Economic Impact of Commercial Aviation on the U.S.

Economy (2006-2009)
Annual Economic Activity/Output $1.2-$2.3 trillion
Annual Personal Earnings $370–$405 billion
Share of GDP 4.9-5.2 percent
Job Impact 9.7-10.5 million
Contribution to Climate Change[edit]
The environmental effects of aviation in the US are considerable. Domestic flights in the US caused
about 385 kg of CO2 per capita to be emitted in 2018, the highest value of any country, while
outbound international flights contributed another 170 kg per capita. [20]

Airports[edit]

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's

busiest by passenger traffic.

[21]
Terminal 4 of John F. Kennedy
International Airport, the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States
Further information: List of airports in the United States
Operations[edit]
Public airports are usually constructed and operated by local governments. The main exceptions are
on military bases. Like highways and passenger rail, the federal government subsidizes air travel
with $14 billion of federal funds going to airport operations in 2002. [22]
Security and regulation[edit]
Air transportation security in the United States is regulated by the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA), an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security. Passengers must
provide a valid federal or state-issued ID in order to be allowed onto a flight. [23] A person must also go
through a pat-down procedure or a body scan before boarding a flight to ensure that they have no
prohibited items.[24] These security policies have been adopted by the US government ever since
the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks in which terrorists managed to hijack several commercial airliners. Items
that are prohibited on airplanes include firearms, tools, or other objects that can be used as
weapons, explosive or flammable materials, and other dangerous or debilitating chemicals or
substances.[25]

Airlines[edit]
Further information: List of airlines of the United States, Major airlines of the United States, and List
of largest airlines in North America
Passenger airlines[edit]

Daily TSA checkpoint travel passengers 2019-2021

The U.S. has no single flag carrier and passenger airlines in the United States have always been
privately owned. The U.S. has three major international carriers (Delta Air Lines, American Airlines,
and United Airlines) and eight additional large carriers that operate mainly domestic flights but have
some international destinations (Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian
Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines). At the end of 2014,
the three international carriers plus Southwest controlled more than 80% of all passenger travel in
the U.S. market.[26]
There is currently no government regulation of ticket pricing, although the federal government retains
jurisdiction over aircraft safety, pilot training, and accident investigations (through the Federal
Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board). The Transportation Security
Administration provides security at airports and the federal government provides billions of dollars
annually to maintain air transport facilities and manage the country's air traffic control system.
Many airlines operate on a "hub and spoke" model. This system gives the predominant airline in a
given airport a strong competitive position as it feeds passengers to and from the hub, maximizing
the number of passengers on each flight. Examples of airline hubs include United
Airlines at Houston, Newark Liberty, Chicago-O'Hare, Denver and San Francisco; Delta Air
Lines at Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Seattle; and American
Airlines at Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
Air cargo[edit]
Air cargo comprises a large number of daily flights in the United States and are operated by private
parcel companies such as FedEx and United Parcel
Service. Both organizations operate some of the
largest fleets in the world, using the hub-and-spoke Ranking of Major Airports by Lowest
model with their hub near the population-center of the On-Time Arrival Performance (2007)[27]
US, UPS operating out of Louisville and FedEx out Airport % on time
of Memphis. Most air cargo moved by these
organizations is time sensitive overnight and 2nd day New York- LaGuardia 58.48
parcels. The U.S. Postal Service also moves much of Newark 59.45
its letters and time sensitive parcels via air, but on
New York- JFK 62.84
regularly scheduled passenger flights. At one time the
U.S. Mail charged a premium for letters sent by airmail, Chicago- O'Hare 65.88
but no longer does so except for overnight express Philadelphia 66.54
mail.
Boston 69.68
Other large American cargo airlines include Atlas
Air, Polar Air Cargo, Kalitta Air and National. San Francisco 69.75
Miami 70.99
Delays[edit] Charlotte Douglas 71.30
Airline delays have been the subject of some Seattle-Tacoma 71.43
controversy, prompting a GAO audit and
Congressional debate in 2007–08.[28] Largest 32 airports
73.03
average
Roughly one in four passengers experienced a passenger trip delay in 2007 and the average
duration of delay experienced by these passengers was 1 hour 54 minutes.[29] 24% of flights were
delayed and 2% were cancelled entirely.[30] Overall, passengers were delayed 320 million hours in
2007 with an estimated deadweight economic loss of up to $41 billion.[31]
An average of 40% of passenger aircraft delays in the U.S. originated in the New York metropolitan
area, some in the area and others due to cascading effects.[29] One-third of aircraft in the national
airspace system move through the New York area at some point during a typical day. [31]
In the two years prior to the pandemic, the GAO reported that weather was the primary reason for
cancellations, but the percentage of cancellations caused by airlines, such as maintenance problems
or staff shortages, began to rise in early 2021. From October to December 2021, the airline caused
60 percent or more of cancellations - higher than any time in 2018 or 2019. [32]
To deal with delays, takeoff and landing scheduling caps have been imposed on certain urban
airports at various times since 1968, including Washington Reagan National, Chicago O'Hare, and
the three New York airports.[33] Other short-term measures have been taken, including minor
procedural changes, use of military airspace on peak travel days, and appointment of a "New York
Airspace Czar" (Director for the New York Area Program Integration Office). The New York/New
Jersey/Philadelphia airspace is being "redesigned" incrementally, with completion estimated in 2012.
[34]
The Bush Administration announced plans to auction some takeoff and landing slots at the New
York airports, but plans were canceled by the Obama administration.
Longer-term solutions include increasing capacity by building more runways, and implementing
the Next Generation Air Transportation System which would allow more direct flight paths.
The California High-Speed Rail project has been justified among other things as a ways to decrease
congestion and thereby delays on the busy San Francisco Bay Area - Metro Los Angeles air
corridor.