"Table 6: Low-Cost Carrier FTE Employees, October 2001-2005*",,,,,,,,
(Ranked by October 2005 FTE Employees),,,,,,,,
Rank,,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,Percentage Full-time Employees ,
,,,,,,,2001,2005
1,Southwest,"30,947","33,609","32,563","30,657","31,382",97.7,98.4
2,America West,"12,263","11,691","10,907","11,456","11,769",79.9,76.8
3,JetBlue,"1,787","3,249","4,800","6,256","7,885",73.1,82.1
4,AirTran,"3,797","4,501","5,231","5,637","6,302",90.7,92.4
5,ATA,"6,893","6,443","7,580","6,545","4,097",88.3,91.1
6,Frontier,"2,282","2,637","3,173","4,068","4,097",81.9,79.3
7,Independence**,N/A,N/A,"4,187","4,310","3,020",N/A,84.7
8,Spirit,"1,944","2,300","2,299","2,330","2,023",86.6,89.0
,Total***,"59,913","64,430","70,740","71,258","70,574",90.5,89.6
* 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 carrier did not meet the standard for filing in previous years.",,,,,,,,
*** Total numbers for carriers operating and reporting in 2005. ,,,,,,,,
Note: Detail may not add to total due to rounding,,,,,,,,
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics,,,,,,,,