"Table 6: Low-Cost Carrier FTE Employees, June 2001-2005*",,,,,,,,
(Ranked by May 2005 FTE Employees),,,,,,,,
Rank,,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,Percentage                    Full-time Employees,
,,,,,,,2001,2005
1,Southwest,"30,369","33,149","32,902","31,409","31,366",97.6,98.4
2,America West,"12,554","11,601","10,852","11,529","11,964",79.7,76.8
3,JetBlue,"1,521","2,774","4,447","5,898","7,505",71.9,81.5
4,AirTran,"4,286","4,581","5,318","5,624","6,247",90.4,93.7
5,ATA,"7,589","7,148","7,395","6,812","4,474",88.5,92.4
6,Frontier,"2,290","2,662","3,028","3,938","4,053",82.6,79.6
7,Independence**,N/A,N/A,"4,255","4,049","3,180",N/A,87
8,Spirit,"2,116","2,273","2,438","2,436","2,099",85.1,89.3
,Total***,"60,725","64,188","70,635","71,695","70,888",90.3,89.9
* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a 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 carrier did not meet the standard for filing in previous years.",,,,,,,,
*** Total numbers for carriers operating in 2005. ,,,,,,,,
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics,,,,,,,,
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