The colossal air travel industry in numbers...

more at
http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news...onB?li=BBnb7Kz
but here are just some:

Qantas is the safest airline in the world

Australian air carrier Qantas was recently named the safest airline in the
world, partly because it has not recorded a single fatality since the beginning
of what is known as the jet age, over 60 years ago. The airline was founded in
the State of Queensland in 1920, and its name is an acronym for Queensland and
Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited.


There are over 1,400 commercial airlines in the world

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2014, there
were 1,402 commercial airlines in the world. IATA represents 290 of these
airlines (from 120 countries), accounting for 82 per cent of total scheduled air
traffic.


Airlines carry 35 per cent of world trade every day

Aircraft carry plenty of passengers—but they also carry goods! In fact,
according to IATA, 35 per cent of all world trade in terms of value, meaning
some $17.5 billion worth of goods, travels by air.


The world’s most punctual airline is on time 90.01 per cent of the time

In January 2018, Japan Airlines was named the most punctual “mega airline,” with
an on-time performance (OTP) of 85.27 per cent. When smaller airlines are also
considered, AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, takes top spot, with an OTP of 90.01
per cent. At the other end of the spectrum, the least punctual airline is Air
Inuit, a small Canadian carrier with an OTP of just 44.60 per cent.


The world’s oldest airline is KLM

It is surprisingly difficult to name the oldest airline in the world. For
example, some, such as Lufthansa, share the names of airlines that no longer
exist, while others, such as Delta, were at some point renamed.

The answer, however, is KLM, founded on October 7, 1919, in the Netherlands. Its
name is an acronym for Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij. Its first flight was
piloted by Captain Jerry Shaw, who flew a De Havilland DH-16 between Amsterdam
Schipol and London in 1920.


The busiest airport by passenger traffic is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta
International Airport

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has been the world’s
busiest airport since 1998, serving 103 million passengers in 2017. It is
followed by Beijing Capital International Airport, where 95.8 million visitors
passed through in 2017.


The busiest airline route in the world is in South Korea

While it’s easy to assume that the world’s busiest airline route serves the
West, it is currently a route in South Korea that holds the title. The domestic
route between Jeju and Seoul Gimpo (CJU-GMP) served 13,460,305 passengers in
2017, equal to 36,877 passengers per day on roughly 180 flights.


Pilots require two different meals during flights

Although there is no law stating this, many airlines have a rule that pilots and
co-pilots must eat two different meals to minimize the risk of illness. They are
also encouraged to avoid certain foods, such as raw fish, before and during
flights. However, there’s no word on who gets the business-class meal!


The most popular plane ever built is the Cessna 172 Skyhawk

The most popular plane ever built is not a commercial jetliner—it’s the small
Cessna 172 Skyhawk. The airplane seats just four and is often used by student
pilots. The United States Air Force and Army also use a variant of the model to
train recruits.


The longest flight in the world lasts almost 18 hours

In October 2018, Singapore Airlines introduced its newest, and longest, route
ever: a non-stop flight between Singapore and New York lasting 17 hours 52
minutes. The route is served three times a week by an Airbus A350-900ULR
designed to help reduce jet lag.


The shortest one lasts about a minute

If you prefer shorter flights, head to the Orkney Islands, in Scotland. The
2.7-kilometre (1.7-mile) Loganair Westray to Papa Westray route takes about a
minute, making it the shortest scheduled passenger flight in the world. Flights
are scheduled for one and a half minutes, but true time in the air is slightly
shorter.


Humidity in airplanes is often lower than in the desert

Ever wonder why you always feel uncomfortable when you’re on a plane? It might
be because the humidity levels are very low, usually less than 20 per cent—lower
than in most deserts! At home, we are used to humidity levels of over 30 per
cent at all times.


Over 100,000 flights occur every day

According to IATA, about 104,000 flights take off every day. Of those, 43,000
take place in the United States alone, carrying 2.6 million passengers across
more than 75.1 million square kilometres (29 million square miles) of airspace.


One tank of gas will take a Boeing 787 a long way

Plane distances are measured in nautical miles (nmi), one of which is equivalent
to 1.852 kilometres (1.1508 miles). A Boeing 787-8 can fly 7,355 nmi, or 13,621
kilometres (8,464 miles), on a single tank of gas. To put that into perspective,
the Earth’s circumference is 40,074 kilometres (24,901 miles).


American Airlines is the biggest airline in the world

American Airlines is considered the biggest airline in the world in all
categories but one. It leads the way when it comes to revenue ($41 billion in
2014/15), passengers carried (198,700,000 in 2016), fleet size (1,556) and
destinations served (350). Turkish Airlines outranks it in terms of countries
served.


There are 10,000 flights in the air at any given time

It is hard to know exactly how many flights are in the sky at any given time,
but estimates from different sources place the number between 9,000 and 16,000.


Certain aircraft can stay in operation for over 20 years

If you think the plane you are flying on looks a little old, you just might be
right. Rather than being measured in years, aircraft longevity is measured in
pressurization cycles. Every flight requires a plane to be pressurized, which
stresses its fuselage and wings. Aircraft used for longer flights experience
fewer pressurization cycles and therefore have a longer lifespan, sometimes up
to 20, even 30 years.


GoAir is the fastest-growing airline in the world

As of September 2018, GoAir was the fastest-growing airline in the world. The
Indian budget airline, founded in 2005, flies to over 20 cities and has bases in
Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Kochi.




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