Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2030. Domestic and international enplanements are projected to grow 2.5 percent and 4.2 percent per
year, respectively, during the next 20 years. Visit
www.faa.gov
and click on Aviation Forecasts for the
most current information.
Air transport growth is an essential ingredient in tourism's future because the growth of tourism is
linked to air transport performance. Without growth in airline passengers, there are fewer new
customers to rent cars, stay in accommodations, and visit attractions.
Some Predictions
To accommodate future air travel growth, the current U.S. aging mid-twentieth century air traf
c
control system will have to be replaced with twenty-
rst century, satellite-based GPS-oriented smart
technology to maximize the ef
cient movement of aircraft. A satellite-based system provided by the
FAA is currently being used in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-
Broadcast (ADS-B), the system is a core technology under the Next Generation Air Transportation
System (NextGen).
If current experiments are successful, radio-frequency identi
cation (RFID) will greatly reduce lost
bags. Is it possible for this technology to end lost bags? The price of fuel will drive new technology,
leading to the development of alternative fuels and more fuel-ef
cient and environmentally friendly
aircraft. Some are predicting that planes will
fly mostly on biofuels in ten years.
There will continue to be an expansion of fees for unbundled services. Ancillary fees include fees for
baggage, priority seating, food and beverages, and pillows.
Technology holds the potential to speed consumers through airport security because of advances
in molecular diagnostics, facial recognition technology, iris identi
cation, and nanosensors.
Some low-cost carriers will merge and start
flying internationally across the Atlantic and the
Paci
c oceans.
Air Transport Association of America
The airline industry is supported by three major organizations. IATA and ICAO have already been
discussed in Chapter 4 under international organizations; they are two key associations controlling air
travel. The major U.S. organization is the
.
In 1936, 14
fledgling airlines met in Chicago to form the Air Transport Association (ATA)
Air Transport Association of America
to do all
things tending to promote the betterment of airline business, and in general, to do everything in its
power to best serve the interest and welfare of the members of this association and the public at large.
''
''
is oldest and largest airline
trade association. Its membership of seventeen U.S. and three associate (non-U.S.) airlines carry about
95 percent of the passenger and cargo traf
c carried by scheduled U.S. airlines.
ATA is the meeting place where the airlines cooperate in noncompetitive areas to improve airline
service, safety, and ef
ciency. The mission of ATA is to support and assist its member carriers by
promoting aviation safety, advocating industry positions, conducting designated industrywide pro-
grams, and ensuring public understanding.
Thus, while the carriers are intensely competitive among themselves and with other forms of
transportation in their individual promotion of airline service for the traveling and shipping public, they
are equally intense in their mutual cooperation on matters of industrywide importance, such as safety,
technological progress, and passenger service improvement.
Although ATA's agenda of issues continuously changes, its major priorities remain unchanged. They
include the following:
Today, from its headquarters in Washington, D.C., ATA is the nation
'
Assisting the airline industry in continuing to provide the world
'
s safest system of transportation
&
Advocating the modernization of the Federal Aviation Administration
s air traf
c control system, in
order to improve service for airline customers and to bene
t the environment
'
&
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