June 2009 passenger airline employment down 6.3% from June 2008
18-Aug-2009 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 6.3 percent fewer workers in June 2009 than in June 2008, the 12th consecutive decrease in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today (Table 1). FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
All the network airlines decreased employment from June 2008 to June 2009 (Table 9) as did low-cost carriers AirTran Airways and Frontier Airlines (Table 12). Regional carriers American Eagle Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, Comair, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, Horizon Air, Mesa Airlines, Air Wisconsin, Colgan Air and PSA Airlines also reported reduced employment levels compared to last year (Table 15).
Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines.
The seven network carriers employed 260,808 FTEs in June, 67.2 percent of the passenger airline total, while low-cost carriers employed 16.5 percent and regional carriers employed 14.6 percent (Table 4).
American Airlines employed the most FTEs in June among the network carriers, Southwest Airlines employed the most FTEs among low-cost carriers, and American Eagle employed the most FTEs among regional carriers. Seven of the top 10 employers in the industry are network carriers (Table 6).
America West Airlines and US Airways now operate under a single certificate. Joint reporting began with October 2007 data. Before October 2007, US Airways' employment numbers were included with the network airlines, while America West's numbers were included with the low-cost airlines. Beginning with October 2007 data, US Airways' numbers are combined with America West's numbers in the network airlines category.
FTEs at the group of seven network carriers decreased 7.8 percent in June 2009 compared to June 2008, the 10th monthly decrease from the same month of the previous year after 16 consecutive months of year-over-year growth. Prior to an increase in May 2007, the network group had reduced FTEs from the previous year every month since September 2001 (Table 7).
Within the group, all network carriers decreased FTEs from June 2008 to June 2009: United Airlines, 12.4 percent; Northwest Airlines, 12.2 percent; Delta Air Lines, 7.0 percent; American, 6.6 percent; Alaska Airlines, 6.0 percent; US Airways, 5.6 percent; and Continental Airlines, 3.4 percent (Table 9).
FTEs at four network carriers declined during the four years from June 2005 to June 2009. The biggest percentage decline was at Northwest, down 31.7 percent, a reduction of 12,000 FTEs, followed by United at 17.3 percent. The other FTE decreases during that time were Delta, down 13.4 percent, and American, down 10.1 percent. The increases were at Continental, 8.3 percent; Alaska, 7.3 percent; and the recently combined US Airways, 39.8 percent (Table 9).
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 carrier FTEs increased 1.9 percent in June from June 2008. This was the fourth month over month employment increase since the America West and US Airways reports were combined in October 2007 following five consecutive monthly decreases. Low-cost carrier FTEs had decreased each month for 12 consecutive months through September compared to the same month of the previous year, but the previous year numbers included America West while the recent data did not (Tables 10, 11).
Five low-cost carriers reported year-to-year increases: Virgin America, 21.9 percent; Allegiant Airlines, 14.3 percent; Spirit Airlines, 3.5 percent; Southwest, 2.9 percent; and JetBlue Airways, 2.4 percent. AirTran and Frontier reported year-to-year FTE decreases (Table 12).
Low-cost carriers are those that the industry recognizes as operating under a low-cost business model, with lower infrastructure and aircraft operating costs.
Regional carrier FTEs were down 7.2 percent in June 2009 compared to June 2008, the 10th consecutive month with a decline from the same month of the previous year (Table 13).
ExpressJet, down 25.5 percent, and Atlantic Southeast, down 15.1 percent, reported the largest decreases in the regional group. Compass Airlines, up 42.1 percent, and GoJet Airlines, up 32.2 percent, reported the largest increases in the group (Table 15).
Regional carrier FTEs declined 1.8 percent from June 2005 to June 2009, including reports from carriers that did not report in both years (Table 14).
The 13 regional carriers reporting employment data in both 2005 and 2009 employed 7.3 percent fewer FTEs in June 2009 than in June 2005. PSA reported the largest percentage decline, down 43.4 percent, followed by Atlantic Southeast, down 30.6 percent, and Air Wisconsin, down 22.8 percent. American Eagle, ExpressJet, Comair, Horizon, Mesa and Executive Airlines also reported fewer FTEs in June 2009 than June 2005 (Table 15).
Mesaba Airlines reported the biggest four-year gain, 19.0 percent, followed by Pinnacle at 10.7 percent and SkyWest at 10.5 percent (Table 15).
Regional carriers typically provide service from small cities, using primarily regional jets to support the network carriers' hub and spoke systems.
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 Other Carrier category generally reflects those airlines that operate within specific niche markets, such as Continental Micronesia and Hawaiian Airlines serving the Hawaiian Islands.