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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

  • 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

Nearly 10,000 Airline Job Cuts Likely If Taxes Imposed

News section: belly view of a plane flying overhead

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2011 – The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today warned that nearly 10,000 airline industry jobs could be cut within one year if two new proposed passenger security and airline departure taxes are implemented. More broadly, nearly 181,000 jobs could be lost across the economy related to reductions in aircraft manufacturing, airports and supporting businesses, according to a new study. 
 
“The job-killing equation is simple – add taxes and lose jobs. Tripling the passenger security fee and creating a new $100 departure tax will have a devastating effect on the U.S. economy and our customers, who already pay more in taxes for air travel than they do for alcohol, tobacco and firearms. The proposed new taxes will impact fares and reduce service, which equates to a one-way ticket to the unemployment line for thousands of Americans,” said ATA President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio.  

Economists from the Oliver Wyman management consulting firm estimated the potential job loss based on the cost of these taxes on the industry and expected capacity cuts to accommodate the additional costs. The study notes that airlines have limited ability to pass through cost increases due to the elastic relationship between pricing and demand.

If Congress approves the two taxes, according to the Oliver Wyman calculations, passenger carriers could reduce capacity by 2.3 percent, which would lead to 9,700 jobs eliminated compared to 2011 employment levels. 

The airline industry is the third greatest contributor to the U.S. economy after energy and farming, yet it is among the least profitable, Calio said. “The President is proposing a huge new tax on the least profitable and most highly taxed industry in the economy while all its competitors are left untouched. Airlines and their passengers should not shoulder the burden to pay for the country’s security, or even worse, to pay off the national debt,” Calio said.

To increase awareness and educate consumers and Congress, ATA today is launching the website, www.stopairtaxnow.com, where visitors can urge Congress to reject punitive taxes against airline passengers and save American jobs and air service to their community.

ABOUT ATA

Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and more than 10 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.
 
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