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BTS Home > Press Releases > 2008
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November 2007 Passenger Airline Employment Up 3.7 Percent from November 2006

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BTS 4-08
Dave Smallen
202-366-5568

Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.7 percent more workers in November 2007 than in November 2006, the 10th 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.

The 3.7 percent increase was the largest from the same month of the previous year since August 2001.

Adding FTEs from November 2006 to November 2007 were network carriers Continental Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines (Table 9).  In addition, all of the low-cost carriers except ATA Airlines (Table 12), and regional carriers American Eagle Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, Comair, Horizon Air, Pinnacle Airlines, Mesaba Airlines, Executive Airlines, Republic Airlines and GoJet Airlines (Table 15) increased their FTEs compared to last year.

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 419,444 FTEs employed by the industry in November was the most in any month since July 2005 (Table 3).  The six network carriers employed 249,862 FTEs in November, 59.6 percent of the passenger airline total, while low-cost carriers employed 22.9 percent and regional carriers employed 14.6 percent (Table 4). 

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

America West Airlines and US Airways are now operating under a single certificate and began reporting jointly with October data.  The combined airline’s employment numbers are included with the low-cost carriers while US Airways’ previous numbers remain with network carriers and America West’s previous numbers are listed separately as a low-cost carrier.

The merged airline, which is listed in the low-cost category, reported 32,799 FTEs for November 2007.  In November 2006, US Airways reported 19,350 FTEs in the network category and America West reported 12,368 FTEs in the low-cost category for a total of 31,718. 

Network Airlines

FTEs at the six remaining network carriers, not including US Airways in previous years, increased 2.5 percent in November 2007 compared to November 2006, the seventh consecutive monthly gain from the same month of the previous year.  Prior to an increase in May, the network group had reduced FTEs from the previous year every month since September 2001 (Table 7).

Four network carriers increased FTEs from November 2006 to November 2007.  They were: Delta up 10.2 percent, Continental up 4.3 percent, Alaska up 4.7 percent and American up 0.2 percent. The only FTE decreases were reported by Northwest Airlines, down 1.2 percent and United, down marginally at .03 percent (Table 9). 

FTEs at five network carriers declined in November 2007 from November 2003. The exception was Continental with a 5.4 percent increase over November 2003 (Table 8).  The biggest percentage decline was at Northwest, down 22.0 percent, a reduction of 8,353 FTEs, followed by Delta at 16.9 percent.  The other FTE decreases during that time were United, down 10.7 percent; American, down 8.0 percent; and Alaska, down 1.0 percent (Table 9).

Low-Cost Airlines

Low-cost carrier FTEs in November continued the 15-month trend of increasing from the same month of the previous year (Tables 10, 11).   The trend continued even without combining US Airways’ numbers, which were listed in previous months in the network airline category, with America West’s numbers for November.

All the low-cost carriers had FTE increases from November 2006 to November 2007 except ATA, down 5.0 percent.  Frontier Airlines reported an increase of more than 15 percent (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 lower infrastructure costs and higher productivity. Two new low-cost carriers, SkyBus and Virgin America, began reporting employment data in August.  SkyBus reported 362 FTEs in November and Virgin America reported 721 FTEs (Table 12).

Regional Airlines

Regional carrier FTEs were up 5.1 percent in November 2007 compared to November 2006 (Table 13).

SkyWest and Mesaba reported the largest increases in the group.  SkyWest, with 10,117 FTEs, the most of any regional carrier, employed 15.5 percent more FTEs in November 2007 than November 2006, while Mesaba employed 15.9 percent more (Table 15).

Regional carrier FTEs rose from 55,606 in November 2004 to 61,109 in November 2007, an increase of 9.9 percent (Table 14).  

The 10 regional carriers reporting employment data in both 2003 and 2007 employed 18.6 percent more FTEs in November 2007 than in November 2003.  Of that group, SkyWest reported the biggest gain, 81.1 percent, followed by ExpressJet at 37.9 percent and American Eagle at 25.9 percent. Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Air Wisconsin, Executive and Mesaba Airlines reported fewer FTEs in November 2007 than November 2003 (Table 15).

Regional carrier Compass Airlines began reporting employment data in November. Compass reported 331 FTEs in November (Table 12).

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 Jan. 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 December airline employment data for Feb. 20.

Table 1: Change in Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Carrier Group

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

Excel | CSV

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
Nov. 2005-Nov. 2006 -3.4 0.9 2.4 -1.6
Dec. 2005-Dec. 2006 -2.9 1.4 3.4 -0.9
Jan. 2006-Jan. 2007 -2.6 4.5 3.0 -0.4
Feb. 2006-Feb. 2007 -2.2 5.0 5.9 0.4
Mar 2006-Mar 2007 -1.4 4.4 5.6 0.7
Apr. 2006-Apr. 2007 -0.7 5.7 5.6 1.4
May 2006-May 2007 0.3 5.3 7.2 2.2
June 2006-June 2007 1.3 5.3 5.1 2.5
July 2006-July 2007 1.5 5.9 4.8 2.8
Aug. 2006-Aug. 2007 1.5 5.3 4.9 2.6
Sept. 2006-Sept. 2007 1.8 6.0 5.2 3.0
Oct. 2006-Oct. 2007 -5.3 34.6 5.5 3.5
Nov. 2006-Nov. 2007 -5.0 35.3 5.1 3.7

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways’ numbers are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

***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.

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

Excel | CSV

Month 2004 2005 2006 2007
January -5.6 -0.8 -6.0 -0.4
February -5.3 -1.4 -5.8 0.4
March -4.1 -1.9 -5.4 0.7
April -2.3 -3.1 -4.6 1.4
May -0.8 -3.5 -5.0 2.2
June 0.5 -3.8 -4.8 2.5
July 2.5 -3.5 -5.9 2.8
August 2.2 -5.8 -3.1 2.6
September 2.4 -5.8 -2.6 3.0
October 2.5 -6.0 -2.2 3.5
November 2.2 -6.5 -1.6 3.7
December 0.9 -5.9 -0.9  

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)

Excel | CSV

Month 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Percent Change
2003-2007 2006-2007
January 465.7 435.0 431.5 405.7 404.3 -13.2% -0.4%
February 459.4 435.0 428.9 404.5 406.0 -11.6% 0.4%
March 454.3 435.9 427.7 405.1 408.0 -10.2% 0.7%
April 448.2 437.8 424.1 404.5 410.2 -8.5% 1.4%
May 443.2 439.6 424.4 403.6 412.4 -6.9% 2.2%
June 438.9 440.9 424.3 403.8 414.0 -5.7% 2.5%
July 433.2 444.1 428.5 403.3 414.6 -4.3% 2.8%
August 433.3 443.0 417.5 404.7 415.4 -4.2% 2.6%
September 429.6 440.0 414.5 403.7 416.3 -3.1% 3.1%
October 428.3 439.1 412.7 403.6 417.9 -2.5% 3.5%
November 429.9 439.5 411.0 404.5 419.4 -2.4% 3.7%
December 430.2 434.0 408.8 405.0      

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 and averages based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 4: Total Number of Full-time Equivalent Employees* (FTEs) by Carrier Group, November 2003-2007

FTE Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Excel | CSV

  Network** Low-Cost Regional All Passenger Airlines***
2003 305.7 71.9 42.4 429.9
2004 300.2 72.3 55.6 439.5
2005 272.4 70.5 56.8 411.0
2006 263.0 71.1 58.1 404.5
2007 249.9 96.2 61.1 419.4
Pct. Change 2003-2007**** -18.3% 33.7% 9.9% -4.6%
Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2007 59.6% 22.9% 14.6%  

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways’ numbers are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

*** 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, November 2003-2007

Percent Change from the previous year

Excel | CSV

  Network** Low-Cost Regional*** All Passenger Airlines****
2003 -15.3 8.4 40.2 -8.1
2004 -1.8 0.5 31.0 2.2
2005 -9.3 -2.5 2.1 -6.5
2006 -3.4 0.9 2.4 -1.6
2007 -5.0 35.3 5.1 3.7

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways’ numbers are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

*** 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, November 2007

Ranked by Number of Full-Time Equivalent Employees*

Excel | CSV

Rank Airline* Total FTE Employees (000) Carrier Group Top 10 Airlines November 2006
1 American 73.3 Network American
2 United 52.4 Network United
3 Delta 48.7 Network Delta
4 Continental 36.1 Network Continental
5 Southwest 34.1 Low Cost Southwest
6 US Airways 32.8 Low Cost Northwest
7 Northwest 29.6 Network US Airways
8 Sky West 10.1 Regional America West
9 JetBlue 10.1 Low Cost JetBlue
10 Alaska 9.9 Network Alaska

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

Excel | CSV

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 -0.7
May -4.9 -6.6 -7.0 0.3
June -3.6 -7.0 -6.8 1.3
July -2.0 -5.9 -8.1 1.5
August -1.7 -9.0 -4.7 1.5
September -1.7 -8.9 -4.1 1.8
October -1.4 -8.9 -4.0 -5.3
November -1.8 -9.3 -3.4 -5.0
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.

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways’ numbers are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Excel | CSV

  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 327.2 305.6 285.8 266.6 264.8 -19.1 -0.7
May 321.9 306.0 285.8 265.8 266.6 -17.2 0.3
June 317.5 306.1 284.8 265.3 268.6 -15.4 1.3
July 312.5 306.3 288.2 264.9 268.7 -14.0 1.5
August 310.6 305.3 277.8 264.8 268.8 -13.5 1.5
September 307.6 302.4 275.4 264.0 268.8 -12.6 1.8
October 305.3 300.9 274.1 263.0 249.0 -18.4 -5.3
November 305.7 300.2 272.4 263.0 249.9 -18.3 -5.0
December 306.2 295.7 270.6 262.9      
Monthly Average 324.7 305.1 285.6 266.3      
Jan-Nov Average 321.2 304.3 283.4 265.7 263.1 -18.1 -0.9

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways numbers’ are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

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

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

(Ranked by November 2007 FTEs)

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Excel | CSV

Rank   2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Percent Change
2003-2007 2006-2007
1 American 79.7 78.8 75 73.1 73.3 -8.0 0.2
2 United 58.7 58.2 53.8 52.4 52.4 -10.7 0.0
3 Delta 58.6 56.9 49.8 44.2 48.7 -16.9 10.2
4 Continental 34.2 34.4 32.8 34.6 36.1 5.4 4.3
5 Northwest 37.9 37.8 31.9 29.9 29.6 -22.0 -1.2
6 Alaska 10 9.4 9 9.4 9.9 -1.0 4.7
7 US Airways 26.7 24.8 20.2 19.4 N/A N/A N/A
  Total 305.7 300.2 272.4 263 249.9 -18.3 -5.0

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.

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways’ numbers are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

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

Excel | CSV

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 5.7
May 0.8 -1.0 -2.1 5.3
June 1.5 -1.2 -2.0 5.3
July 2.3 -1.5 -2.6 5.9
August 1.1 -0.7 -0.8 5.3
September 0.7 -1.0 -0.4 6.0
October -0.2 -1.2 0.8 34.6
November 0.5 -2.5 0.9 35.3
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.

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways’ numbers are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

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)

Excel | CSV

  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 69.7 71.7 1.7 4.4
April 70.6 71.0 70.3 68.9 72.8 3.2 5.7
May 70.7 71.3 70.5 69.1 72.7 2.9 5.3
June 70.6 71.7 70.8 69.4 73.1 3.5 5.3
July 70.7 72.4 71.3 69.4 73.5 3.9 5.9
August 70.8 71.6 71.1 70.5 74.2 4.8 5.3
September 70.7 71.3 70.6 70.3 74.5 5.3 6.0
October 71.3 71.2 70.4 70.9 95.4 33.8 34.6
November 71.9 72.3 70.5 71.1 96.2 33.7 35.3
December 71.3 71.6 70.6 71.6      
Monthly Average 69.6 71.3 70.9 69.2      
Jan-Nov Average 70.0 71.4 70.8 69.6 76.9 10.0 10.6

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways’ numbers are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

*** 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.

****Virgin America and SkyBus began reporting employment data in August 2007

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

Note: Detail may not add to total due to rounding.

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

(Ranked by November 2007 FTEs)

Excel | CSV

Rank   2003 2004*** 2005*** 2006 2007**** Percent Change
2003-2007 2006-2007
1 Southwest 32,847 31,513 31,647 32,594 34,103 3.8 4.6
2 US Airways N/A N/A N/A N/A 32,799 N/A N/A
3 JetBlue 5,193 6,607 8,297 9,575 10,113 94.7 5.6
4 AirTran 5,272 5,822 6,559 7,511 8,154 54.7 8.6
5 Frontier 3,353 4,072 4,100 4,535 5,247 56.5 15.7
6 ATA 7,637 6,001 3,814 2,475 2,352 -69.2 -5.0
7 Spirit 2,395 2,495 2,084 2,029 2,320 -3.1 14.3
8 Virgin America N/A N/A N/A N/A 721 N/A N/A
9 SkyBus N/A N/A N/A N/A 362 N/A N/A
10 Independence 4,127 4,358 2,386 N/A N/A N/A N/A
11 America West 11,099 11,425 11,581 12,368 N/A N/A N/A
  Total 71,923 72,293 70,468 71,087 96,170 33.7 35.3

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** US Airways’ employment numbers were included with the network airlines prior to October 2007. Beginning with October 2007, US Airways’ numbers are combined with America West Airlines’ numbers in the low-cost category.

***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.

****Virgin America and SkyBus began reporting employment data in August 2007

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

Excel | CSV

  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 0.6 5.6
May 23.3 11.1 -0.6 7.2
June 24.9 11.0 -1.6 5.1
July 33.0 6.0 -0.8 4.8
August 31.6 5.1 -1.0 4.9
September 32.4 4.3 -0.3 5.2
October 33.0 2.7 0.6 5.5
November 31.0 2.1 2.4 5.1
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.

****Compass began reporting employment numbers in November 2007.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Numbers in thousands (000’s)

Excel | CSV

  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 56.9 60.1 19.6 5.6
May 51.2 56.9 56.5 60.6 18.3 7.2
June 51.9 57.6 57.0 59.9 15.3 5.1
July 54.3 57.6 57.1 59.9 10.2 4.8
August 55.0 57.8 57.2 60.2 9.5 5.2
September 55.2 57.6 57.4 60.7 9.9 5.6
October 55.8 57.4 57.7 61.2 9.7 6.1
November 55.6 56.8 58.1 61.1 9.9 5.1
December 55.3 56.3 58.2      
Monthly Average 51.6 56.9 57.0      
Jan-Nov Average 52.4 56.9 57.1 60.2 14.9 5.4

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.

****Compass began reporting employment numbers in November 2007.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

(Ranked by November 2007 FTEs)

Excel | CSV

Rank   2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Percent Change**
2003-2007 2006-2007
1 SkyWest 5,587 6,893 8,114 8,762 10,117 81.1 15.5
2 American Eagle 7,695 9,104 9,471 9,290 9,687 25.9 4.3
3 ExpressJet 5,669 6,363 6,405 6,843 7,819 37.9 14.3
4 Comair 5,687 6,024 6,500 6,154 6,224 9.4 1.1
5 Atlantic Southeast 5,470 5,767 5,573 5,727 4,280 -21.8 -25.3
6 Horizon 3,309 3,347 3,489 3,646 3,760 13.6 3.1
7 Pinnacle N/A 2,554 2,972 3,153 3,514 N/A 11.4
8 Mesa N/A 3,845 2,963 3,284 3,189 N/A -2.9
9 Mesaba 2,958 3,197 3,288 2,516 2,915 -1.5 15.9
10 Air Wisconsin 2,760 3,719 2,225 2,331 2,213 -19.8 -5.1
11 Executive 1,866 1,606 1,710 1,627 1,697 -9.1 4.3
12 PSA N/A 1,715 1,608 1,476 1,388 N/A -6.0
13 Trans States 1,149 1,476 1,326 1,263 1,297 12.9 2.7
14 Republic N/A N/A 186 640 1,224 N/A 91.3
15 Shuttle America N/A N/A 750 1,110 1,100 N/A -0.9
16 Go Jet N/A N/A 220 313 359 N/A 14.7
17 Compass N/A N/A N/A N/A 331 N/A N/A
  Total 42,150 55,606 56,796 58,135 61,109 18.6 5.1

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.
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