About the Performance Measures
Q. How were these performance
measures selected?
A. All the aviation data presented in the
performance/productivity tables and graphs reflect SYSTEM airline operations
and represent standard airline industry units of production, various output
measurements and output valuations.
Q. What changes have been made to the
performance measures?
A. Measures that are now numbered 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 and 10 are now
calculated using originating passengers instead of enplanements as was done
before the third quarter of 2006. This
change was made to more accurately measure output performance. Each originating
passenger represents one unique sale by a carrier compared to the enplanement
figure which counts an originating passenger as an enplanement for each flight
segment flown. The measure now numbered
4 is now a calculation based on passenger revenue, rather than a comparison of
revenue to costs. Also, two new
measures, numbers 3 and 6, were added beginning with the third quarter of 2006.
Financial Measures:
- System Operating
Profit/(Loss) per Originating Passenger. Prior to the third quarter of 2006, this
measure was System Operating Profit/Loss per Enplanement.
- System Operating
Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per Originating Passenger measures
how much each airline spends in relation to the originating passengers it
carries. All expenses necessary to
operate an airline excluding contracted expenses relating to regional jet
activity are included in this measurement. Prior to the third quarter of 2006, this
measure was Operating Expense (Excluding Fuel/Labor Expenses) per Enplanement.
- System Operating
Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per Aircraft. This measure spreads the total expenses to
operate an airline over each of the carriers individual operating aircraft
excluding non-mainline Regional Jet contract expenses. This is a new measure
beginning with the third quarter of 2006.
- Passenger Revenue per Originating Passenger
(excluding Regional Jet Contract Revenue) measures the average amount of revenue received by the airline for each originating
passenger. Prior to the third quarter of 2006, this measure compared an
airlines revenue per enplanement to its costs per enplanement.
Employment and
Traffic Measures:
- Full-Time
Equivalent Employees per Aircraft. Employees per aircraft provide one
measure of an airlines efficiency with respect to the average number of all
its employees per unit of production. The smaller the number of employees per aircraft indicates greater
efficiency. Note: Full-time
Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a
full-time employee.
- Average monthly Available Seat-Miles (ASMs) per
Full-Time Equivalent Employee. ASMs (one aircraft seat flown one mile) are
the basic unit of production in the airline industry. This measure is the simplest gauge of FTE
productivity. Note: Full-time
Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a
full-time employee. This is a new measure beginning with the third quarter of
2006.
- Average Monthly
Revenue Aircraft Minutes per Full-Time
Equivalent Employee. The most neutral common denominator in evaluating
production performance is revenue aircraft minutes per employee. Irrespective of an airlines business model (long
haul or short haul routes) or type of aircraft it utilizes, flight time is what
the aircraft were designed to do. Note: Full-time
Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a
full-time employee.
- Average Monthly
Originating Passengers per Full-Time
Equivalent Employee is a basic measure reviewing how many unique passengers
are transported compared to the size of the airlines workforce. Note: Full-time
Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a
full-time employee. Prior to the third quarter of 2006, this measure was Average
Monthly Enplanements per Full-Time
Equivalent Employee.
- Fuel Cost per Originating Passenger. A measure
of how much airlines pay for fuel compared to the number of unique passengers
they transport. Prior to the third quarter of 2006, this measure was Average
Monthly Fuel Cost per Enplanement.
- Average Full-Time
Equivalent Employee Compensation per Originating Passenger. A basic measure of how many passengers are
carried compared to the compensation of the workforce. Note: Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE)
calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a full-time employee. Prior
to the third quarter of 2006, this measure was Average Monthly Full-Time Equivalent
Employee Compensation per Enplanement. .
- Average Annual
Full-Time Equivalent Employee Compensation is a basic measure of employee
compensation. Compensation includes salary + benefits + payroll taxes. Note: Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE)
calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a full-time employee.
Q. What are the data
sources for the performance measures?
A. Data are taken from airline filings with the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics:
- Form
41 Financial Data, Schedule P-1.2, Schedule P-5.2, filed quarterly
- Form
41 Traffic Data, T-100 Market, and T-100 Segment data, filed monthly
- Airline
employment numbers filed monthly
Q. What are the
definitions of network and low-cost carriers?
A. Network carriers operate a significant portion of their flights using at
least one hub where connections are made for flights on a spoke system.
Low-cost carriers are those that the industry generally recognizes as operating
under a low-cost business model.
Q. Why dont the
performance measures cover regional airlines?
A. Regional Jet
airlines performance measures are not reported here because these carriers
operational performance results are closely tied to their contractual
agreements with the larger mainline airlines that specify the number of flight
operations, markets served, and air fares offered.
Q. Are numbers
available for other airlines?
A. BTS makes the traffic and financial numbers available on the TranStats
database, http://www.transtats.bts.gov/. Employment numbers for passenger airlines are
available in monthly press releases, which can be found at http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/passenger_airline_employment.html
Q. When does BTS release the airline operating performance
measures?
A. The airline operating
efficiency numbers are issued quarterly after the release of quarterly
financial data. The schedule for release
of the quarterly financial data can be found at http://www.bts.gov/upcoming_data_releases/.