Skip to Search Skip to Left Navigation U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) - Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) - United States Department of Transportation (USDOT, US DOT or DOT)
  ABOUT RITA | CONTACT US | PRESS ROOM | CAREERS | SITE MAP
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Data and Statistics
Bookstore
Programs
About BTS
Upcoming Press Releases
External Links
Intelligent Transportation Systems
National Transportation Library
Research, Development and Technology
Transportation Safety Institute
University Transportation Centers
Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
BTS Home > Press Releases > 2006
Printable Version

December 2005 Passenger Airline Employment Down 6.3 Percent from December 2004

PDF

Contact
BTS 9-06
Dave Smallen
202-366-5568

Tuesday, February 21, 2006 - U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 6.3 percent fewer workers in December 2005 than in December 2004, the 12th consecutive month that full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels for the scheduled passenger carriers declined compared to the same month of the previous year, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today (Table 1).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that the December 2004 to December 2005 decline in FTE’s was the second largest year-to-year decrease in 2005.  It was also the fifth consecutive month with a decline in FTE’s of more than 5 percent from the same month of the previous year

In FTE calculations, a part-time employee is counted as one-half a full-time employee.

Scheduled passenger airline FTE’s declined every month in 2005 from the same month in 2004.  The last increase in FTE’s from the previous year was a rise of 0.9 percent in December 2004, the last of seven consecutive months of increases from previous year (Table 2).  Scheduled passenger airlines include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. These airlines employed 407,000 FTE’s in December 2005, the lowest total since at least the beginning of 2003 (Table 3).

The seven network carriers employed 271,000 FTE’s in December, 67 percent of the passenger airline total (Table 4).  Low-cost carriers employed 17 percent and regional carriers employed 14 percent.  The network carriers are the only carrier group to reduce FTE’s each December from the previous year since 2001 (Table 5).

American Airlines employs the most FTE’s among the network carriers, Southwest Airlines employs most among low-cost carriers and American Eagle Airlines employs the most among regional carriers. Seven of the top 10 employers in the industry are network carriers (Table 6).

Network Airlines

Network carrier FTE’s have declined every month since 2001 from the same month the previous year.  They declined 8 percent in December 2005 compared to December 2004. The largest year-to-year percentage decline was in April 2002 (Table 7). 

Network carrier FTE’s dropped from 372,000 in December 2001 to 271,000 December 2005, a decline of 27 percent (Table 8).

FTE’s at all seven network carriers declined in December 2005 from December 2001.  The biggest percentage declines were at US Airways, down 43 percent, a reduction of 15,000 FTE’s, and United Airlines, down 34 percent, a reduction of 27,000 FTE’s (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 with network carriers category, and America West’s in the low-cost carriers category.

Low-Cost Airlines

Low-cost carrier FTE’s declined 4 percent in December 2005 compared to December 2004, the ninth consecutive month of decreases from the previous year (Table 10).  The 69,000 FTE’s employed by the seven low-cost carriers in December are the lowest total since December 2003 and make up 17 percent of the passenger airline total.

Low-cost carrier FTE’s were 60,000 in December 2001, 72,000 in December 2004 and 69,000 in December 2005. The increase from 2001 to 2005 is 14 percent (Table 11).  Of the airlines operating and reporting in both December 2005 and December 2001, all reported more FTE’s in 2005 except Southwest Airlines, down 2 percent, and ATA Airlines, down 44 percent (Table 12). Spirit Airlines’ numbers are included in the December 2001-2004 totals but the airline has not yet reported its December 2005 employment numbers.

Low-cost carriers are those that the industry generally recognizes as operating under a low-cost business model with fewer infrastructure costs.

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 2003, 2004 and 2005 for consistency.   The airline discontinued flights on Jan. 5.

Regional Airlines

Regional carrier FTE’s were essentially unchanged in December from December 2004 (Table 13).

Regional carrier FTE’s rose from 41,000 in December 2003 to 56,000 in December 2005, an increase of 36 percent (Table 14).

The seven regional carriers reporting employment data in both 2001 and 2005 employed 11 percent more FTEs in December 2005 than in December 2001.  Of that group, Air Wisconsin was the only carrier to report fewer FTE employees in December 2005 than December 2001 (Table 15).

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. 

Regional carriers 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 and Hawaiian Airlines in serving the Hawaiian Islands.

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of Feb. 14.

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 January airline employment data for March 21.

Table 1: Change in Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees from the Previous Year*

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

Excel | CSV

Month Network Carriers
(Pct. Change)		 Low-Cost Carriers**
(Pct. Change)		 Regional Carriers
(Pct. Change)		 All Passenger Airlines***
(Pct. Change)
Dec. 2003-Dec. 2004 −3.5 0.5 29.4 0.9
Jan. 2004-Jan. 2005 −4.3 0.4 15.8 −1.2
Feb. 2004-Feb. 2005 −4.7 0.6 13.8 −1.4
Mar. 2004-Mar. 2005 −5.0 0.0 13.3 −1.9
Apr. 2004-Apr. 2005 −6.5 −0.7 12.2 −3.1
May 2004-May 2005 −6.6 −1.0 10.9 −3.5
June 2004-June 2005 −7.0 −1.1 10.0 −3.8
July 2004-July 2005 −5.6 −1.5 4.9 −3.5
Aug. 2004-Aug. 2005 −9.0 −0.7 3.9 −5.8
Sept. 2004-Sept. 2005**** −8.9 −1.0 3.4 −5.8
Oct. 2004-Oct. 2005 −8.9 −1.0 2.4 −6.1
Nov. 2004-Nov. 2005 −9.3 −2.5 0.1 −6.5
Dec. 2004-Dec. 2005 −8.5 −4.3 0.0 −6.3

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** Employment numbers in 2003, 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.

*** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.  Other Carriers generally operate within specific niche markets.  They are: Allegiant Air, Aloha Airlines, Casino Express Airlines, Continental Micronesia, Hawaiian Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Shuttle America, Sun Country Airlines, TransMeridian Airlines, USA3000 Airlines.

**** Atlantic Southeast Airlines was granted an extension for the filing of September 2005 employment numbers. For year-to-year comparison purposes, its numbers are not included in September 2004.

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Percentage change compared to same month the previous year

Excel | CSV

Month 2003 2004 2005
January −1.0 −6.0 −1.2
February −1.7 −5.3 −1.4
March −2.8 −4.1 −1.9
April −4.4 −2.3 −3.1
May −6.7 −0.8 −3.5
June −8.3 0.5 −3.8
July −9.6 2.5 −3.5
August −9.5 2.2 −5.8
September*** −9.3 2.4 −5.8
October −10.4 2.5 −6.1
November −9.2 2.2 −6.5
December −8.3 0.9 −6.3

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.

*** Atlantic Southeast Airlines was granted an extension for the filing of September 2005 employment numbers. For year-to-year comparison purposes, its numbers are not included in September 2004.

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Numbers in thousands (000's)

Excel | CSV

Month 2003 2004 2005
January 465 437 432
February 459 435 429
March 454 436 428
April 448 438 424
May 443 440 424
June 439 441 424
July 433 444 428
August 433 443 418
September 430 440 414
October 428 439 413
November 430 439 411
December 430 434 407

 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.

Table 4: Total Number of Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Carrier Group, December 2001-2005

Numbers in thousands (000's)

Excel | CSV

  Network Low-Cost Regional* All Passenger Airlines**
2001 372 60 N/A N/A
2002 356 66 N/A N/A
2003 306 67 43 430
2004 296 72 56 434
2005 271 ***69 55 407
Pct. Change 2001-2005 −27.3 9.6 N/A N/A
Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2005 66.6 16.9 13.6 100

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.

*** Spirit Airlines has not reported employment numbers for December 2005

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 5: Change in Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Carrier Group, December 2001-2005

Percentage Change from the previous year

Excel | CSV

  Network Low-Cost Regional All Passenger Airlines**
2001 N/A N/A N/A N/A
2002 −4.2% 6.0% N/A N/A
2003 −14.1% 7.5% N/A N/A
2004 −3.5% 0.5% 29.3% −0.1%
2005 −8.5% ***-4.3% 0.0% −6.3%

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.

*** Spirit Airlines has not reported employment numbers for December 2005

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 6: Top 10 Airlines, December 2005

Ranked by Number of Full-Time Equivalent Employees*

Excel | CSV

Rank Airline Total FTE Employees (000) Carrier Group Dec. 2004 Rank Dec. 2003 Rank
1 American 75 Network 1 1
2 United 54 Network 2 3
3 Delta 49 Network 3 2
4 Continental 33 Network 5 5
5 Northwest 32 Network 4 4
6 Southwest 32 Low-cost 6 6
7 US Airways 20 Network 7 7
8 America West 12 Low-cost 8 8
9 American Eagle 9 Regional 10 10
10 Alaska 9 Network 9 9

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

Table 7: Change in Network Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees from the Previous Year*

Percentage change compared to same month the previous year

Excel | CSV

Month 2002 2003 2004 2005
January −14.5 −5.3 −12.5 −4.3
February −10.8 −10.7 −11.0 −4.7
March −15.7 −8.2 −8.7 −5.0
April −16.1 −10.0 −6.6 −6.5
May −15.1 −12.7 −5.0 −6.6
June −14.8 −14.4 −3.6 −7.0
July −14.7 −15.8 −2.0 −5.6
August −14.2 −16.4 −1.7 −9.0
September −12.1 −16.6 −1.7 −8.9
October −12.1 −16.6 −1.7 −8.9
November −4.6 −15.4 −1.7 −9.3
December −4.2 −14.1 −3.5 −8.5

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Numbers in thousands (000's)

Excel | CSV

  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Percentage Change 2001-2005
January 431 368 349 305 292 −32.2
February 430 383 342 305 290 −32.4
March 431 364 334 305 289 −32.9
April 433 363 327 306 286 −34.0
May 434 369 322 306 286 −34.2
June 435 371 318 306 285 −34.6
July 435 371 313 306 289 −33.6
August 433 372 311 305 278 −35.9
September 420 369 308 302 275 −34.4
October 420 369 308 302 275 −34.4
November 379 361 305 300 272 −28.0
December 372 356 306 296 271 −27.3
Monthly Average 421 368 320 304 282 −32.9

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 9: Network Carrier FTE Employees, December 2001-2005*

(Ranked by December 2005 FTE Employees)

Numbers in thousands (000's)

Excel | CSV

Rank   2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Percentage Change 2001-2005
1 American** 97 95 80 77 75 −23.2
2 United 81 77 59 58 54 −33.7
3 Delta 68 64 59 57 49 −28.8
4 Continental 36 36 34 32 33 −8.1
5 Northwest 45 43 38 39 32 −28.9
6 US Airways 35 30 27 25 20 −43.3
7 Alaska 10 10 10 9 9 −9.0
8 TWA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
  Total 372 356 306 296 271 −27.3

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.

**American Airlines' statistics beginning in June 2001 reflect that carrier's absorption of former TWA employees that were retained by AA after its April 2001 acquisition of TWA's assets.

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Percentage change compared to same month the previous year

Excel | CSV

Month 2002 2003 2004 2005
January 3.4 9.2 8.5 0.5
February 1.9 8.5 6.9 0.6
March 3.6 14.1 0.5 0.0
April 5.2 12.4 0.6 −0.7
May 1.8 11.7 0.8 −1.0
June 5.7 10.0 1.5 −1.1
July 6.6 9.2 2.3 −1.5
August 5.9 9.6 1.1 −0.7
September 7.5 9.8 0.7 −1.0
October 7.5 9.8 0.7 −1.2
November 12.1 9.0 0.6 −2.5
December 10.2 1.7 6.6 **−4.3

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 2003, 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.

** Spirit Airlines has not reported employment numbers for December 2005

Note: Percentage 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

  2001 2002 2003** 2004** 2005** Percentage Change 2001-2005
January 58 60 66 71 72 23.2
February 60 61 66 70 72 18.8
March 60 62 70 71 71 18.7
April 60 63 71 71 70 18.1
May 62 63 71 71 71 13.5
June 61 64 71 72 71 16.7
July 61 65 71 72 71 17.2
August 61 65 71 72 71 16.4
September 60 64 71 71 71 17.8
October 60 64 71 71 70 17.5
November 59 66 72 72 70 19.8
December 60 66 67 72 69 ***14.4
Monthly Average 60 64 70 71 71 17.7

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Note: Percentage changes 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 2003, 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.

*** Spirit Airlines has not reported employment numbers for December 2005

Table 12: Low-Cost Carrier FTE Employees, December 2001-2005*

(Ranked by December 2005 FTE Employees)

Excel | CSV

Numbers in thousands (000's)

Rank   2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Percentage Change 2001-2005
1 Southwest 32 34 33 31 32 −1.8
2 America West 11 12 11 11 12 6.0
3 JetBlue 2 4 5 7 8 316.0
4 AirTran 4 5 5 6 7 68.7
5 Frontier 2 3 3 4 4 86.2
6 ATA 7 7 7 6 4 −44.5
7 Independence** N/A N/A N/A 4 2 N/A
8 Spirit 2 2 3 2 N/A*** N/A
  Total**** 60 66 67 72 69 14.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Note: Percentage changes 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 2003, 2004 and 2005 for Independence Air, which changed its business model from a regional to low-cost arrier 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.

*** Spirit Airlines has not reported employment numbers for December 2005

**** Total numbers for carriers operating and reporting in 2005.

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

Percentage change compared to same month the previous year

Excel | CSV

Month 2004** 2005
January 16.9 19.6
February 18.0 14.3
March 20.0 13.3
April 22.1 12.2
May 23.5 10.9
June 25.8 10.2
July 31.4 5.1
August 31.8 3.9
September 36.9 3.5
October 32.6 2.4
November 32.3 0.1
December 29.3 0.0

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** Three regional airlines, Mesa, Pinnacle and PSA, did not meet the reporting standard in 2003. The three airlines reported employment numbers in 2004 and 2005.

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Numbers in thousands (000's)

Excel | CSV

  2003** 2004 2005 Percentage Change 2003-2005
January 41 48 58 39.8
February 41 49 56 34.8
March 41 50 56 35.9
April 41 50 57 37.0
May 42 51 57 37.0
June 41 52 57 38.6
July 41 54 57 38.1
August 42 55 57 37.0
September 36 49 51 41.7
October 42 55 57 35.7
November 42 56 56 32.3
December 43 56 55 29.3
Monthly Average 41 52 56 36.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** Three regional airlines, Mesa, Pinnacle and PSA, did not meet the reporting standard in 2003. The three airlines reported employment numbers in 2004 and 2005.

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 15: Regional Carrier FTE Employees, December 2000-2004*

(Ranked by December 2005 FTE Employees)

Numbers in thousands (000's)

Excel | CSV

Rank   2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Percentage Change 2001-2005
1 American Eagle 8.5 7.9 7.7 9.1 9.4 11.5
2 Sky West N/A N/A 5.6 7.0 8.1 N/A
3 Express Jet N/A N/A 5.7 6.3 6.4 N/A
4 Comair N/A 5.1 5.7 6.1 6.3 N/A
5 Atlantic Southeast 4.2 5.1 5.5 5.7 5.6 32.2
6 Horizon 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.5 1.0
7 Mesaba 3.1 3.0 2.9 3.2 3.3 6.1
8 Mesa N/A N/A N/A 3.8 3.0 N/A
9 Pinnacle N/A N/A N/A 2.6 3.0 N/A
10 Air Wisconsin 2.8 3.0 3.0 3.7 2.2 −20.2
11 Executive 1.3 2.1 1.8 1.8 1.8 30.3
12 PSA N/A N/A N/A 1.7 1.6 N/A
13 Trans States .9 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.3 40.0
  Total** 24.2 30.7 42.5 55.8 55.3 N/A

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Note: Percentage changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: Many regional carriers were not required to report employment numbers before 2003 so year-to-year comparisons involving regional carriers as a group, or the full industry, are not appropriate for earlier years. 

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.

** Totals include only carriers operating and reporting in 2005.

N/A: Not applicable because carriers did not meet the standard for filing.
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) • U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT)
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE • Washington, DC 20590 • 800-853-1351 • E-mail RITA

Accessibility | Disclaimer | FedStats | Freedom of Information Act | No FEAR Act | OIG Hotline | Privacy Policy | RSS | USA.gov | White House | Wireless

Plug-ins: PDF Reader | Flash Player | Excel Viewer | PowerPoint Viewer | Word Viewer | WinZip