ATA 300

Airlines for America

A4A's official logo
Formation	1936; 81 years ago (1936) (as Air Transport Association of America)
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Membership	9 airlines + 1 associate airline (2016)
Key people	Nicholas E. Calio, President and CEO
Website	www.airlines.org

Airlines for America (A4A), formerly known as Air Transport Association of America (ATA), is an American trade association and lobbying group based in Washington, D.C. that represents the largest airlines. A4A member airlines and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic.

A4A's stated purpose is to "foster a business and regulatory environment that ensures safe and secure air transportation and enables U.S. airlines to flourish, stimulating economic growth locally, nationally and globally". A4A advocates on behalf of participating regularly scheduled airline corporations to the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, the U.S. Department of Transportation, including the Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection.

Since its founding in 1936, A4A has played a major role in all government decisions concerning aviation, including the creation of the Civil Aeronautics Board, the creation of the air traffic control system and airline deregulation. It also advocates that the American government implement a national airline policy that will enable U.S. airlines to function as effective multinational enterprises. Furthermore, it believes an element of such a policy is the modernization of the U.S. air traffic management system, the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

Nicholas Calio became president of the Air Transport Association (as Airlines for America was then known), in January 2011. Calio was hired after the Republicans made big gains in the 2010 midterm elections. Hiring Calio, "a brand name" Republican, known for working well with Democrats, was seen as a positive for the ATA. Democratic lobbyist Jimmy Ryan said: "He’s so well liked by both Democrats and Republicans that for the ATA it’s a huge coup. The new challenge is figuring out how to get things done in a bipartisan manner and Nick is the guy who’s got the record to do it.” Senator Harry Reid said, "...Nick was a straight shooter and I appreciated that about him when he was at the White House. The ATA is fortunate to have a seasoned hand who understands the importance of finding bipartisan solutions.”