A4A urges Congress to level the playing field.
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Press Release Summary:
Testifying before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security, A4A President and CEO Nicolas E. Calio addressed the critical role airlines play in driving economic growth and job creation across the U.S. and globally. Calio urged members of the Committee to address fundamental tax, regulatory, and infrastructure challenges, which negatively impact the industry’s long-term viability and global competitiveness.
Original Press Release:
A4A Urges Congress to Level the Playing Field, Enable Carriers to Compete Globally
News section: belly view of a plane flying overhead
Urges lawmakers to address hostile government policies preventing carriers from contributing to jobs and the economy at an even higher level than they do today
WASHINGTON, – Airlines for America (A4A) President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio testified today before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security, addressing the critical role airlines play in driving economic growth and job creation across the U.S. and globally. Calio urged members of the Committee to address fundamental tax, regulatory and infrastructure challenges, which negatively impact the industry’s long-term viability and global competitiveness.
In his testimony before the panel, Calio noted that commercial air travel remains one of the best consumer bargains in America, given its superior speed and price versus other means of travel. Calio also noted that while aviation drives more than 10 million U.S. jobs and over $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity, it continues to operate under government policies that exhibit indifference and, often, outright hostility to the industry, employees, customers and the communities they serve.
“Airlines continue to demonstrate that customers, employees and the U.S. economy all are vastly better off with a financially strong U.S. airline industry that can continue to reinvest in its product and service improvements and create more good paying jobs,” said Calio.
Calio said the global airline industry of 2014 is very different from 1978, having gone through deregulation, external crises, global recession and significant work to improve its operations and financial status. He urged members of the Committee to make certain government plays its appropriate role in ensuring U.S. commercial aviation is operating on a level playing field with foreign competitors whose governments recognize them as strategic assets to their lives and economy and have adapted accordingly.
“U.S. airlines are indispensable to our nation and its economy, and we want to contribute even more to the prosperity of America,” said Calio. “We continue to urge Congress and the Administration to implement a coherent National Airline Policy, enabling carriers to respond with maximum effectiveness to global competition.”
ABOUT A4A
Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and more than 10 million U.S. jobs. A4A airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. America needs a cohesive National Airline Policy that will support the integral role the nation’s airlines play in connecting people and goods globally, spur the nation’s economic growth and create more high-paying jobs.
For more information about the airline industry, visit www.airlines.org and follow us on Twitter @airlinesdotorg.
For more information about the National Airline Policy campaign:
Visit: www.nationalairlinepolicy.com
Twitter: @Natl_Air_Policy
Facebook: facebook.com/nationalairlinepolicy. Â
