March Passenger Airline Employment Down 1.7 Percent from March 2004

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Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed a total of 454,585 workers in March 2005, 1.7 percent fewer than in March 2004, 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, reported that the seven network carriers employed 308,069 total full-time and part-time workers, 4.8 percent fewer workers in March 2005 than a year earlier (Table 2). The low-cost carriers reported 74,350 total employees, 0.3 percent more than March 2004 (Table 3); and the regional carriers reported 59,957 total employees, 13.2 percent more than the previous year (Table 4).

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. BTS is providing pre-2003 comparisons for network and low-cost carriers, as well as pre-2003 numbers for individual regional carriers that were required to report in earlier years.

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 2004 statistics do not include employment data for one regional airline that was not required to report for that year - PSA Airlines.

Numbers 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 both 2005 and 2004. This change reflects that carrier's current business model as a low-cost operator.

Using Full-Time Equivalent Employees (FTE) calculations, employment at network carriers in March dropped 32.9 percent from 2001 to 2005. The biggest declines were at US Airways, down 46.3 percent; and United Airlines, down 42.1 percent (Table 5). In FTE calculations, part-time workers are counted as one-half of a full-time employee.

The seven low-cost carriers that were required to report employment data in 2001 and 2005 employed 12.9 percent more FTEs in March 2005 than in March 2001 (Table 6).

The eight regional carriers that were required to report employment data in 2001 and 2005 employed 16.3 percent more FTEs in March 2005 than in March 2001. Of that group, only Horizon Air reported fewer FTE employees in March 2005 than March 2001 (Table 7).

In this release, Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4 use total numbers for full-time and part-time employees, while employee numbers in Tables 5, 6, 7 and 8 show FTEs.

The 1.9 percent drop in FTE's from March 2004 to March 2005 was the largest year-to-year drop in passenger airline employment in the four months that these numbers have been compiled for passenger airline groups (Table 8).

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

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

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 May 16.

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 21.

Table 1: Passenger Airline Employment, March 2004-2005

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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

*Independence Air (formerly known as Atlantic Coast Airlines) data have been included in 2004 and 2005 totals for Low-cost Carriers, reflecting the current change in its business model.

**2005 Regional data include results from one newly reporting airline that was not required to report employment data in 2004: PSA Airlines. The regional airline category, including only those airlines that reported employment data in both March 2004 and 2005, recorded a 10.2 percent growth rate.

*** Allegiant Air, Aloha Airlines, Casino Express Airlines, Continental Micronesia, Hawaiian Airlines, Midwest Airlines, TransMeridian Airlines, USA3000 Airlines.

Table 2: Number of Employees: Network Carriers, March 2001-2005

(number of current carriers in parentheses)

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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 3: Number of Employees: Low-cost Carriers, March 2001-2005

(number of current carriers in parentheses)

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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 4: Number of Employees: Regional Carriers, March 2003-2005

(number of current carriers in parentheses)

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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Note: Regional group numbers for years before 2003 are not included because of the limited number of regional carriers that met the requirement for filing reports.

Table 5: Network Carrier FTE Employees, March 2001-2005*

(Ranked by March 2005 FTE Employees)

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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a full-time employee.

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

Table 6: Low-cost Carrier FTE Employees, March 2001-2005*

(Ranked by March 2005 FTE Employees)

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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a 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.

*** Total numbers for carriers operating in 2005.

Table 7: Regional Carrier FTE Employees, March 2000-2004*

(Ranked by March 2005 FTE Employees)

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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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.

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a full-time employee.

** Total numbers for carriers operating in 2005.

N/A: Carriers did not meet the standard for filing.

Table 8: Change in FTE Employees from the Previous Year*

Percentage change compared to same month the previous year

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Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a 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.

***2005 Regional data include results from one newly reporting airline that was not required to report employment data in 2004: PSA Airlines. The regional airline category, including only those airlines that reported employment data in both February 2004 and 2005, recorded a 10.6 percent growth rate.

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