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

Annual and Per-Minute Cost of Delays to U.S. Airlines

Direct Costs
In 2011, 103 million system delay minutes are estimated by A4A to have driven $7.7 billion in direct aircraft operating costs for scheduled U.S. passenger airlines. The cost of aircraft block (taxi plus airborne) time was $75.27 per minute, 15 percent more than in 2010. Fuel costs increased 30 percent to $37.23 per minute. Crew costs are estimated to have cost $15.92 per minute, followed by maintenance and aircraft ownership ($11.60 and $7.94, respectively) and all other costs ($2.59).

Calendar Year 2011	Direct Aircraft Operating Cost per Block Minute	∆ vs. 2010	2011 Delay Costs ($ millions)
Calendar Year 2011	Direct Aircraft Operating Cost per Block Minute	∆ vs. 2010	2011 Delay Costs ($ millions)
Fuel	$37.23	30.4%	$3,824
Crew - Pilots/Flight Attendants	15.92	5.2%	1,636
Maintenance	11.60	5.4%	1,191
Aircraft Ownership	7.94	-1.5%	815
Other	2.59	3.6%	266
Total DOCs	$75.27	15.4%	$7,732

Notes:
1. Costs based on DOT Form 41 data for U.S. scheduled passenger airlines 2. Arrival delay minutes (Arr:00) reflect operations at 77 U.S. airports as captured in the FAA ASPM database

Additional Costs
Delayed aircraft also drive the need for extra gates and ground personnel and impose costs on airline customers (including shippers) in the form of lost productivity, wages and goodwill. Assuming $39.04 per hour* as the average value of a passenger's time, 2011 delays are estimated to have cost air travelers billions of dollars.

Implications
ATC delays, especially enroute delays, prevail in many parts of the national airspace system. Moreover, our airport and airway infrastructure can not be scaled to meet future demand as anticipated in the FAA aerospace forecasts. In addition to new runways, the deployment of modern ATC technologies and changes to operational procedures are critical to the nation's air system and the economy.

* derived from FAA-recommended values as adjusted using BLS employment cost index.