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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Table 4-8M: Certificated Air Carrier Fuel Consumption and Travel(a)

Friday, July 22, 2016

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  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 (R) 2013 2014 2015
Number of aircraft 2,135 2,125 2,679 2,495 3,808 4,678 6,083 6,054 7,320 7,297 7,370 7,411 7,478 7,616 8,111 8,228 8,055 8,497 8,194 8,176 8,186 8,225 8,089 8,044 7,856 U U U U U U U
Average kilometers flown per aircraft (thousands) 784 1,074 1,528 1,272 1,103 1,184 1,250 1,239 1,077 1,128 1,169 1,222 1,259 1,272 1,233 1,281 1,387 1,289 1,342 1,450 1,574 1,615 1,636 1,684 1,668 U U U U U U U
Aircraft-Kilometers (millions)                                                                
Domestic operations 1,381 1,825 3,328 2,635 3,663 4,869 6,378 6,203 6,429 6,689 7,046 7,448 7,736 7,897 8,095 8,572 9,112 8,923 9,033 9,826 10,625 10,809 10,631 10,835 10,374 9,552 9,617 9,663 9,586 9,600 9,571 9,729
International operations 293 457 764 537 538 668 1,224 1,298 1,455 1,542 1,570 1,606 1,679 1,793 1,909 1,972 2,063 2,033 1,966 2,030 2,257 2,471 2,599 2,707 2,730 2,574 2,720 2,861 2,848 2,830 2,881 6,905
Fuel consumption (million liters)                                                                
Domestic operations 7,397 14,721 29,742 28,610 32,249 38,289 46,228 43,002 43,903 45,273 47,320 48,498 49,919 51,700 50,358 54,853 52,631 49,635 46,512 47,003 50,649 50,287 49,284 49,206 47,202 42,198 41,854 40,990 38,755 38,445 38,962 40,660
International operations 2,143 4,845 8,491 7,378 6,614 9,418 14,906 14,717 15,442 15,565 16,373 17,078 17,633 18,782 18,607 19,974 19,391 18,759 17,305 16,849 18,036 19,080 19,761 20,547 20,853 19,255 19,860 20,899 21,279 21,761 22,332 22,669
Aircraft-Kilometers flown per liters                                                                
Domestic operations 0.19 0.12 0.11 0.09 0.11 0.13 0.14 0.14 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.16 0.17 0.18 0.19 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.23 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.24
International operations 0.14 0.09 0.09 0.07 0.08 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.14 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.30

KEY: R = revised; U = data are not available.

a Aircraft operating under 14 CFR 121 and 14 CFR 135.

NOTES

1.609344 kilometers = 1 mile.

3.785412 liters = 1 gallon.

SOURCES

Number of aircraft:

1960-65: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation, 1970 edition (Washington, DC: 1970), table 5.3.

1970-75: Ibid., FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation, Calendar Year 1979 (Washington, DC: 1979), table 5.1.

1980-85: Ibid., FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation, Calendar Year 1986 (Washington, DC: 1986), table 5.1.

1990-97: Ibid., FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation, Calendar Year 1997 (Washington, DC: unpublished), personal communication, Mar. 19, 1999.

1998-2008: Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace Facts and Figures (Washington DC: Annual Issues), "Active U.S. Air Carrier Fleet", p. 94 and similar pages in earlier editions.

Aircraft-miles flown:

1960-70: Air Transport Association, available at http://www.air-transport.org/ as of July 31, 2002.

1975-2015: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T1: U.S. Air Carrier Traffic and Capacity Summary by Service Class, available at http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Fields.asp?Table_ID=264 as of May 27, 2016.

Fuel consumption:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Airline Fuel Cost and Consumption, available at http://www.transtats.bts.gov/fuel.asp as of May 27, 2016.