DOT Logo
Office of Public Affairs

 



BTS 24-07
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Contact: Dave Smallen
Tel.: (202) 366-5568

BTS Releases March Passenger Airline Employment Data;
March 2007 Employment Up 0.6 Percent from March 2006

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 0.6 percent more workers in March 2007 than in March 2006, the second consecutive increase in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today (Table 2). FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that only the network carrier group reported fewer FTE employees in March than in the prior year with a 1.4 percent decrease, while all other carriers combined employed 4.7 percent more FTEs than a year earlier (Table 1).

Adding FTEs from March 2006 to March 2007 were network carriers Continental Airlines, Alaska Airlines and US Airways (Table 9), all of the low-cost carriers except for ATA Airlines (Table 12), and regional carriers American Eagle Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, Comair, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Horizon Air, Mesa Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, Shuttle America, Republic Airlines and GoJet Airlines (Table 15).

Scheduled passenger airlines include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. Many regional carriers were not required to report employment numbers before 2003, so year-to-year comparisons involving regional carriers, or the total industry, are not available for the years before 2003.

The seven network carriers employed 264,100 FTEs in March, 64.8 percent of the passenger airline total, while low-cost carriers employed 17.6 percent and regional carriers employed 14.7 percent (Table 4). The network carriers have employed fewer FTEs each March compared to the previous year since 2002, the only carrier group to do so (Table 5).

American Airlines employed the most FTEs in March among the network carriers, Southwest Airlines employed the most among low-cost carriers (Table 6), and American Eagle employed the most among regional carriers (Table 15). Seven of the top 10 employers in the industry are network carriers (Table 6).


Network Airlines

Network carrier FTEs declined 1.4 percent in March 2007 compared to March 2006, the smallest drop from the same month of the previous year since October 2004 (Table 7).

Three network carriers increased FTEs from March 2006 to March 2007. Continental’s workforce grew 4.7 percent while Alaska’s rose 3.7 percent and US Airways’ increased 0.8 percent. The largest FTE decreases were reported by Delta Air Lines, 3.2 percent, and Northwest Airlines, 4.8 percent (Table 9).

Collectively, the seven network carriers reduced their FTE headcount by 20.9 percent, or 69,700 FTEs, from March 2003 to March 2007. Network carrier FTEs dropped from 333,800 to 264,100 during the four-year period (Table 8).

FTEs at all seven network carriers declined in March 2007 from March 2003. The biggest percentage decline was at Northwest, down 30.1 percent, a reduction of 12,600 FTEs. United Airlines, Delta, and US Airways all reported cuts of more than 20 percent in the four years. Continental’s FTEs were down 2.0 percent and Alaska’s were down 6.4 percent during that time (Table 9).

Network carriers operate a significant portion of their flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights to down-line destinations or spoke cities.

Data for US Airways and America West Airlines, now in the process of merging operations, are separately reported – US Airways’ data are included in the network carriers’ category and America West’s in the low-cost carriers’ category. US Airways will begin reporting a single number for the merged companies in April.

Low-Cost Airlines

Low-cost carrier FTEs rose 4.4 percent in March 2007 compared to March 2006, the sixth consecutive increase after 18 consecutive monthly decreases from the previous year (Table 10).

All the low-cost carriers had FTE increases from March 2006 to March 2007 except ATA, which reported a 20.4 percent decline. Only AirTran Airways reported an increase of more than 10 percent (Table 12).

Low-cost carrier FTEs were 70,500 in March 2003, 68,700 in March 2006 and 71,700 in March 2007. The rise from 2003 to 2007 was 1.7 percent (Table 11). The 2003 to 2007 increase would be 8.7 percent if the 2003 employment data are excluded for Independence Air, which discontinued all flights on Jan. 5, 2006 (Table 12).

Employment data for Independence Air, which changed its business model from a regional to low-cost carrier in mid-2004, have been included with low-cost carriers for 2004 and 2005 for consistency.

Low-cost carriers are those that the industry recognizes as operating under a low-cost business model, with fewer infrastructure costs and greater expectations of productivity.

Regional Airlines

Regional carrier FTEs were up 5.6 percent in March 2007 compared to March 2006, the second largest increase in FTEs from the previous year since July 2005 (Table 13).

GoJet and Republic reported the largest increases in the group. GoJet employed 39.6 percent more FTEs in March 2007 than March 2006 while Republic employed 113.4 percent more (Table 15).

Regional carrier FTEs rose from 49,600 in March 2004 to 59,900 in March 2007, an increase of 20.7 percent (Table 14).

The 10 regional carriers reporting employment data in both 2003 and 2007 employed 22.5 percent more FTEs in March 2007 than in March 2003. Of that group, Mesaba Airlines and Executive Airlines were the only carriers to report fewer FTEs in March 2007 than March 2003 (Table 15).

Regional carriers typically provide service from small cities, using primarily regional jets to support the network carriers’ hub and spoke systems.

Reporting Notes

Airlines that operate at least one aircraft with the capacity to carry combined passengers, cargo and fuel of 18,000 pounds – the payload factor – must report monthly employment statistics.

The Other Carrier category generally reflects those airlines that operate within specific niche markets, such as Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines in serving the Hawaiian Islands.

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of May 9.

Additional airline employment data can be found on the BTS website at
http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/number_of_employees/. BTS has scheduled release of April airline employment data for June 19.

 

Table 1: Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*

Change from the Previous Year

Percent change compared to same month the previous year for the most recent 13 months

Month

Network Carriers    (Pct. Change)   From Table 7

Low-Cost Carriers** (Pct. Change)   From Table 10

Regional Carriers    (Pct. Change)   From Table13

All Passenger Airlines***   (Pct. Change)  From Table 2

Mar 2005-Mar 2006

-7.5

-3.0

0.1

-5.3

Apr. 2005-Apr. 2006

-6.7

-2.2

0.1

-4.7

May 2005-May 2006

-7.0

-2.1

-1.2

-5.0

June 2005-June 2006

-6.9

-2.0

-1.6

-5.0

July 2005-July 2006

-8.1

-2.6

-0.8

-5.9

Aug. 2005-Aug. 2006

-4.7

-0.8

-1.0

-3.1

Sept. 2005-Sept. 2006

-4.1

-0.4

-0.3

-2.7

Oct. 2005-Oct. 2006

-4.0

0.8

0.6

-2.3

Nov. 2005-Nov. 2006

-3.4

0.9

2.4

-1.6

Dec. 2005-Dec. 2006

-2.9

1.4

3.4

-1.0

Jan. 2006-Jan. 2007

-2.6

4.5

3.0

-0.5

Feb. 2006-Feb. 2007

-2.2

5.0

5.9

0.2

Mar 2006-Mar 2007

-1.4

4.4

5.6

0.6

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

**Employment numbers in 2005 for Independence Air, which changed its business model from a regional to low-cost carrier in mid-2004, are included with low-cost carriers. The airline discontinued flights on Jan. 5, 2006.

*** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.  Other Carriers generally operate within specific niche markets.  They are: Allegiant Air, Aloha Airlines, Boston-Maine Airways, Casino Express Airlines, Continental Micronesia, Eos Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and USA3000 Airlines.  USA3000 did not report in December 2006 and subsequent months.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 2: Change in Total Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees from the Previous Year*

Percent change compared to same month the previous year

Month

2004

2005

2006

2007

January

-5.6

-0.8

-6.0

-0.5

February

-5.3

-1.4

-5.8

0.2

March

-4.1

-1.9

-5.4

0.6

April

-2.3

-3.1

-4.7

 

May

-0.8

-3.5

-5.0

 

June

0.5

-3.8

-5.0

 

July

2.5

-3.5

-5.9

 

August

2.2

-5.8

-3.1

 

September

2.4

-5.8

-2.7

 

October

2.5

-6.0

-2.3

 

November

2.2

-6.5

-1.6

 

December

0.9

-5.9

-1.0

 

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

** Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 3: Total Passenger Airline* Full-time Equivalent Employees** by Month

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Month

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Percent Change     

2003-2007

2006-2007

January

465.7

435.0

431.5

405.7

403.6

-13.3%

-0.5%

February

459.4

435.0

428.9

404.5

405.4

-11.7%

0.2%

March

454.3

435.9

427.7

404.6

407.4

-10.3%

0.6%

April

448.2

437.8

424.1

404.0

 

 

 

May

443.2

439.6

424.4

403.1

 

 

 

June

438.9

440.9

424.3

403.0

 

 

 

July

433.2

444.1

428.5

403.0

 

 

 

August

433.3

443.0

417.5

404.4

 

 

 

September

429.6

440.0

414.5

403.4

 

 

 

October

428.3

439.1

412.7

403.3

 

 

 

November

429.9

439.5

411.0

404.2

 

 

 

December

430.2

434.0

408.6

404.7

 

 

 

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

** Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes and averages based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 4: Total Number of Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Carrier Group, March 2003-2007

FTE Numbers in thousands (000’s)

 

Network

Low-Cost

Regional

All Passenger Airlines**

2003

333.8

70.5

40.8

454.3

2004

304.6

70.8

49.6

435.9

2005

289.3

70.8

56.4

427.7

2006

267.8

68.7

56.7

405.1

2007

264.1

71.7

59.9

407.4

Pct. Change 2003-2007

-20.9

1.7

20.7***

-6.5

Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2007

64.8%

17.6%

14.7%

 

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

*** Percent change comparison for regional airlines and for all passenger airlines is for 2004 to 2007 because of the number of airlines in these categories that did not meet the standard for reporting monthly employment numbers.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 5: Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Carrier Group,

Year-to-Year Change, March 2003-2007

Percent Change from the previous year

 

Network

Low-Cost

Regional**

All Passenger Airlines***

2003

-8.2

8.9

66.8

-1.7

2004

-8.7

0.5

21.6

-4.1

2005

-5.0

0.0

13.7

-1.9

2006

-7.4

-3.0

0.5

-5.3

2007

-1.4

4.4

5.6

0.6

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Many regional carriers were not required to report employment numbers before 2003, so year-to-year comparisons involving regional carriers, or the total industry, are not appropriate for the years before 2003. 

*** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 6: Top 10 Airlines, March 2007

Ranked by Number of Full-Time Equivalent Employees*

Rank

Airline

Total FTE Employees (000)

Carrier Group

Mar 2006 Rank

Mar 2005 Rank

1

American

73.2

Network

1

1

2

United

51.9

Network

2

2

3

Delta

45.6

Network

3

3

4

Continental

35.1

Network

4

5

5

Southwest

33.0

Low Cost

5

6

6

Northwest

29.1

Network

6

4

7

US Airways

19.7

Network

7

7

8

America West

12.3

Low Cost

8

8

9

JetBlue

9.6

Low Cost

10

12

10

Alaska

9.5

Network

11

10

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

 

Table 7: Network Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*

Change from the Previous Year

Percent change compared to same month the previous year

Month

2004

2005

2006

2007

January

-12.5

-4.1

-8.1

-2.6

February

-11.0

-4.6

-7.8

-2.2

March

-8.7

-5.0

-7.4

-1.4

April

-6.6

-6.5

-6.7

 

May

-4.9

-6.6

-7.0

 

June

-3.6

-7.0

-6.9

 

July

-2.0

-5.9

-8.1

 

August

-1.7

-9.0

-4.7

 

September

-1.7

-8.9

-4.1

 

October

-1.4

-8.9

-4.0

 

November

-1.8

-9.3

-3.4

 

December

-3.5

-8.5

-2.9

 

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 8: Network Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Rank

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Percent Change     

2003-2007

2006-2007

January

348.7

305.1

292.7

269.1

262.0

-24.9

-2.6

February

342.3

304.7

290.9

268.2

262.4

-23.3

-2.2

March

333.8

304.6

289.3

267.8

264.1

-20.9

-1.4

April

327.2

305.6

285.8

266.6

 

 

 

May

321.9

306.0

285.8

265.8

 

 

 

June

317.5

306.1

284.8

265.0

 

 

 

July

312.5

306.3

288.2

264.9

 

 

 

August

310.6

305.3

277.8

264.8

 

 

 

September

307.6

302.4

275.4

264.0

 

 

 

October

305.3

300.9

274.1

263.0

 

 

 

November

305.7

300.2

272.4

263.0

 

 

 

December

306.2

295.7

270.6

262.9

 

 

 

Monthly Average

320.1

303.7

282.4

265.4

 

 

 

Jan-Mar Average

341.6

304.8

290.8

268.6

262.9

-23.1

-2.1

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes and averages based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 Table 9: Network Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees*, March 2003-2007

(Ranked by March 2007 FTEs)

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Rank

 

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Percent Change     

2003-2007

2006-2007

1

American

90.6

79.0

75,688

74.4

73.2

-19.2

-1.7

2

United

67.1

58.6

55,899

53.4

51.9

-22.6

-2.9

3

Delta

61.1

57.8

54,090

47.1

45.6

-25.4

-3.2

4

Continental

35.8

34.5

32,319

33.6

35.1

-2.0

4.7

5

Northwest

41.7

38.5

38,416

30.6

29.1

-30.1

-4.8

6

US Airways

27.4

26.3

23,697

19.5

19.7

-28.2

0.8

7

Alaska

10.1

9.8

9,206

9.1

9.5

-6.4

3.7

 

Total

333,789

304.6

289,315

267.8

264.1

-20.9

-1.4

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Note: Detail may not add to total due to rounding

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 10: Change in Low-Cost Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* from the Previous Year

Percent change compared to same month the previous year

Month

2004

2005

2006

2007

January

8.4

0.5

-5.3

4.5

February

6.9

0.6

-4.1

5.0

March

0.5

0.0

-3.0

4.4

April

0.6

-0.7

-2.2

 

May

0.8

-1.0

-2.1

 

June

1.5

-1.2

-2.1

 

July

2.3

-1.5

-2.0

 

August

1.1

-0.7

-0.8

 

September

0.7

-1.0

-0.4

 

October

-0.2

-1.2

0.8

 

November

0.5

-2.5

0.9

 

December

0.5

-1.4

1.4

 

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Employment numbers in 2004 and 2005 for Independence Air, which changed its business model from a regional to low-cost carrier in mid-2004, are included with low-cost carriers. The airline discontinued flights on Jan. 5, 2006.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 11: Low-Cost Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Rank

2003**

2004**

2005**

2006

2007

Percent Change     

2003-2007

2006-2007

January

65.7

71.2

71.6

67.8

70.8

7.8

4.5

February

65.9

70.5

70.9

68.0

71.4

8.3

5.0

March

70.5

70.8

70.8

68.7

71.7

1.7

4.4

April

70.6

71.0

70.4

68.9

 

 

 

May

70.7

71.3

70.5

69.1

 

 

 

June

70.6

71.7

70.8

69.4

 

 

 

July

70.7

72.3

71.3

69.4

 

 

 

August

70.8

71.6

71.1

70.5

 

 

 

September

70.7

71.3

70.6

70.3

 

 

 

October

71.3

71.2

70.4

70.9

 

 

 

November

71.9

72.3

70.5

71.1

 

 

 

December

71.3

71.6

70.6

71.6

 

 

 

Monthly Average

69.7

71.4

70.8

69.6

 

 

 

Jan-Mar Average

67.3

70.8

71.1

68.2

71.3

5.9

4.6

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Note: Percent changes and averages based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: Detail may not add to total due to rounding

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Employment numbers in 2004 and 2005 for Independence Air, which changed its business model from a regional to low-cost carrier in mid-2004, are included with low-cost carriers. The airline discontinued flights on Jan. 5, 2006.

  

Table 12: Low-Cost Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees,* March 2003-2007

(Ranked by March 2007 FTEs)

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Rank

 

2003**

2004**

2005**

2006

2007

Percent Change     

2003-2007

2006-2007

1

Southwest

33.1

31.5

31.0

31.4

33.0

-0.5

5.0

2

America West

11.4

11.4

11.8

11.8

12.3

8.3

4.5

3

JetBlue

4.0

5.5

7.0

9.2

9.6

136.1

3.4

4

AirTran

4.9

5.4

6.1

6.9

7.6

54.3

10.3

5

Frontier

2.8

3.8

4.1

4.3

4.7

65.4

9.3

6

ATA

7.2

7.0

5.1

3.0

2.4

-66.3

-20.4

7

Spirit

2.4

2.4

2.3

2.0

2.1

-13.2

5.1

8

Independence

4.5

3.8

3.4

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Total****

70.5

70.8

70.8

68.7

71.7

1.7

4.4

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

**Employment numbers in 2004 and 2005 for Independence Air, which changed its business model from a regional to low-cost carrier in mid-2004, are included with low-cost carriers.  The carrier did not meet the standard for filing in previous years. The airline discontinued flights on Jan. 5, 2006.

N/A: Not applicable because carriers did not meet the standard for filing.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: Detail may not add to total due to rounding

 

Table 13: Change in Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* from the Previous Year

Percent change compared to same month the previous year

 

2004**

2005***

2006

2007

January

16.3

15.5

2.5

3.0

February

17.3

14.3

1.1

5.9

March

21.6

13.7

0.5

5.6

April

21.7

12.6

0.1

 

May

23.3

11.1

-1.2

 

June

24.9

11.0

-1.6

 

July

33.0

6.0

-0.8

 

August

31.6

5.1

-1.0

 

September

32.4

4.3

-0.3

 

October

33.0

2.7

0.6

 

November

31.0

2.1

2.4

 

December

29.3

1.8

3.4

 

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Mesa, Pinnacle and PSA began reporting employment numbers in 2004.

*** Republic, Shuttle America and GoJet reported for part of 2005.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

  

Table 14: Regional Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

 

2004**

2005***

2006

2007

Percent Change

 2004-2007

2006-2007

January

48.3

55.8

57.2

58.9

22.0

3.0

February

48.9

55.9

56.6

59.9

22.4

5.9

March

49.6

56.4

56.7

59.9

20.7

5.6

April

50.3

56.6

56.6

 

 

 

May

51.2

56.9

56.2

 

 

 

June

51.9

57.6

56.7

 

 

 

July

54.3

57.6

57.1

 

 

 

August

55.0

57.8

57.2

 

 

 

September

55.2

57.6

57.4

 

 

 

October

55.8

57.4

57.7

 

 

 

November

55.6

56.8

58.1

 

 

 

December

55.3

56.3

58.2

 

 

 

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Mesa, Pinnacle and PSA began reporting employment numbers in 2004.

*** Republic, Shuttle America and GoJet reported for part of 2005.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

Table 15: Regional Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees*, March 2003-2007

(Ranked by March 2007 FTEs)

Rank

 

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Percent Change**     

2003-2007

2006-2007

1

American Eagle

7,708

8,139

9,412

9,310

9,458

22.7

1.6

2

Sky West

5,127

6,120

7,363

8,149

9,415

83.6

15.5

3

Express Jet

5,418

5,898

6,464

6,516

7,369

36.0

13.1

4

Comair

5,288

5,797

6,260

6,127

6,128

15.9

0.0

5

Atlantic Southeast

5,267

5,573

5,446

5,279

5,663

7.5

7.3

6

Horizon

3,387

3,343

3,341

3,536

3,740

10.4

5.8

7

Pinnacle

N/A

1,997

2,833

3,039

3,368

N/A

10.8

8

Mesa

N/A

3,185

3,223

3,222

3,264

N/A

1.3

9

Mesaba

2,967

2,866

3,253

2,987

2,627

-11.5

-12.1

10

Air Wisconsin

2,226

3,426

3,746

2,352

2,272

2.1

-3.4

11

Executive

1,880

1,914

1,836

1,763

1,661

-11.6

-5.8

12

PSA

N/A

N/A

1,735

1,529

1,425

N/A

-6.8

13

Trans States

1,224

1,327

1,458

1,468

1,289

5.3

-12.2

14

Shuttle America

N/A

N/A

N/A

764

1,003

N/A

31.3

15

Republic

N/A

N/A

N/A

396

845

N/A

113.4

16

GoJet

N/A

N/A

N/A

235

328

N/A

39.6

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Many regional carriers were not required to report employment numbers before 2003, so year-to-year comparisons involving regional carriers, or the total industry, are not appropriate for the years before 2003.  The Percent Change 2003-2007 is based on the 10 carriers reporting in both years.

N/A: Not applicable because carriers did not meet the standard for filing.

Note: Detail may not add to total due to rounding

 


# # #
 


Briefing Room