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BTS: June 2011 Passenger Airline Employment Rose 1.9 Percent from June 2010
BTS: June 2011 Passenger Airline Employment Rose 1.9 Percent from June 2010
| Washington,
DC � August 2011 � U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 1.9
percent more workers in June 2011 than they did in June 2010, the U.S.
Department of Transportation�s Bureau of
Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported Tuesday (August 16). This
is the seventh consecutive increase in full-time equivalent employee (FTE)
levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the
previous year. FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time
employee. (view
related tables)
BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the June FTE total of 385,652 for the scheduled passenger carriers was 7,355 more than that of June 2010 and the highest employment number since July 2009. This seventh consecutive monthly increase in FTE levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year follows declines that began in July 2008. Historic employment data can be found on the BTS web site. Of the network airlines, only Alaska Airlines and United Airlines decreased employment from June 2010 to June 2011. Delta Air Lines reported 3.7 percent more FTEs in June 2011 than in June 2010, the largest increase among the network carriers. Continental Airlines, which now includes employees that formerly worked for Continental Micronesia, followed Delta with a 2.5 percent increase. Network airlines operate a significant portion of flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights to down-line destinations or spoke cities. All the low-cost carriers reported more FTEs in June 2011 than in June 2010 except for Allegiant Air, which reported a 4.1 percent decrease. The low-cost carriers with more reported FTEs are Virgin America Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines. Among the regional carriers, ExpressJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Horizon Air, Mesaba Airlines, Comair, and GoJet Airlines reported reduced employment levels compared to last year. Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. Carrier Groups: The six network airlines employed 67.6 percent of the scheduled passenger airline total in June, the seven low-cost carriers employed 17.4 percent and the 18 regional carriers employed 13.7 percent. Top employers by group: Delta employed the most FTEs in June among the network airlines, Southwest employed the most FTEs among low-cost airlines, and American Eagle Airlines employed the most FTEs among regional airlines. Six of the top 10 employers in the industry are network airlines. Network Airlines Recent Trend: The network airlines employed 4,113 more FTEs in June 2011 than in June 2010. All network carriers except Alaska Airlines and United Airlines increased FTEs from June 2010 to June 2011. Longer-Trend: The network airlines employed 7,922 fewer FTEs in June 2011 than in June 2007 even though America West�s numbers were not combined with US Airways in the network category until October 2007. United reported the biggest percentage decline in FTE employment from 2007 to 2011, down 16.7 percent, followed by American, down 8.9 percent. June 2011 numbers for Delta and US Airways are not comparable to 2007 because of the intervening mergers. Low-Cost Airlines Recent Trend: Low-cost airline FTEs were up 5.0 percent in June 2011 from June 2010, the largest year-to-year increase since September 2007. All seven low-cost airlines except Allegiant reported year-to-year increases. Longer Trend: The six low-cost carriers reporting employment data in both 2007 and 2011 employed 10.3 percent more FTEs in June 2011 than in June 2007. Allegiant reported the largest percentage increase, up 64.7 percent. Low-cost airlines are those that the industry recognizes as operating under a low-cost business model, with lower infrastructure and aircraft operating costs. Regional Airlines Recent Trend: Regional airline FTEs were up 1.5 percent in June 2011 compared to June 2010. Colgan Airlines and Shuttle America reported the largest percentage increases. Comair and Horizon reported the largest percentage decreases. Longer Trend: The 15 regional carriers reporting employment data in both 2007 and 2011 employed 13.9 percent fewer FTEs in 2011 than in 2007. Comair reported the largest percentage decline followed by Mesa and ExpressJet. Republic reported the biggest four-year percentage gain followed by GoJet. Effective with January 2010 reporting, Republic�s employment numbers include FTEs from Midwest Airlines. Midwest employment data were formerly included in the �Other Airlines� category. Regional carriers typically 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. Beginning with October 2007 data, US Airways� numbers are combined with numbers for America West Airlines in the network category. For previous months, America West�s numbers were included with the low-cost airlines. The Other Carrier category generally reflects those airlines that operate within specific niche markets, such as Hawaiian Airlines serving the Hawaiian Islands and the Far East. Data are compiled from
monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of Aug.10.
Additional airline
employment data can be found on the BTS website. BTS has scheduled
release of July passenger airline employment data for Sept. 20.
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