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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 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

 Public Policy Agency Filings

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PubZone1
A4A frequently participates in rulemaking and other regulatory proceedings affecting the airline industry. A4A public filings to regulatory agencies are included here.

ATA Supports Position Limits for Futures Markets (3/29/2011)
ATA comments to the CFTC support the immediate adoption of proposed spot-month position limits but call for stronger, aggregate limits for non-spot month trading to restore the price discovery functioning of the energy futures markets.
ATA Files FERC Comments (1/19/2011)
ATA has requested the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reconsider its order increasing the oil pipeline rate index, which allows pipelines to raise rates charged shippers 2.65% over the Producer Price Index without going through a formal...
CFTC Ownership and Control Report (8/13/2009)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed a new account ownership and control report covering trading accounts on U.S. regulated exchanges. The new report would provide greater transparency and information about trading across those...
ATA Comments on the FTC’s Market Manipulation Rule (5/21/2009)
ATA comments on the FTC’s revised proposal to prohibit manipulation in wholesale oil and refined products markets. ATA supports the FTC’s initiative to prevent market manipulation but recommends the FTC retain the rule as originally proposed instead of...
ATA Comments on Regulations Proposed by CFTC (2/10/2009)
ATA comments support regulations proposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to close the so-called “Enron loophole” by requiring monitoring of, and limits on, “significant price discovery contracts” traded on exempt commercial markets...
ATA Supports FTC Market Manipulation Rule (10/17/2008)
ATA comments to the FTC support a proposed rule to prohibit fraud, manipulation and deceptive conduct in energy markets in order to guard against conduct that would undermine the integrity of those markets and harm consumers.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Final Environmental Impact Statement (7/28/2008)
ATA filed comments July 28th on the Final EIS for a runway extension project at FLL. ATA commended FAA's rejection of the sponsor's alternative including operating restrictions on the new runway capacity, and expressed concerns about the expansion of...
BUR Application for Noise Curfew (6/12/2008)
ATA filed comments on the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority’s proposed curfew applicable to Stage 3 aircraft operations at Bob Hope Airport (BUR). This is the first application for a mandatory access restriction under FAR part 161.
NPS Definition of “Substantial Restoration of Natural Quiet” at Grand Canyon (5/8/2008)
ATA filed comments on the National Park Service’s proposed clarification of the definition of "substantial restoration of natural quiet" as it relates to management of aircraft overflights at Grand Canyon National Park
ATA Comments on Composition of Proxy Groups (8/30/2007)
The Air Transport Association filed comments with FERC on the "Composition of Proxy Groups for Determining Gas and Oil Pipeline Return on Equity.
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PubZone2
A4A advocates measures to support aviation safety, security and well-being.

What the Experts Say:
“Hard-hour minimum requirements are not a substitute for the quality of a pilot’s training and experience… A4A carriers have an exemplary safety record and engage in continuous improvements in safety and training and the A4A supports raising pilot qualification requirements, but not to the extent of the NPRM which we believe will reduce the quality of the pilot force rather than enhance it."

A4A ,

​A4A press release

05/01/2012
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