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

Glossary

Events section: man under wing refueling a plane

The ATA glossary includes a list of commonly used aviation terms/acronyms and definitions.

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accident - As defined by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an occurrence incidental to flight in which, as a result of the operation of an aircraft, any person (occupant or nonoccupant) receives fatal or serious injury, or any aircraft receives substantial damage.
active aircraft - All legally registered civil aircraft that flew one or more hours.
aerial application flying - The operation of aircraft for the purposes of dispensing any substances required for agriculture, health, forestry, seeding, firefighting or insect-control purposes.
aerial observation flying - Any use of an aircraft for aerial mapping and photography, surveying, patrolling, fish spotting, search and rescue, hunting, sightseeing or highway traffic advisory not included under Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 135.
aerodrome - A defined area on land or water (including any buildings, installations and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft.
aileron - A control surface located on the trailing edge of each aircraft wing tip. Deflection of these surfaces controls the roll or bank angle of the aircraft.
air cargo - Freight, mail and express traffic transported by air, including: (1) Freight and Express - commodities of all kinds, including small-package counter services, express services and priority reserved freight; and (2) Mail - all classes of mail transported for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
air carrier - An entity that undertakes directly, by lease or other arrangement, to engage in air transportation. More specifically, large certificated air carriers, small certificated air carriers, commuter air carriers, on-demand air taxis, supplemental air carriers and air-travel clubs.
air navigation service provider - Used generically to refer to the organization, personnel and facilities that provide separation assurance, traffic management, infrastructure management, aviation information, navigation, landing, airspace-management or aviation-assistance services for airspace users. Examples include NAV CANADA and NATS UK. Can be government-owned or a private entity.
air route traffic control center - An air traffic control facility, usually called an en route center. Centers handle en route traffic, generally flying on instrument flight plans, as they move across the United States. There are 20 centers in the continental United States.
air taxi - An aircraft operator who conducts services for hire in an aircraft with 60 or fewer passenger seats and a payload capacity of 18,000 pounds or less. An air taxi company provides seats on demand. For example, instead of chartering an aircraft, a customer purchases a seat on a private jet.
air traffic control (ATC) - A service provided under appropriate authority to promote the safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic.
air traffic management (ATM) - The dynamic, integrated management of air traffic and airspace - safely, economically and efficiently - through the provision of facilities and seamless services in collaboration with all parties.
Air Traffic Organization (ATO) - A performance-based division of FAA, created to operate the nation’s air traffic control system.
aircraft - Any machine capable of atmospheric flight. May be heavier or lighter than air.
airfoil - Any surface, such as an airplane wing, aileron or rudder, designed to obtain a useful reaction from the air moving past it.
airline - A business that provides scheduled or chartered air transport of passengers and/or cargo.
airport - An area of land or water that is used or intended to be used for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, and includes any associated buildings and facilities.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF, Trust Fund) - Created by the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970, the AATF provides funding for improvements to the nation’s airports and air traffic control system. Money in the fund comes solely from users of the system, principally from collections related to passenger tickets, passenger flight segments, international arrivals/departures, cargo waybills, aviation fuels and frequent-flyer mileage awards from nonairline sources like credit cards. <br> <br>Additional Information: <br>The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides services to commercial, private, corporate and military aircraft. In large part, the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury supports the FAA noncommercial aviation functions. The balance of the FAA budget is funded primarily by airlines and their customers through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF), which Congress established in 1970 “to provide for the expansion and improvement of the nation’s airport and airway system.” <br> <br>The Trust Fund initially aimed to address capital needs, such as runways and taxiways at airports and new computers and radar equipment for the air traffic control (ATC) system. Since then, however, Congress also has used Trust Fund revenues to cover much of the FAA operating budget. <br> <br>Trust Fund revenues come from several excise taxes paid by air carriers, air travelers, shippers and other users of the nation’s airports and ATC services. Congress has increased these taxes, both in scope and size, several times in the last two decades. The cash balance has historically been counted as a credit against federal obligations, thus helping (albeit artificially) to balance the nation’s budget. With enactment of AIR-21, however, Congress mandated that all taxes and interest paid into the fund in any given year be expended the following year, ensuring that capital-development projects critical to FAA modernization are no longer neglected. <br> <br>NOTE: Trust Fund taxes expired 1/1/96-8/26/96 and 1/1/97-3/6/97. <br> <br>Sources: <br>Airport and Airway Development and Airport and Airway Revenue Acts (Titles I and II, P.L. 91-258) <br>FAA Office of Financial Services <br>Office of Management and Budget, Appendices, Budget of the United States <br>U.S. House of Representatives, House Report No. 91-601 <br>Congressional Budget Office, “The Status of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund: A Special Study,” December 1988
Airport Improvement Program (AIP) - Established under the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982, this program provides grants to public agencies and, in some cases, to private owners and entities for the planning and development of public-use airports that are included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). Eligible projects include those improvements related to enhancing airport safety, capacity, security and environmental concerns.
airworthiness - A term used to describe both the legal and mechanical status of an aircraft with regard to its readiness for flight.
alternative fuels - The Energy Policy Act of 1992 defines alternative fuels as methanol, denatured ethanol and other alcohol; mixtures containing 85 percent or more (but not less than 70 percent as determined by the Secretary of Energy by rule to provide for requirements relating to cold start, safety or vehicle functions) by volume of methanol, denatured ethanol and other alcohols with gasoline or other fuels. Includes compressed natural gas, liquid petroleum gas, hydrogen, coal-derived liquid fuels, fuels other than alcohols derived from biological materials, electricity or any other fuel that the Secretary of Energy determines by rule is substantially not petroleum and would yield substantial energy security and environmental benefits.
altimeter - An instrument that displays the altitude above mean sea level (MSL) of an aircraft.
ancillary revenue - In the case of passenger transportation, revenue from nonticket sources.
appropriations - Created by an act of Congress, appropriations enable the federal government to fund its activities. Appropriations allow FAA to incur obligations and make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes.
area navigation (RNAV) - Area Navigation (RNAV) is a system that allows navigation on any desired flight path, rather than one defined by ground-based fixed airways. An RNAV system can determine position by referencing the position of ground- or space-based navigation aids, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), using onboard flight management computers.
artificial horizon - An instrument that enables a pilot to determine the attitude of the aircraft in relation to the horizon, i.e. whether the aircraft is nose-up, nose-down or banking left or right.
Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) - A Flight Service Station (FSS) is an air traffic facility that provides information and services to pilots before, during and after flights but does not separate aircraft. Typical services to pilots include opening and closing of flight plans, traffic advisories, emergency assistance, preflight briefings (including weather briefings and notices to airmen (NOTAMs). In 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began a process to provide services to general aviation pilots utilizing a government network of Automated Flight Service Stations via a performance-based contract with Lockheed Martin. In 2007, services previously provided by 58 FAA sites were consolidated into 3 hubs and 15 refurbished existing facilities.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) - An aircraft-based surveillance service capable of replacing today’s ground-based radar system. With ADS-B, the aircraft GPS determines aircraft location. ADS-B then broadcasts that position, via a radio transmission, approximately once-per-second, to controllers on the ground and other aircraft. ADS-B would give controllers and other traffic a more precise location for each aircraft. By doing this, a portion of the current infrastructure is, in essence, being shifted to the aircraft. Two major elements of ADS-B comprise the total system. ADS-B Out refers to messages transmitted to ground stations and other aircraft through an onboard transmitter known as a transponder. These messages, using a GPS-derived position, contain information regarding accuracy and position-reliability information. This ensures that the transmitted position meets the requirements necessary for an aircraft to utilize certain airspace or advanced procedures. A robust ground-based system then receives, processes and displays this information for use by air traffic control facilities. ADS-B In refers to the aircraft and ground software and hardware that unlock the potential for greatly advanced air-traffic procedures. Several applications, currently under development, leverage the foundational elements created by the ADS-B Out rule and the associated ground infrastructure. Much greater safety, efficiency, environmental benefits and capacity will be available, compared to the current dated system of ground-based radars and voice communications.
available seat mile (ASM) - One seat transported one mile; the most common measure of airline seating capacity or supply. For example, an aircraft with 100 passenger seats, flown a distance of 100 miles, produces 10,000 ASMs. Sometimes measured as an available seat kilometer (ASK).
available ton mile (ATM) - One ton of capacity (passenger and/or cargo) transported one mile. Sometimes measured as an available ton kilometer (ATK).
average haul - The average distance one ton is carried. It is computed by dividing ton miles or ton kilometers by tons of freight originated.
Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) - A system that enables users to perform integrated queries across multiple databases, search an extensive warehouse of safety data and display pertinent elements in an array of useful formats.