15.1

important Aviation Facts

Aviation provides the only rapid worldwide transportation network, is indis­pensable for tourism, and facilitates world trade. Air transport improves quality of life in countless ways. Air transport makes the world smaller and moves over

2.2 billion passengers annually. The air transport industry generates a total of 32 million jobs globally. Aviation’s global economic impact (direct, indirect, induced, and catalytic) is estimated at $3560 billion, equivalent to 7.5% of the world’s gross domestic product. Aviation is responsibly reducing its environ­mental impact. Air transport’s contribution to climate change represents only 2% of man-made carbon dioxide emissions and this could reach 3% by 2050, according to updated figures from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC; http://www. ipcc. ch/ipccreports/sres/aviation/index. htm). This evolution is based on a growth in aviation carbon dioxide emissions of 2-3% per year, with an annual traffic growth of 5%. The air transport industry is now working towards carbon-neutral growth — no increase in carbon emissions in spite of traffic growth — as a first step towards a carbon-free future. Aircraft entering today’s fleet are 70% more fuel-efficient than 40 years ago, consuming 3.5 liters per passenger per 100 km. The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the company’s most fuel-efficient airliner and the world’s first major airliner to use composite mate­rials for most of its construction. According to Boeing, the 787 consumes 20% less fuel than the similarly sized 767.

15.2