At a time when airlines have become easy targets in the war on global warning The Air Transport Association (ATA) released its 2008 Economic Report documenting the ATA airlines’ environmental progress and concluding passenger and cargo carriers improved their fuel efficiency by 110 percent from 1978 to 2007, resulting in 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) savings – roughly equivalent to taking 18.7 million cars off the road each of those years.

Key findings include:
• U.S. airlines emitted 11.2 billion fewer pounds of carbon dioxide in 2007 than in 2000.
• In addition to retiring less fuel-efficient aircraft, U.S. airlines retrofitted aircraft with winglets, employed more efficient operational procedures and reduced aircraft weight. Consequently, they were able to carry 20.4 percent more passenger and cargo traffic while using nearly three percent (538 million) fewer gallons of fuel than in 2000.
• ATA members expanded on their record of environmental excellence while moving more passengers and freight in 2007. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) statistics reveal that the number of people in the United States affected by aircraft noise diminished by 94 percent since 1975, at a time when passenger boardings more than tripled.
• The improvements come in the face of the fact that the aviation sector led all modes by transporting a third of U.S. exports, as measured by value.
• [In 2007,] 769.2 million passengers took to the skies on U.S. airlines, 3.4 percent more than in 2006.
• The ATA Board of Directors approved a comprehensive plan to further limit aircraft emissions with a commitment to improve fuel efficiency another 30 percent through 2025, on top of prior improvements. That equates to an additional 1.2 billion metric tons of CO2 saved or another 13 million cars taken off the road each year.
• The airline industry is working in partnership with government, industry, academia and others to stimulate the development of commercially viable, environmentally friendly alternatives to today’s petroleum-based jet fuel. Achieving our goal will mean not only reduced emissions on a lifecycle basis, but also enhanced energy security for America.

“The key to connecting and protecting our planet is investment in new technology,” writes ATA President and CEO James C. May in the opening letter. While much of the Economic Report is a look back, May notes that that airlines’ ability to invest is critical to the ATA airlines’ forward-looking commitment to improve fuel efficiency by another 30 percent through 2025. Also critical “is the investment we are seeking in a modern, satellite-based, digitally enabled, vastly more energy-efficient air traffic management system.”