A
Air Carrier- An entity that undertakes directly, by lease or other arrangement, to engage in air transportation. More specifically, the commercial system of air transportation comprising large certificated air carriers, small certificated air carriers, commuter air carriers, on-demand air taxis, supplemental air carriers and air-travel clubs.
- Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP)
- A provider of air traffic control services, such as NAV CANADA or NATS-UK. Can be government-owned, but more commonly are private entities.
- Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC or ‘Center’)
- An air traffic control facility, usually called ‘center.’ Centers handle ‘en route’ traffic, generally flying on instrument flight plans, as they move across the United States. There are 20 centers in the continental United States. In 2000, the ARTCCs routed 46 million flights.
- Air Taxi
- An aircraft operator who conducts services for hire in an aircraft with 30 or fewer passenger seats and a payload capacity of 7,500 pounds or less. An air taxi company provides ‘seats on demand’ For example, instead of chartering an aircraft, a customer purchases a seat on a private jet.
- Air Traffic Control (ATC)
- A service provided under appropriate authority to promote the safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic.
- Air Traffic Management (ATM)
- A broad term used to describe system-wide management of air traffic flows.
- Air Traffic Organization (ATO)
- A performance-based division of FAA, created to operate the nation's air traffic control system.
- Airline
- A business or system that provides scheduled or chartered air transport of passengers and/or cargo.
- Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF or Trust Fund)
- Created by the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970, the AATF provides funding for improvements to the nation’s airports and air traffic control system. Money in the fund comes solely from users of the system, principally from collections related to passenger tickets, passenger flight segments, international arrivals/departures, cargo waybills, aviation fuels and frequent flyer mile awards from non-airline sources like credit cards.
The current authorization expires on 9/30/07.
- Airport Improvement Program (AIP)
- FAA capital account program that provides grants for construction and other projects at airports. Funded entirely from the AATF.
- Appropriations
- Created by an act of Congress, appropriations allow FAA to incur obligations and make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes.
- Area Navigation (RNAV)
-
RNAV is a system that allows navigation on any desired flight path, rather than one defined by ground-based fixed airways. An RNAV system can determine position by referencing the position of ground- or space-based navigation aids, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), using onboard flight management computers.
- Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B)
- An aircraft-based surveillance service capable of replacing today’s ground-based radar system. With ADS-B, the airplane’s GPS determines the aircraft’s location. ADS-B then broadcasts that position, via a radio transmission, approximately once-per-second to controllers on the ground and other aircraft. ADS-B would give controllers and other traffic a more precise location for each aircraft.
B
Bonding Authority- An ability to issue bonds to raise funds.
- Budget Authority
- Authority provided by Congress to enter into obligations resulting in immediate or future outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be one year or multiyear. Budget authority for FAA programs consists of appropriations and contract authority.
- Business Aviation
- Non-airline civil aircraft operations, including fractional and corporate flying, but not including personal aviation.
C
Cargo Waybill- A document that lists goods and shipping instructions relative to a shipment.
- Cash Balance
- The available cash or liquid Treasury notes remaining in the Trust Fund; a measure of all revenues received (taxes, interest and adjustments) minus all cash outlays. The cash balance of the Trust Fund consists of both ‘committed’ and ‘uncommitted’ funds.
- Center
- See Air Route Traffic Control Center.
- Charter
- When an entire aircraft, typically the entire aircraft, is hired for a trip. A charter flight is normally completed under FAR Part 135.
- Civil Aviation
- All non-military flights.
- Commercial Aviation
- A sector of the U.S. economy comprising scheduled and non-scheduled passenger and cargo airlines, aviation manufacturers, airport and aircraft service providers (including government services) and air cargo service providers.
- Committed Balance
- The budget authority issued by Congress, against the Trust Fund, not yet liquidated through outlays. This committed money consists of both ‘obligated’ and ‘unobligated’ amounts.
- Commuter
-
An air carrier operator operating under 14 CFR 135 that carries passengers on at least five round trips per week on at least one route between two or more points, according to its published flight schedules that specify the times, day of the week and places between which these flights are performed. The aircraft that a commuter operates has 30 or fewer passenger seats and a payload capability of 7,500 pounds or less.
- Connecting Flight
- A flight requiring passengers to change aircraft and/or airlines at an intermediate stop, wherein the previous flight segment had a different flight number.
- Contract Authority
- Allows FAA to enter into contracts before appropriations. For FAA, this most frequently applies to AIP (Airport Improvement Program) funds.
- Control Tower
- The control tower is located at the airport and generally handles airplanes in close proximity of the airport.
- Corporate Aviation
- Refers to flying an airplane that is owned and operated by a corporation. It operates according to FAR Part 91.
D
Deregulation- The term commonly used in referring to the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, which ended U.S. government regulation of passenger airline routes and rates.
E
Economic Impact- With regard to a specific industry or sector, the sum of first-level (i.e., sales, revenue, output) and induced (purchases required to produce the sales or output and household spending by the industry’s employees) impacts. In the case of commercial aviation, primary impacts on the U.S. economy are related to: airlines and supporting services; aircraft, engines and parts manufacturing; and air visitor travel and other trip-related expenditures.
- Employees
- Private air transportation workers as classified in sub-sector 481 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); includes U.S.-based employees of non-U.S. carriers.
- En Route
- A term that refers to the middle portion of a flight (neither arrival nor departure) when the aircraft is communicating with center controllers.
- Enplanement
- One (originating or connecting) passenger, boarding an aircraft, with a unique flight coupon.
- Excise tax
- A tax levied on a good, service or activity
F
Facilities and Equipment (F and E)- FAA capital account program that funds technological improvements to the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system. The account funds planned facility improvements, equipment procurement and the necessary technical support for systems installation. Funded entirely by the AATF.
- FAR 121 (Part 121)
- A section of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Federal Air Regulations that prescribes rules governing the operation of air carriers and commercial operators of large aircraft.
- FAR 135 (Part 135)
- A section of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Federal Air Regulations that prescribes rules governing the operation of commuter air carriers (scheduled) and on-demand ‘for-hire’ air taxi and charter providers.
- FAR 91 (Part 91)
- A section of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Federal Air Regulations that refers mainly to general aviation. Part 91 operations are generally non-commercial. Corporate aviation operations, for instance, usually fall under Part 91.
- Flight
- An aircraft operation involving one take-off and one landing.
- Flight Plan
- A document filed with the FAA that determines the course, altitude and speed of a flight.
- Flight Service Station (FSS)
-
An air traffic facility that provides information to VFR pilots, typically general aviation or business aviation pilots, including: en route communications, broadcast aviation weather and NAS information, and the receipt and processing of IFR flight plans. The FSS system was outsourced in 2005 to Lockheed Martin in a program called ‘AFSS A-76.’
G
General Aviation-
All aviation, other than military and scheduled air transport (airlines), including privately owned light single-engine aircraft for recreational flying (personal aviation), as well as business jets, rotorcraft and other types of equipment for such commercial activities (business aviation) as news-gathering, pipeline patrol, emergency medical flights, crop-dusting, agricultural application, flight training, shipping, surveying, air taxi, corporate flying, emergency transport, policing and firefighting.
- Gross output
- A measure of total economic activity consisting of sales, receipts and other operating income, plus commodity taxes and changes in inventories.
- Ground Control
- ‘Ground’ is an air traffic control function that handles aircraft once they have landed, or before they are cleared to take off (typically from the gate to the runway).
- Ground Delay Program (GDP)
-
Implemented at the FAA command center to control air traffic volume to airports where the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the airport's acceptance rate for a lengthy period of time.
How it works:
Flights that are destined to the affected airport are issued Expected Departure Clearance Times (EDCT) at their point of departure. Flights that have been issued EDCTs are not permitted to depart until their Expected Departure Clearance Time. These EDCTs are calculated in such a way as to meter the rate at which traffic arrives at the affected airport, ensuring that demand is equal to acceptance rate. The length of delays that result from the implementation of a GDP depends upon two factors: how much greater than the acceptance rate the original demand was, and for what length of time the original demand was expected to exceed the acceptance rate.
I
Infrastructure- The basic facilities, services and installations needed to operate FAA.
- Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)
- When weather is poor (frequently called ‘IFR conditions,’) pilots rely on instruments to fly the aircraft. IFR requires more interaction between pilots and controllers. Opposite of VFR.
- Instrument Landing System (ILS)
- Most valuable in poor-visibility conditions, a ground-based precision approach system that provides course and vertical guidance to landing aircraft.
J
Job Impact- The total U.S. employment associated with both commercial aviation and supporting economic activity that results from any purchases made by its firms and employees.
L
Load Factor (Loads)- The percentage of seating or freight capacity that is utilized on an aircraft.
- Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS)
- An accuracy-improving augmentation to the standard GPS signal that serves the immediate airport area (approximately a 20-30 mile radius). It broadcasts its correction message, via a very high frequency (VHF) radio data link from a ground-based transmitter.
- Long Range Navigation (LORAN)
-
A ground-based terrestrial navigation system using low-frequency radio transmitters that uses the time interval between radio signals received from two or more stations to determine the position of a ship or aircraft.
M
Microjet- See VLJ.
N
National Airspace System (NAS)- The common network of U.S. airspace; air navigation facilities, equipment and services, airports or landing areas.
- NATS-UK
- An entity providing air traffic control services to aircraft flying in United Kingdom (UK) airspace. A public/private partnership between a consortium of seven UK airlines (42 percent), NATS staff (5 percent), UK airport operator BAA plc (4 percent) and the UK government (49 percent) and a golden share.
- NAV CANADA
- A private, non-share capital corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation service.
- Navigational Aid (NAVAID)
- Any visual or electronic device, airborne or on the surface, which provides point-to-point guidance information or position data to aircraft in flight.
O
Obligations- Spending commitments made against budget authority, reflecting the actual amounts of orders placed, contracts awarded, services received and similar transactions requiring payments. Obligations made in a fiscal year will not necessarily reflect cash outlays made in that year. For facilities and equipment, obligations are liquidated over several years.
- Operation
- One flight (one take-off and one landing).
P
Passenger Facility Charge (PFC)- A fee charged by individual airports, usually those that are classified as a medium or large hub, to raise more revenue that they would with AIP grants alone. When airports do charge a PFC, up to half of their AIP entitlement issued by the FAA is denied.
- Passengers
- Individuals, originating or connecting, who board an aircraft with a unique flight coupon.
- Personal Aviation
- The activity of pilots who fly for recreation, and generally do not use the IFR air traffic control system.
- Personal Earnings
- Total direct wages, salaries and employer-based benefits associated with both commercial aviation and supporting economic activity that results from any purchases made by its firms and employees.
- Privatization
- A process of transferring property from public ownership to private ownership, and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector.
R
Regional Jet (RJ)-
Though no formal definition exists, an RJ is typically thought of as a jet aircraft containing between 35 and 100 seats, operated principally by regional or commuter airlines in short- to medium-haul commercial passenger service. Many now use the term small jet instead.
- Required Navigation Performance (RNP)
-
An operating standard that must be met for an aircraft to operate in certain areas of the NAS. RNP requires an aircraft to stay within a specific envelope of airspace and continuously monitor its performance.
- Research Engineering and Development (R E and D)
-
This capital account funds research intended to assure the safety, capacity and cost effectiveness of the air traffic control system, to meet growing demands and user requirements. The program has helped develop standards, regulations and guidance materials that support the FAA regulatory mission. Funded entirely by the AATF.
- RNAV
- See Area Navigation.
S
Segment- Consists of a flight with a single take-off and a single landing. A non-stop flight from New York to Chicago is one segment. A flight from New York to Los Angeles with a stop-over in Chicago is two segments.
- Stage length
- The distance traveled by an aircraft from take-off to landing.
T
Terminal- Sometimes called the ‘terminal environment,’. Refers to airspace that is generally within 30 miles of the airport, and below 18,000 feet.
- Terminal Radar Control Facility (TRACON)
-
The facility that controls airplanes, typically when they are within 30 miles of the airport, or transiting airspace near the airport. There are 179 TRACONs in the United States.
- Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)
- An airborne collision-avoidance system, with a display in the cockpit that alerts pilots to other aircraft traffic in the area.
- Trust Fund
-
See Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
- Turbojet
- The original designation for a ‘pure’ jet engine whose power is solely the result of its jet exhaust.
U
Uncommitted Balance-
Surplus revenues in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund against which no commitments, in the form of budget authority, have been made. This measure provides the most widely accepted estimates of the money available in the Trust Fund for new appropriations for aviation purposes.
- Unobligated Balance
-
The portion of budget authority not designated as payment for specific products or services. In one-year accounts, the unobligated balance expires at the end of the fiscal year it was made available. In multiyear accounts, it remains available for obligation for the specified number of years.
- User Fee
- A fee charged to users of goods or services.
V
Very Light Jet (VLJ)- Typically an aircraft weighing less than 6,000 pounds (though NASA uses 10,000 pounds) equipped with turbojet engines and capable of operating at high altitudes.
- Visual Flight Rules (VFR)
-
The rules that govern a pilot’s ability to fly and navigate by looking out the windows of the airplane. An airline rarely flies according to VFR.
W
Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)-
Provides GPS-based navigation service for all classes of aircraft in all flight operations - including en route navigation, airport departures and airport arrivals. This includes precision landing approaches in all weather conditions at all locations throughout the NAS.
Y
Yield- The average amount of revenue received per revenue passenger mile (RPM) or revenue ton mile (RTM), net of taxes.