in its INJURY FACTS® 2011 EDITION, "Passenger transportation incidents account for about 2 out of every 10 unintentional injury deaths. But the risk of death to the passenger, expressed on a per mile basis, varies greatly by transportation mode. Highway travel by personal vehicle presents the greatest risk; air, rail, and bus travel have much lower death rates." The table below shows the most recent available comparative information on U.S. passenger transportation fatality rates.
 

Years

U.S. PASSENGER FATALITIES PER 100 MILLION PASSENGER MILES

Psgr. Autos1

Buses2

Railroad Psgr. Trains3

Airlines4

1999-2008

0.72

0.05

0.05

0.01

 
1. Passenger cars/taxis; drivers considered passengers; data from the NSC Fatality Analysis Reporting System

2. Does not include school buses; data from the NSC Fatality Analysis Reporting System
3. Railroad passenger trains; data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
4. Large and commuter airlines, excluding cargo; data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)


The U.S. government began publishing statistics on the safety of commercial aviation in 1927. While 1978 legislation eliminated economic regulation of the U.S. airline industry, it left safety regulation very much in place. The following table depicts the safety record of U.S. airlines performing scheduled services worldwide, as recorded by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

 

 Safety Record of U.S. Air Carriers (Part 121 Scheduled Service): 2000 to Present

 
YearUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
Accidents: TotalUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
Accidents: FatalUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
FatAccPerMillionACDepsUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
Fatalities: TotalUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
Fatalities: OnboardUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).
  
2000
49
2
0.181
89
89
2001
41
6
0.188
531
525
2002
34
0
0.000
0
0
2003
51
2
0.196
22
21
2004
23
1
0.093
13
13
2005
34
3
0.275
22
20
2006
26
2
0.188
50
49
2007
26
0
0.000
0
0
2008
20
0
0.000
0
0
2009
26
1
0.105
50
49
2010
27
0
0.000
0
0
2011
28
0
0.000
0
0
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PubZone2
​Sources: 1927-37: AA Statistical Handbook (December 1945). 1938–71: CAB Handbook of Airline Statistics (1973), Part VIII, Items 19c,d, pp. 595-596; NTSB Safety Studies Division. 1972–82: FAA Statistical Handbook (1972-82), Table 9.3, p. 161, citing NTSB for totals; 1983–present: NTSB Aviation Accident Statistics, Table 6. Fatal Accident Rate excludes incidents resulting from illegal acts, consistent with NTSB practice.
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