A4A Says White House Budget Proposal Would Offset Deficit on Backs of Airline Customers

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
U.S. airlines move 50,000 tons of cargo per day
In 2011, the average value of a kilogram of U.S. merchandise exported by air was 117 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
From 2000-2010, U.S. airlines carried 15% more traffic while using 2.1 billion fewer gallons of fuel
Domestically, airlines drive 5% of economic activity but account for 2% of man-made GHG emissions
From 2000-2010, airlines reduced GHG emissions by 10% while transporting 15% more passengers and cargo
From 1975-2010, the number of U.S. residents exposed to significant noise levels fell 95%
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 2000-2010, U.S. airlines improved the on-time arrival rate from 72.6% to 79.8%
From 2000-2010, U.S. airlines halved the flight cancellation rate from 3.30% to 1.76%
Airfares are a bargain: From 2000-2010, U.S. CPI rose 27% while average domestic fare (excl. taxes) rose just 1%
Adjusted for inflation, the average round-trip domestic fare in 2010 fell 21% (from $398 to $316) compared to 2000
2007 domestic flight delays cost the United States approximately $31 billion
In 2011, the value of U.S. merchandise exported by air reached an all-time high of $424B
In 2011, U.S. exports of air-travel services reached an all-time high of $36.7B, driving the largest trade surplus in this category since 1992
In 2011, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent $50.5B on fuel, up $11.7B ($32M/day) from 2010
In 2011, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage ever recorded
In 2011, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of involuntary denied boardings ever recorded
In 4Q 2011, U.S. airlines posted the second-lowest quarterly on-time arrival rate ever recorded
FAA projects U.S. air travel demand to top 1 billion passengers in 2024
In 2011, US airlines flew 80 million passengers in scheduled international service- a record high
In 2011, US airlines flew at 241.2 billion revenue passenger miles in scheduled international service- a record high
In 2011, US airlines operated 299.9 billion available seat miles in scheduled international service- a record high

	A4A Says White House Budget Proposal Would Offset Deficit on Backs of Airline Customers
	PubZone1 2012 Budget Proposal Seeks to Raise Billions of Aviation Dollars, Will Cost Thousands of Jobs, Impact Fares and Affect Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2012 – Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today said the White House budget proposal to offset the deficit on the backs of airline customers by adding even more tax increases, would impact demand for air travel and ultimately cost jobs and service to communities. If the White House proposal is implemented, A4A said customers would be paying more in air taxes, meaning fewer will fly, which in turn will prompt airlines to reduce service, impacting hundreds of thousands of the 10 million good-paying jobs that commercial aviation creates. The White House is proposing over the next five years to triple the aviation security tax to $7.50 for each one-way trip in 2018, resulting in an $18 billion government windfall to be used for deficit reduction – not on aviation security programs. In addition, the proposal also seeks to add a new $100 per flight tax with a portion of those proceeds also going toward deficit reduction. “It makes absolutely no sense at a time when we should be encouraging economic and business development enabled by travel and tourism, that we would discourage flying by trying to balance the budget on the backs of airline customers with yet another tax,” said A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. “It is the wrong approach and counter to leveraging commercial aviation – a key enabler of job growth and U.S. economic activity. By holding the line on federal aviation taxes paid by airlines and their customers, the airlines can maintain jobs and provide much needed service to communities." Airline customers today pay about $61 in taxes on a typical $300 ticket, rates higher than alcohol and tobacco, products that are taxed to discourage use. ABOUT A4A Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and more than 10 million U.S. jobs. A4A airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For more information about the airline industry, visit www.airlines.org and follow us on Twitter @airlinesdotorg. ### PubZone2	A4A is a leading source for key aviation information.