"Table 6: Low-Cost Carrier FTE Employees, August 2001-2005*",,,,,,,,
(Ranked by August 2005 FTE Employees),,,,,,,,
Rank,,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,"Percentage 
Full-time Employees",
,,,,,,,2001,2005
1,Southwest,"30,794","33,624","32,735","30,885","31,463",97.7,98.4
2,America West,"12,432","11,723","10,984","11,422","11,846",79.8,76.6
3,JetBlue,"1,687","3,073","4,624","6,203","7,739",71.5,82.1
4,AirTran,"4,021","4,599","5,252","5,711","6,305",89.0,92.4
5,ATA,"7,554","6,614","7,479","6,605","4,376",87.9,91.7
6,Frontier,"2,348","2,661","3,084","4,019","4,082",82.8,79.3
7,Independence**,N/A,N/A,"4,198","4,310","3,150",N/A,84.3
8,Spirit,"2,189","2,313","2,460","2,425","2,094",85.3,89.3
,Total***,"61,025","64,606","70,815","71,577","71,055",90.2,89.7
* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count part-time workers as one-half of a 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 in 2005. ,,,,,,,,
Note: Detail may not add to total due to rounding,,,,,,,,
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics,,,,,,,,