ATA Statement on DOT Passenger Protections Rule

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
In 2012, U.S. airlines moved more than 48,000 tons of cargo per day
In 2012, the value of a kilogram of U.S. merchandise exported by air averaged 121 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
In 2011, U.S. airlines carried 16 percent more passengers and cargo using 10 percent less fuel than in 2000
Domestically, airlines drive 5% of economic activity but account for 2% of man-made GHG emissions
From 2000-2011, airlines reduced GHG emissions by 11% while transporting 16% more passengers and cargo
From 1975-2011, U.S. airlines and their partners reduced significant noise exposure by 99%
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 2000-2012, U.S. airlines improved the on-time arrival rate from 72.6% to 81.9%
From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines reduced the flight cancellation rate sharply from 3.30% to 1.29%
Airfares are a bargain: From 2000-2012, U.S. CPI rose 33% while average domestic fare rose just 14%
Adjusted for inflation, the average round-trip domestic airfare fell 15% from 2000
2007 domestic flight delays cost the United States approximately $31 billion
In 2012, the value of U.S. merchandise exported by air reached an all-time high of $427B
In 2012, U.S. exports of air-travel services reached an all-time high of $39.5B, driving a $5.1B trade surplus
In 2012, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent more than $50B on fuel, averaging 36% of operating expenses
In 2012, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage ever recorded
FAA projects U.S. air travel demand to top 1 billion passengers in 2027
In 2012, US airlines flew 83.4 million passengers in scheduled international service - a record high
In 2012, the total value of merchandise exported from or imported to the United States by air exceeded $927 billion
In 2012, 7.15 teragrams of merchandise was exported from or imported to the United States by air

	ATA Statement on DOT Passenger Protections Rule
	PubZone1 WASHINGTON, April 20, 2011 – The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade association for the leading U.S. airlines, today issued the following statement in response to the Department of Transportation (DOT) issuance of the Passenger Protections Final Rule. “ATA appreciates that DOT shares our goal of providing safe, reliable transportation, treating customers fairly and providing the best service possible. The airline industry supports increased communication and full transparency, ensuring that our customers always know exactly what they are getting every step of the way; and market forces – not additional regulations – are already providing customer benefits. As the DOT statistics demonstrate, airlines already have made many service improvements and many of the regulations formalize procedures already in place, including prompt delay notification, one-way fare advertising, and irregular-operation contingency plans. We share the DOT goal of continuously improving the customer experience and our member airlines will implement the new rules as efficiently as possible,” said ATA President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. ATA members continue to drive improvements in several specific areas mentioned in the final DOT rule: Cancellation Data: ATA welcomes the DOT call for the collection of more data related to cancellations and delays. “Without comprehensive data and appropriate benchmarks, it is difficult to accurately evaluate regulatory effectiveness or whether existing rules should be modified. Airlines should have more flexibility in making operational judgment calls to ensure that they are getting the maximum number of customers to their destinations reliably and safely. We will work in partnership with the DOT to collect more statistics, and we also believe DOT must create a new cancellation tracking code in line with the new regulations to provide a greater understanding of the rule’s effectiveness and whether unintended consequences are occurring,” said Calio. Mishandled Luggage: In 2010, the industry posted its lowest rate of mishandled baggage – 3.57 bags per 1,000 customers – since the DOT began keeping records, and its third consecutive year of improvement. “Our members compete aggressively on customer service and are investing in new processes and infrastructure to assure that passengers’ bags arrive on time,” Calio said. The industry recently launched a project to create a centralized database of baggage rules in order to make the rules more transparent for interline or code-share trips. Oversales: The 2010 rate of involuntary denied boardings was the lowest since 2006. As reported by the DOT, there were 1.09 involuntary denied boardings per 10,000 enplaned passengers, down 11 percent from 2009. Many airlines have long-standing policies and procedures to assist passengers, including first asking for and compensating volunteers. Fee Disclosure: Some airlines have opted to offer customers the option to pay for products and services that they want and, in doing so, have continued to be fully transparent, ensuring that customers know exactly what they are buying and paying for before the purchase transaction. Airlines will continue to work to present a clear differentiation between the fare charged by the airlines and the government taxes and fees, which can account for roughly 20 percent of the ticket price. ABOUT ATA Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and nearly 11 million U.S. jobs. ATA 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 @airlinesassn ### PubZone2	A4A is a leading source for key aviation information.