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

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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facilities and equipment - FAA capital-account program that funds technological improvements to the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system. The account funds planned facility improvements, equipment procurement and the necessary technical support for systems installation. Funded entirely by the AATF.
fare - The price that an airline charges a passenger for air transportation.
fatal injury - Any injury that results in death within 30 days of an accident.
fatality - For purposes of statistical reporting on transportation safety, a fatality is considered a death due to injuries in a transportation crash, accident or incident that occurs within 30 days of that occurrence.
Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) - Rules that the Federal Aviation Administration hs issued that govern civil aviation activities in the United States. See Part 121, Part 135, Part 91.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) - The federal agency with jurisdiction over, among other things, interstate natural-gas pricing, oil pipeline rates and gas pipeline certification.
fiscal year - The 12-month period for which the federal government sets its budget and measures operational performance, beginning October 1 and ending September 30 of the subsequent year. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends (i.e., FY2005 begins October 1, 2004, and ends September 30, 2005).
flaps - Control surfaces installed on the trailing edge of an aircraft wing and used to increase the amount of lift generated by the wing at slower speeds. Flaps also create drag, which has the effect of slowing an aircraft during its landing approach.
flight - The entire passage consisting of one or more flight legs, from leaving the airport of origin to arrival at the airport of final destination and operated under one flight number.
flight data recorder (FDR) - Records pertinent technical information about a flight. An FDR will record information about the performance of various aircraft systems, as well as the aircraft’s speed, altitude, heading and other flight parameters. Like a cockpit voice recorder (CVR), a flight data recorder is designed to withstand the forces of a crash, so that its information can be used to reconstruct the circumstances leading up to the accident (the more recent and sophisticated FDR is known as a digital flight data recorder, or DFDR).
flight deck - Also called the cockpit, it is the section of an aircraft where pilots sit and control the aircraft.
Flight Management System - A computerized avionics component found on most commercial and business aircraft to assist pilots in navigation, flight planning and aircraft control functions. It includes four major components: FMC (Flight Management Computer), AFS (Auto Flight System), Navigation System including IRS (Inertial Reference System) and GPS, and EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument System).
flight plan - A planning document that covers the expected operational details of a flight such as destination, route, fuel on board, etc. It is filed with the appropriate FAA air traffic control facility. There are both VFR and IFR flight plans. VFR plans are not mandatory.
flight segment - Consists of a flight with a single takeoff and a single landing. A nonstop flight from New York to Chicago is one segment. A flight from New York to Los Angeles with a stopover in Chicago is two segments.
flight service station - An air traffic facility that provides information typically to general aviation or business aviation pilots, including: en route communications, broadcast aviation weather and NAS information, and the receipt and processing of IFR flight plans. The FSS system was outsourced in 2005 to Lockheed Martin in a program called “AFSS A-76.”
flight time - Typically refers to block time, i.e. chocks-away to chocks-under, which includes taxi time plus airborne time, i.e. wheels-off to wheels-on. NOTE: FAA regulations (FAR 1.1) define flight time as block time whereas European regulations (J.A.R. 1.1) define flight time as airborne time. When the term flight time is used, or values of flight time are quoted, the definition which applies shall be stated.
fossil fuels - Any naturally occurring organic fuel formed in the Earth’s crust, such as petroleum, coal and natural gas.
freight - All air cargo excluding mail.
freight ton mile - A ton of freight flown one mile. It is the standard measure of air freight activity; sometimes expressed as a freight ton kilometer (FTK).
frequent-flyer programs - Airline marketing programs designed to win customer loyalty by awarding “points” for miles flown. Points can be redeemed for free flights or upgrades in cabin service or, in some instances, nonairline services or items.
full-time equivalent - The number of full-time employees that could have been employed if the reported number of hours worked by part-time employees had been worked by full-time employees. For the purposes of A4A reports, all part-time employees are treated as 0.5 FTEs.
fuselage - The main body of an aircraft, cylindrical in shape. It contains the cockpit, main cabin and cargo compartments.