ATA Releases 2010 Economic Report

Data Reaffirms Importance of U.S. Airline Industry to Nation's Economy

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today released its 2010 Economic Report – "When America Flies, it Works." The ATA Economic Report, the definitive source of economic and statistical information about the U.S. passenger and cargo airline industry, was first published in 1937.

The 2010 Economic Report summarizes the critical role that commercial aviation plays in virtually every facet of our economy and daily lives. Every day, two million people, 50,000 tons of cargo and more than one million bags travel onboard 25,000 U.S. airline flights to destinations near and far. Commercial aviation supports nearly 11 million U.S. jobs and contributes $731.5 billion to U.S. gross domestic product.

"As we all work toward a stronger economic future, it is a particularly opportune time to focus on the contributions that commercial aviation makes toward revitalizing the U.S. job market and creating a brighter future through economic development," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "It is more important than ever for both the airline industry and those in government to make the right choices to foster prudent investment in commercial aviation."

The 2010 report, as well as previous editions, is available on the ATA website. The report includes the following facts:

• Every 100 commercial aviation jobs in the United States help support some 230 jobs in other industries.
• U.S. airlines employed 536,200 full-time-equivalent employees in 2009.  
• The value of U.S. exports transported by air in 2009 was 145 times the value of exports transported by sea.
• Industry operating revenues dropped 16.9 percent to $155 billion in 2009, resulting in the deepest two-year contraction in the industry's history and extending industry losses to $58 billion over a nine-year period beginning in 2001.
• Passenger traffic declined by 5.3 percent to the lowest total in five years in 2009. Air cargo traffic decreased 12 percent, the largest year-over-year drop in industry history.
• Domestic seating capacity dropped 7 percent in 2009, the sharpest decline in 67 years. The cuts in 2008 and 2009 effectively erased 10 years of industry growth, leaving domestic seating capacity 1.3 percent below 1999 levels, but helped set the stage for the start of a recovery.
• Flying operations, which constituted 35 percent of industry costs, declined 33 percent on a $26 billion year-over-year drop in fuel expense to $32 billion. The average price paid for a gallon of jet fuel dropped to $1.90 from the 2008 all-time high of $3.07.
• The U.S. airline industry has improved fuel efficiency 110 percent since the late 1970s, saving more than 2.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) – the equivalent of taking approximately 19 million cars off the road each of those years.
• U.S. airlines and their customers pay about $60 in taxes or 20 percent of the price of a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket.

ATA airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For additional industry information, visit www.airlines.org.

SOURCE Air Transport Association