Table 12: Low-Cost Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees* October 2002-2006,,,,,,,,
(Ranked by October 2006 FTE Employees),,,,,,,,
Numbers in thousands (000’s),,,,,,,,
Rank,,2002,2003**,2004**,2005**,2006,"Percent Change
2002-2006","Percent Change
2005-2006"
1,Southwest,34,33,31,31,32,-3.6,3.9
2,America West,12,11,11,12,12,6.4,6.7
3,JetBlue,3,5,6,8,10,176.7,18.1
4,AirTran,5,5,6,6,7,59.2,15.7
5,Frontier,3,3,4,4,5,65.9,9.8
6,ATA,7,8,6,4,2,-62.7,-38.4
7,Spirit,2,2,2,2,2,4.7,20.6
8,Independence,N/A,4,4,3,N/A,N/A,N/A
,Total****,66,71,71,70,71,7.9,0.8
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics,,,,,,,,
Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.,,,,,,,,
Note: Detail may not add to total due to rounding,,,,,,,,
* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one 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. The airline discontinued flights on Jan. 5, 2006.",,,,,,,,
N/A: Not applicable because carriers did not meet the standard for filing.,,,,,,,,