Civil Aviation
Facts
- According to the FAA, civil aviation supports 10.2 million jobs, contributes $1.3 trillion in total economic activity and accounts for 5.2 percent of total U.S. GDP.
- Each new generation of commercial aircraft is, on average, about 20 percent more fuel efficient than the one before.
- The U.S. air traffic system is still using 1950s technology that is less precise than a smartphone GPS.
- FAA’s 2011 annual forecast predicts that U.S. airlines will carry 1 billion passengers by 2021.
- Latest estimates show that by 2018, NextGen will reduce total flight delays by 21 percent while providing $22 billion in cumulative benefits to the traveling public, aircraft operators and the FAA.
- Commercial and general aviation aircraft are over 75 percent more fuel efficient than jet aircraft 40 years ago. Manufacturers are market motivated to design fuel efficient aircraft, which is why aircraft have become so fuel efficient without any government fuel efficiency standards.
- Civil aviation contributes about two percent of the world’s CO2 emissions.
- The global aviation industry has committed to 1.5 percent fuel efficiency gains annually; carbon neutral growth from 2020 and halving aviation’s net CO2 emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 levels.
- The single most important development to enable the attainment of civil aviation’s environmental goals is the commercial use of sustainable alternative aviation fuel.
- Most experts agree that airlines need only transition 1.0 to 1.5 percent of their total fuel consumption to sustainable biofuels to become commercially viable. At that point, suppliers will make the necessary investments in scalability and infrastructure to meet airline needs.
- Today’s aircraft like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are as efficient on a passenger mile basis as hybrid automobiles.
- As a result of improvements in engine and airframe design, 90 percent fewer people are exposed to significant aircraft noise than in the late 1960s.
- NextGen efficiencies will save 14 million tons of carbon dioxide in the United States. New arrival procedures alone (continuous descent or profile descents) can save 3.75 million tons of carbon dioxide annually at the top 10 airports.
- ADS-B and other NextGen-enabling improvements have helped reduce the accident rate in southwest Alaska by 47 percent.
- The Joint Economic Committee has estimated that airline delays and congestion in our aging ATC system cost $40 billion in lost productivity and missed opportunities for the economy.
- In New York alone, 67 general aviation airports and five heliports employed 9,100 people and generated $1.12 billion in 2009. Every business jet based in the state generates $1 million in spending and five direct jobs.
- FAA analyses indicate that full implementation of NextGen could reduce aircraft greenhouse gas emissions up to 12 percent by 2025-the equivalent of taking 2.2 million cars off the road for each year.
Studies
NextGen Benefits
Federal Aviation Administration
Transforming the Air Transportation System
Deloitte
June 2011
NextGen Implementation Plan
Federal Aviation Administration
March 2011
Costs of the Infrastructure Deficit
New America Foundation
March 2011
Total Delay Impact Study: A Comprehensive Assessment of the Costs and Impacts of Flight Delay in the United States
NEXTOR
October 2010
Civil Aviation Growth in the 21st Century
Aerospace Industries Association
September 2010
NextGen: The Future of Flying
Aerospace Industries Association
June 2010
The Economic Impact of Civil Aviation on the U.S. Economy
Federal Aviation Administration
December 2009
Your Flight Has Been Delayed Again: FLIGHT DELAYS COST PASSENGERS, AIRLINES, AND THE U.S. ECONOMY BILLIONS
Joint Economic Committee Majority Staff
May 2008
General Environmental Information and News
Air Transport World: Eco Aviation
Alternative fuels:
Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI)
Beginners Guide to Aviation Biofuels
International Civil Aviation Organization
Action Plan on Emissions Reduction
