RepLayout for final pdf 8/28/2001 9:24 AM Page 1 2001 Annual Report [c u s t o m e r s] AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION RepLayout for final pdf 8/28/2001 9:24 AM Page 2 Officers Carol B. Hallett President and CEO John M. Meenan Senior Vice President, Industry Policy Edward A. Merlis Senior Vice President, Legislative and International Affairs John R. Ryan Acting Senior Vice President, Aviation Safety and Operations Vice President, Air Traffic Management Robert P. Warren mi Thes Air Transports i Associationo n of America, Inc. serves its Senior Vice President, member airlines and their customers by: General Counsel and Secretary 2 • Assisting the airline industry in continuing to prov i d e James L. Casey the world’s safest system of transportation Vice President and • Transmitting technical expertise and operational Deputy General Counsel kn o w l e d g e among member airlines to improve safety, service and efficiency J. Donald Collier Vice President, • Advocating fair airline taxation and regulation world- Engineering, Maintenance and Materiel wide, ensuring a profitable and competitive industry Albert H. Prest Vice President, Operations Nestor N. Pylypec Vice President, Industry Services Michael D. Wascom Vice President, Communications Richard T. Brandenburg Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer David A. Swierenga Chief Economist RepLayout for final pdf 8/28/2001 9:24 AM Page 3 [ c u s t o m e r s ] Table of Contents Officers . .2 The member airlines of the Air Mission . .2 President’s Letter . .5 Transport Association are committed to Goals . .5 providing the highest level of customer Highlights . .6 Industry Review . .9 service and have set forth their commitment Traffic . .9 Capacity . .10 to improve air travel, ultimately making the Fleet . .10 air travel experience more enjoyable for Revenues . .11 Expenses . .12 everyone. They have listened to their 3 Balance Sheet . .13 Earnings . .13 customers’ concerns and crafted a compre- Facts and Figures . .15 hensive Customers First plan, highlighting Definitions of Terms . .24 Index of Charts and Tables . .25 the customer-service commitments of the Member Airlines . .27 ATA member airlines. Some of those commitments are featured throughout Dedication this report. For more information, visit In memory of Nancy L. Cunningham 1941–2001. For 37 years, Nancy served the aviation industry as a dedicated employee of the Air Transport Association and as a friend, role model and mentor to all who knew her. The Air Transport Association the Customers First Web site at Board of Directors recently established the Nancy L. Cunningham Award of Ex c e l l e n c e , to recognize annually those ATA ww w. c u s t o m e r s - f i r s t . o rg . employees who best exemplify her traits of loyalty, professionalism, trustworthiness, dedication and the relentless pursuit of excellence. We wish to honor further Nancy’s longtime commitment to the airline industry and dedication to customer-service excellence by dedicating this 2001 Air Transport Association Annual Report to her. RepLayout for final pdf 8/28/2001 9:24 AM Page 4 We’re Listening ATA airlines are committed to customer- service excellence. If they do not meet your expectations, they want to know. And, they have established proc e d u re s for handling customer complaints and for ensuring that all written complaints ar e responded to within 60 days. The U.S. airlines’ record of safety is without equal, because the airlines always make safety their highest pr i o r i t y . Improved technology and equipment, better training of personnel, 244 da t a collection and analyses have all made air travel the safest form of transportation in the world. [ s a f e t y ] RepLayout for final pdf 8/28/2001 9:24 AM Page 5 ATA Goals Customers First: Commitment and Opportunity The Air Transport Association (ATA) is the nation’s oldest and largest airline trade association. Its member airlines carry over 600 million passengers and more than ustomer Service—second only to safety— • establish an environment conducive to the resolution 25 billion ton miles of cargo each year. U.S. members is what the airline industry is all about. It of labor and management issues at bargaining tables, account for more than 95 percent of the passenger and is what our 680,000 employees strive to not through the threat and reality of service disruptions. cargo traffic carried by U.S. scheduled airlines. provide each and every day. It is the key to In an extraordinarily dynamic industry, the ATA success in the extraordinarily complex and • redouble individual airline efforts to meet and exceed enables marketplace rivals to pool their unparalleled experience, technical expertise and operational knowl- competitive world of commercial aviation. their established Customers First commitments and ensure edge, so that the industry as a whole can better serve the ItC is also a challenge, requiring the total commitment of that customers know that their airlines sincerely ca r e public and improve airline safety, service and efficiency. our industry and presenting a tremendous opportunity for about and are committed to continuously improving the The ATA also represents its members on major success. For the Air Transport Association member airlines, quality of the service they receive. aviation issues in the technical, legal and political arenas. it is Customers First. Its activities are designed to advocate and support measures that enhance aviation safety, ensure While accomplishing these tasks is efficiency, foster growth and protect the ability of the Let me be candid. Over the past several years, a variety indeed a tall order, we know that airline industry to invest in the future, in order to of factors have created the impression in some quarters it can be done and it will truly meet the emerging demands of customers. that the airline industry has lost its focus on customer make a difference. Although the While the ATA agenda of issues continuously service. The causes vary—but weather and the system-wide, solutions will not be fully avail- changes, its major priorities remain constant. Those priorities include: ro l l i n g impact of delays arising from inadequate mode r n - able tomorrow, or even next year, • Assisting the airline industry in providing the world’s ization of the government’s air traffic control system are a lasting commitment is the key safest system of transportation key contributors. Equally frustrating is the related problem to our ultimate success. This • Advocating the modernization of the Federal Avi a t i o n 5 of insufficient runways and inadequate capacity at our will be an incremental process, Administration (FAA) air traffic control system, to ke y airports. Industry labor issues have also played a role. one that, no doubt, will involve both improve service for airline customers and to benefit the environment Si m i l a r l y , the difficult tasks of consistently communicating improvements and occasional missteps along the way. • Improving and refining the protection and security factual, timely and pertinent information to our customers, By striving constantly to put Customers First, we will of airline passengers and cargo against threats and of letting them know that their safety and satisfaction achieve our goals. directed at the United States is of the utmost importance, have not been handled • Encouraging appropriate government action, while adequately. The net result—the impression of poor Importantly, this is a process that relies upon both seeking to prevent legislative and regulatory intervention that would penalize airlines and their customer service—is something the entire airline industry collective industry action and, simultaneously, the healthy customers by imposing rate, route, service and is committed to eliminating. give-and-take of competitive forces to excel individually schedule controls on the industry at customer service. Calls for a mandated one-size-for-all • Endeavoring to reduce the disproportionate share of Fortunately, we know what needs to be done. We must: approach to customer service will not work and could taxes and fees paid by airlines and their customers • work with Congress and the administration to prioritize result in more customer disservice than benefits, as well at the federal, state and local levels • Improving the industry’s ability to attract the capital and expedite the development of a fully mod e r n i z e d , as higher ticket prices. necessary to meet future demand satellite-based air traffic management system, taking full • Helping to shape international aviation policy, to advantage of the best modern technology to route aircraft Working together, and keeping our focus on the long-term en s u r e that U.S. and foreign carriers can compete on safely and efficiently. The FAA’s recently announced goals, we will succeed. equal terms National Airspace System Operational Evolution Plan During its more than 60-year history, the ATA has seen the airline industry grow from the small, is a good first step. pioneering companies of the 1930s into key players in the global transportation market. The ATA and its • assist in the passage of legislation to guarantee the me m b e r s continue to play a vital role in shaping the accelerated deployment of new runways and airport future of air transportation. infrastructure at critical airports nationwide. RepLayout for final pdf 8/28/2001 9:24 AM Page 6 Special Needs ATA airlines are committed Highlights Traffic to accommodating passengers (In millions, except when noted) with special needs and have developed policies and Percent Revenue Passengers Enplaned procedures for accomplishing 1999 2000 Change this in an appropriate manner. 700 Revenue Passengers Enplaned 636.0 665.5 4.6 665.5 Domestic Service 582.9 610.0 4.6 650 International Service 53.1 55.5 4.5 Revenue Passenger Miles 652,047 692,505 6.2 600 Passengers with disabilities, like Available Seat Miles 918,419 956,502 4.1 550 all passengers, are valued customers.