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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

Price of Air Travel Versus Other Goods and Services

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A change in the price of any good or service over time has little value in isolation. Therefore, it is common practice to adjust the values in a time series for inflation. The adjusted (restated) values are then presented in "real" (rather than "nominal") terms. In the example below, however, rather than restating the various items in real (inflation-adjusted) terms, they are shown in their original values, facilitating comparisons with each other and with movements in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI), a federal metric designed to capture the price of a representative basket of U.S. goods and services. *Congress enacted legislation deregulating domestic airline passenger service in October 1978.

 
 

Product (Unit)

1978*

2000

2012

2012 vs. 1978

2012 vs. 2000

College Tuition: Public (Year)1

$688

$3,508

$8,655

1158%

147%​

College Tuition: Private (Year)1

$2,958

$16,072

$29,056

882%

81%​

National Football League (NFL) Game (Ticket)9

$9.67

$49.35

$78.38

711%

59%​

Prescription Drugs (Index)2

61.6

285.4

440.16

615%

54%​

Major League Baseball (MLB) Game (Ticket)10

$3.98

$16.22

$26.98

578%

66%​

Gasoline (Gallon, Unleaded)4

$0.67

$1.51

$3.64

444%

141%​

Vehicle (New)3

$6,470

$24,923

N/A

N/A

N/A​

Single-Family Home (New)5

$55,700

$169,000

$245,000

340%

45%​

Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)2

65.2

172.2

229.6

252%

33%​

Movie Ticket6

$2.34

$5.39

$7.96

240%

48%​

Postage Stamp (First-Class)7

$0.15

$0.33

$0.45

200%

36%​

Whole Milk (Index)2

81

156.9

211.27

161%

35%​

Eggs (Dozen, Grade A, Large)2

$0.82

$0.91

$1.84

124%

102%​

Air Travel (Round-Trip Domestic Fare)8

$186

$314.46

$356.98

92%

14%​

Air Travel (Round-Trip International Fare)8

N/A

$935.26

$1,209.41

N/A

29%​

Apparel: Clothing/Footwear/Jewelry (Index)2

81.3

129.6

126.3

55%

-3%​

Television (Index)2

101.8

49.9

5.4

-95%

-89%​
 
* Domestic fare data commences in 1979; international fare data commences in 1990
 

1. The College Board – based on beginning of academic year
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – includes hedonic “quality-change” adjustments
3. National Automobile Dealers Association – average retail selling price
4. U.S. Department of Energy – Monthly Energy Review, Table 9.4
5. U.S. Department U.S. Census Bureau – median value
6. National Association of Theatre Owners
7. U.S. Postal Service – Publication 100
8. A4A via U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics – excludes taxes; 2012 is YTD 3Q12; first column reflects 1979 (1978 data not avaialble)
9. National Football League, average nonpremium ticket
10. Major League Baseball, average nonpremium ticket



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