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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bank angle - See roll.
Bermuda I Agreement - The agreement that governed scheduled air-transport services between the United States and the United Kingdom until it was replaced in 1977, was signed on February 11, 1946, and came to be known as the Bermuda Agreement. Term is now commonly used for any agreements that contain capacity and pricing provisions patterned on the first U.S.-U.K. agreement. Such agreements include: (1) Capacity Principles: Requirements that an airline’s capacity must meet in providing services over agreed routes. (2) Designation: Each party is entitled to designate “an airline or airlines” for operation of services over the agreed routes, subject to appropriate laws and regulations; (3) Pricing Article: This sets forth requirements for establishing prices to be charged by designated airlines for services over the agreed routes. The article specifies what consultative procedures are to be followed if a party is dissatisfied with a price proposed by an airline, and ultimately allows that party to exercise unilateral control if agreement is not reached.
Bermuda II Agreement - Following British denunciation of the Bermuda I Agreement in 1976, a replacement was negotiated and approved on July 23, 1977, to govern air services between the United States and the United Kingdom. Referred to as Bermuda II, this bilateral agreement was subsequently amended in April 1978, December 1980 and November 1982. The revised and amended agreement covers scheduled and charter air transportation. Its principles differ from Bermuda I in three primary respects: First, while the authority for multiple designation still is included, this right is limited for specific passenger and combination routes over the North Atlantic. Second, capacity principles are similar to Bermuda I, except for additional consultative procedures to deal with excess passenger or combination capacity on North Atlantic routes. (The Annex on Capacity was rewritten in 1986.) Third, all U.S.-U.K. North Atlantic cargo operations - scheduled and charter - are covered by an annex, which phased out governmental regulation in 1983 (i.e., full deregulation of cargo).
bonding authority - An ability to issue bonds to raise funds.
break-even load factor - The load factor at which a flight or collection of flights, earns revenue equating to its expenses; i.e., at which operating or pretax profit equals zero. See load factor.
broad-area precision navigation - Performance-based area navigation that provides the ability to operate on flight paths that are independent of the location of ground-based navigation aids. The navigation is capable of determining a three-dimensional position with precision sufficient to support the operation.
budget authority - Authority provided by Congress to enter into obligations resulting in immediate or future outlays of federal funds. Budget authority may be one year or multiyear. Budget authority for FAA programs consists of appropriations and contract authority.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) - The principal fact-finding agency for the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. congress, other federal agencies, state and local governments, business and labor.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) - An agency created by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act to administer data collection, analysis and reporting, and to ensure the most cost-effective use of transportation-monitoring resources.
business aviation - Nonairline civil aircraft operations, including fractional and corporate flying, but not including personal aviation.