Fuel Efficiency of the U.S. Airlines

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 13%
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

	Fuel Efficiency of the U.S. Airlines
	PubZone1 What is the best way to reduce fuel consumption? Significant efficiencies in fuel usage can be accomplished by accelerating the evolution of the air traffic control system to incorporate technologies to facilitate modern procedural and operational concepts. How is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) helping? FAA is pursuing initiatives to improve aviation fuel efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of aviation. See the FAA fact sheet entitled "Getting the Green Light for Aviation" for more information. Have airlines' fuel-conservation efforts been successful? Over the past three decades, combined passenger and cargo airline fuel efficiency, as measured by revenue ton miles per gallon, has more than doubled. How have airlines changed their operations to improve fuel efficiency? Airlines have adopted policies and procedures to reduce fuel consumption, including: single-engine taxi procedures selective engine shutdown during ground delays implementing lighter onboard equipment and materials (e.g., seats, beverage carts, utensils, electronic flight bags) and removal of items (e.g., magazines, galleys) optimizing fuel loads to reduce the cost of carrying extra fuel optimizing flight planning to incorporate the most efficient routes and altitudes minimizing inefficient low-altitude maneuvering minimizing the use of auxiliary power units (APUs) on the ground by using airport electrical power In planning for fuel usage, airlines are: working with FAA to change en route fuel-reserve requirements to reflect state-of-the-art navigation, communication, surveillance and wind forecast systems employing self-imposed ground delays to reduce airborne holding continuously modernizing fleets with more fuel-efficient airplanes investing in winglets to reduce aircraft drag redesigning hubs and schedules to minimize congestion advocating expanded and improved airfield capacity adopting airplane paint schemes that minimize heat absorption (which requires additional cooling) pooling resources to purchase fuel in bulk through alliances with other carriers Does the ATA do anything to help airlines optimize fuel consumption? At the FAA Command Center, the A4A works with member airlines and the FAA to: decrease reroute mileage increase ATC/airline coordination during severe weather analyze the jet stream and make recommendations for routing transcontinental flights cite single-flight route issues and reduce mileage for flights unable to accept airborne reroutes provide advance notice to airlines of future reroutes or “playbook” routes to prevent overfueling alert FAA to opportunities for avoiding fuel waste during departure delays and airborne holding PubZone2	A4A supports a truly comprehensive, meaningfully balanced U.S. energy policy and is committed to protecting our planet.