A4A, Boeing Recommend Path to Accelerate Commercial Viability of Aviation Biofuels

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

	A4A, Boeing Recommend Path to Accelerate Commercial Viability of Aviation Biofuels
	PubZone1 WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2012 – Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, and Boeing today released several recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to accelerate the commercial viability and deployment of aviation biofuels. The recommendations were announced in conjunction with the recent publication of the working-draft “Farm to Fly” report issued by the USDA, A4A and Boeing. “While there has been a great deal of progress made toward the deployment of aviation biofuels, additional steps are needed to support the commercial viability of this new industry,” said A4A Vice President and Chief Economist John Heimlich. “This support must be aimed to achieve proof of commercialization and to validate the business model for all elements of the supply chain. Strong support across the supply chain will help scale up production of sustainable alternative aviation fuels.” The Farm to Fly partnership was established in July 2010 to advance a comprehensive and sustainable aviation biofuels rural-development plan. As the lead agency responsible for feedstock development and production systems, USDA joined with A4A and the Boeing Company in a resolution to accelerate the availability of sustainable aviation biofuels in the United States, increase domestic energy security, establish regional supply chains and support rural development. A4A is committed to the development and deployment of sustainable alternative fuels for use in jet aircraft. The Farm to Fly initiative builds on and expands the work of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative® (CAAFI), of which A4A is a co-founding and co-leading member, to hasten the availability of commercially viable, environmentally preferred alternative jet fuels. ABOUT A4A Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and more than 10 million U.S. jobs. A4A airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For more information about the airline industry, visit www.airlines.org and follow us on Twitter @airlinesdotorg. PubZone2	A4A is a leading source for key aviation information.