U.S. Commercial Aircraft: Major Environmental Milestones

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

	U.S. Commercial Aircraft: Major Environmental Milestones
	PubZone1 For generations, flying has contributed to a better quality of life in America. Commercial aviation has been essential to the growth of our economy, yielded breakthrough technologies, brought people together and transported critical cargo – while achieving an exceptional environmental track record. Here is a brief history of our aircraft-related innovations that have brought us here. January 1936 – The Air Transport Association (ATA) is founded to ensure safe and secure air transportation. May 1941 – The Civil Aeronautics Administration approves an ultrahigh-frequency radio range for scheduled airline navigation, which evolved into a very-high-frequency omni-directional radio range system, allowing pilots to fly more efficiently. 1969 – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) adopts aircraft noise certification standards, later referred to as “Stage 2” standards. 1973 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopts aircraft-engine emission standards for fuel venting, smoke, unburned hydrocarbons (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO). 1975-2010 – The FAA confirms there has been a 95 percent reduction in the number of people exposed to significant aircraft noise while the number of passengers who have boarded planes has tripled. 1977 – The FAA adopts more stringent Stage 3 noise certification standards, applicable first to new aircraft. 1978-2012 – The U.S. commercial aviation industry improves its fuel efficiency by over 120 percent. This results in over 3.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) savings – roughly equivalent to taking 22 million cars off the road each year. November 1990 – Congress approves the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 (ANCA), which establishes comprehensive airport noise management requirements and mandates that Stage 2 aircraft be phased out of operation on an incremental schedule to be completed by the end of 1999. March 1997 – “Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum” (RVSM) procedures are implemented for the first time. The FAA estimates that the RVSM procedures in use today, which allow aircraft to fly safely at a more optimal distance above the ground, as well as gain fuel savings and increase airspace capacity, reduce fuel use by approximately 300 million gallons per year. July 1997 – The EPA adopts more stringent aircraft-engine emissions standards for NOx and CO. June 1998 – The first winglets – vertical wingtips that improve the aerodynamics of an aircraft, thereby reducing fuel consumption and related CO2 emissions – are flown. Today, they are a standard production-line option for new aircraft and may be retrofitted onto certain existing aircraft. 2000 – Aircraft operating in the United States must meet Stage 3 noise certification requirements. 2000-2012 – Airlines improve fuel efficiency nearly 30 percent, reducing fuel burn and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10 percent while transporting 16 percent more passengers and freight (measured on a revenue ton mile basis). December 2003 – Congress passes Vision 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. This law chartered the Joint Planning and Development Office to begin work on the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). This unprecedented initiative to modernize the air traffic management system in the United States involves not only the FAA, but also the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security and Commerce, as well as NASA, the EPA, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the ATA and other aviation stakeholders. August 2005 – The FAA adopts more stringent Stage 4 noise certification standards into U.S. law. December 2005 – The EPA adopts more stringent aircraft-engine emissions standards for NOx (per final rule November 2005). 2006 – The ATA is a founding member of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), which is driving toward the production and use of more environmentally friendly jet fuel. July 2007 – The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is rolled out from Boeing's Everett, Wash. factory. It brings the long-range capability of much larger jets to a mid-size aircraft, along with increased fuel efficiency, winglets to improve aerodynamics, efficiency over short distances, structural strengthening, lengthened fuselage, higher fuel capacity and reduced noise. August 2008 – Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1000G demonstration engine completes the first phase of flight testing. Using a state-of-the-art gear system, the engine targets double-digit reductions in fuel burn, emissions, engine noise and operating costs for the next generation of commercial aircraft. August 2009 – CAAFI effort to gain approval of a jet-fuel specification for alternative fuels is successful, as ASTM International adopts D7566. Alternatives derived from the Fischer-Tropsch process are approved in blends up to 50 percent. 2010 – ICAO adopts more stringent aircraft-engine emissions standards for NOx, which EPA will later seek to incorporate into U.S. law. March 2010 – ATA enters into a Strategic Alliance with the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency-Energy to support the development and deployment of commercially viable alternative aviation fuels that demonstrate environmental benefit. July 2010 – ATA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Boeing initiate the FARM to FLY program, to "accelerate the availability of a commercially viable and sustainable aviation biofuel industry in the United States, increase domestic energy security, establish regional supply chains, and support rural development." July 2011 – Through a CAAFI-supported process, renewable alternative jet fuels derived through hydroprocessing of esters and fatty acids (HEFA) are approved by ASTM in blends up to 50 percent. Additional Ongoing Efforts A4A carriers have joined the world’s airlines in committing to improving fuel efficiency by an annual average 1.5 percent through 2020, and to making any growth emissions “carbon neutral” thereafter. NextGen will leverage new navigation capabilities and drive adoption of technologies that will significantly improve environmental performance. Studies show that modernizing the air traffic system by using satellite-based navigation technology is expected to reduce GHG emissions by 10 to 15 percent. Implementation of this critical project needs congressional approval. Airlines are working on employing additional procedures to optimize operations in the air and on the ground to save fuel and minimize emissions. Examples include using “continuous descent approaches” and “required navigation performance” procedures, satellite tracking technology, single-engine taxiing and electric gate power. A4A carriers have committed to ensuring that the alternative fuels they will employ will be more environmentally friendly than today’s jet fuel. Research goals are aimed at making aircraft 50 percent quieter during takeoff and landing by 2020. A4A is supporting the research initiative CLEEN (Continuous Low Emissions, Energy and Noise). This consortium works to develop technology that will further decrease energy use, emissions, and aircraft noise, as well as improve airframe design and performance. PubZone2	A4A supports a truly comprehensive, meaningfully balanced U.S. energy policy and is committed to protecting our planet.