Aviation in the United States

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Air transportation in the United States)
The United States has an extensive air transportation network. In 2013, there were 86
airports in the U.S. that annually handled over 1,000,000 passengers each.[1] The civil
airline industry is entirely privately owned and has been largely deregulated since 1978,
while most major airports are publicly owned.[2] The three largest airlines in the world by
passengers carried are U.S.-based; American Airlines is number one after its 2013
acquisition by US Airways.[3] Of the world's 50 busiest passenger airports, 16 are in the
United States, including the top five and the busiest, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta
International Airport.[4][5] In terms of cargo, in 2015, eight of the world's thirty busiest
airports were in the U.S., including the world's second-busiest, Memphis International
Airport, just behind Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong. Private aircraft are
also used for medical emergencies, government agencies, large businesses, and
individuals.
As of 2020, there are 19,919 airports in the United States, of which 5,217 are
designated as "public use", including for general aviation and other activities.[6] In 2012,
88% of all traffic was through the 62 busiest airports in the country.[7]
Due to the geography of the United States and the generally large distances between
major cities, air transportation is the preferred method of travel for trips over 300 miles
(480 km), such as for business travelers and long distance vacation travelers. For cities
closer together in the Northeastern part of the country (e.g. Boston, New York
City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.), the Northeast Corridor rail line
carries the majority of intercity traffic.
From the start of the Great Recession to the early 2010s, air traffic in the U.S. declined
and the U.S. government reported 1.2 million fewer scheduled domestic flights in 2013
than in 2007.[7] Air traffic volume also dropped sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic.
[8]
At the same time, the airline industry has also experienced rapid consolidation with all
of nation's largest carriers experiencing mergers.[7] The average domestic airline fare
steadily increased from 2009 until the first quarter of 2017 where it retreated to the
same average of 2009, the lowest the average fare has been since 1995.[9]
History[edit]
On January 1, 1914, pioneering aviator Tony Jannus captained the inaugural flight of
the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, the world's first commercial passenger airline.
World War I[edit]
When the U.S. entered the World War I in April 1917, it had already been lagging
behind its European counterparts in aircraft production. This was largely due to the fact
that the U.S. entered the war much later, when most of the European countries were
already pressured to advance their aircraft technologies to outcompete one another.
The Europeans had already developed standardized mass production of aircraft, while
the U.S. was forced to expand to meet their wartime necessities. Even so, most of the
aircraft used by the U.S. in wartime were from Britain or France. In August 1917,
Congress passed the Aero Bill which dedicated $640 million towards aircraft production;
however, the U.S. economy overall was unable to successfully transition into a mass-
producing aircraft industry in such a short amount of time.[10][11]