Editing Alaska (section)

===Air===
Cities not served by road, sea, or river can be reached only by air, foot, [[dogsled]], or [[Continuous track#Snow vehicles|snowmachine]], accounting for Alaska's extremely well developed [[Alaskan Bush|bush]] air services—an Alaskan novelty. Anchorage, and to a lesser extent Fairbanks, is served by [[Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport#Airlines and destinations|many major airlines]]. Because of limited highway access, air travel remains the most efficient form of transportation in and out of the state. Anchorage recently completed extensive remodeling and construction at [[Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport]] to help accommodate the upsurge in tourism (in 2012–2013, Alaska received almost two million visitors).<ref>
State of Alaska Office of Economic Development. ''[http://commerce.alaska.gov/dnn/ded/DEV/TourismDevelopment/TourismResearch.aspx Economic Impact of Alaska's Visitor Industry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522032359/http://commerce.alaska.gov/dnn/ded/DEV/TourismDevelopment/TourismResearch.aspx |date=May 22, 2014 }} ''. January 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
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Making regular flights to most villages and towns within the state commercially viable is difficult, so they are heavily subsidized by the federal government through the [[Essential Air Service]] program. [[Alaska Airlines]] is the only major airline offering in-state travel with jet service (sometimes in combination cargo and passenger [[Boeing 737]]-400s) from Anchorage and [[Fairbanks International Airport|Fairbanks]] to regional hubs like [[Bethel, Alaska|Bethel]], [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]], [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]], [[Dillingham, Alaska|Dillingham]], [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak]], and other larger communities as well as to major Southeast and Alaska Peninsula communities.
[[File:ERA Aviation prop plane landing at ANC (6194226738).jpg|thumb|A [[Bombardier Dash 8]], operated by [[Era Alaska]], on approach to [[Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport]]]]

The bulk of remaining commercial flight offerings come from small regional commuter airlines such as [[Ravn Alaska]], [[PenAir]], and [[Frontier Flying Service]]. The smallest towns and villages must rely on scheduled or chartered bush flying services using general aviation aircraft such as the [[Cessna Caravan]], the most popular aircraft in use in the state. Much of this service can be attributed to the Alaska bypass mail program which subsidizes bulk mail delivery to Alaskan rural communities. The program requires 70% of that subsidy to go to carriers who offer passenger service to the communities.

Many communities have small air taxi services. These operations originated from the demand for customized transport to remote areas. Perhaps the most quintessentially Alaskan plane is the bush seaplane. The world's busiest seaplane base is [[Lake Hood Seaplane Base|Lake Hood]], located next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where flights bound for remote villages without an airstrip carry passengers, cargo, and many items from stores and warehouse clubs.

In 2006, Alaska had the highest number of pilots per capita of any U.S. state.<ref>
Out of the estimated 663,661 residents, 8,550 were pilots, or about one in 78, Federal Aviation Administration. ''[http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/2005/ 2005 U.S. Civil Airman Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229221505/http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/2005/ |date=December 29, 2009 }} ''</ref> In Alaska there are 8,795 active pilot certificates as of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/|title=U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics|website=www.faa.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2020-11-01|archive-date=May 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510111705/https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/|url-status=live}}</ref>