| Measure
1: System Operating Profit/(Loss) per Originating Passenger in Dollars |
$16.07 |
$13.52 |
3 |
Network carriers Northwest,
Delta, US Airways and American all had operating profits per originating
passenger higher than America West, the leading low cost carrier. |
| Measure
2: System Operating Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per
Originating Passenger in Dollars |
$249 |
$331 |
1 |
The
network carriers' aggressive downsizing in operations reduced other costs,
partially offsetting the rise in fuel expense. |
| Measure
3: System Operating Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per Aircraft
in Millions of Dollars |
$5.638 |
$6.836 |
1 |
Network operating expenses
per aircraft increased 24 percent from 2002 as that group moved towards more
international flying which requires larger and more expensive aircraft. |
| Measure
4: Passenger Revenue per Originating Passenger (excluding Regional Jet Contract Revenue)
in dollars |
$229 |
$302 |
6 |
Network
and low-cost carriers benefited from fare increases that began in
mid-2005. Network carrier revenue per
passenger rose 2 percent from 2002 to 2005 and 18 percent from 2005 to 2007. |
| Measure
5: Full-Time Equivalent Employees* per Aircraft |
85 |
99 |
3 |
The industry showed a
wide-range of performance, with AirTran's 59 FTEs per aircraft, the fewest of
any carrier, about half the 113 FTEs reported by United. |
| Measure
6: Average Monthly Available Seat-Miles (ASMs) per Full-Time Equivalent
Employee* in millions of ASMs |
195 |
212 |
6 |
Both
the network carriers and low-cost airlines substantially improved
productivity with more ASMs generated per FTE from 2002 to 2007. |
| Measure
7: Average Monthly Revenue Aircraft Minutes per Full-Time Equivalent
Employee* in Minutes |
171 |
159 |
4 |
The network carriers
improved by 31 percent but the low-cost carrier group has a wide advantage
over the network airlines in average monthly revenue air minutes per FTE. |
| Measure
8: Average Monthly Originating Passengers per Full-Time Equivalent Employee* |
89 |
69 |
2 |
In 2007, the low-cost
carriers generated 166 originating passengers per FTE employee compared to 69
passengers per FTE for the network airlines. |
| Measure 9:
Fuel Cost in Dollars per Originating Passenger |
$66 |
$93 |
2 |
The low-cost group paid $55
less in fuel costs per originating passenger than the network carriers in
2007. |
| Measure
10: Average Full-Time Equivalent Employee* Compensation (Salaries + Benefits)
per Originating Passenger in dollars |
$71 |
$100 |
1 |
The financially stronger
low-cost carrier group's compensation expenses increased a modest $3 per
originating passenger, reflecting wage increases for the group's increasingly
senior work force partially offset by sustained operational efficiencies. |
| Measure
11: Average Annual Full-Time Equivalent Employee* Compensation (Salaries +
Benefits) in dollars |
$75,682 |
$83,374 |
6 |
From
2002 to 2007, low-cost carrier annual compensation costs rose 43 percent
while network airline costs declined 0.8 percent. |
* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two
part-time employees as one full-time employee.
**
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 recognizes as
operating under a low-cost business model, with fewer infrastructure costs
and greater expectations of productivity.
