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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

December 2016 Passenger Airline Employment Data

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.7 percent more workers in December 2016 than in December 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. December was the highest monthly FTE total (416,337) since March 2008 (416,457) and was the 38th consecutive month that U.S. scheduled passenger airline full-time equivalent (FTE) employment exceeded the same month of the previous year (Tables 1, 2, 3).

Month-to-month, the number of FTEs rose 0.1 percent from November to December (Table 1A). Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. Historical employment data can be found on the BTS web site.

 

The four network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 2.4 percent more FTEs in December 2016 than in December 2015 (Tables 7, 8, 9). Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines increased FTEs from December 2015 (Table 9). Month-to-month, the number of network airline FTEs rose 0.1 percent from November to December (Table 1A).

The network airlines employed 7.3 percent more FTEs in December 2016 than in December 2012 (Tables 8, 9). Network airlines 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.

The six low-cost carriers reported 9.5 percent more FTEs in December 2016 than in December 2015 (Tables 10, 11, 12). Allegiant Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Virgin America and Southwest Airlines increased FTEs from December 2015 (Table 12). Month-to-month, the number of low-cost airline FTEs was virtually unchanged from November to December (Table 1A).  The six low-cost airlines employed 22.4 percent more FTEs in December 2016 than in December 2012 (Tables 11, 12). Low-cost airlines operate under a low-cost business model, with infrastructure and aircraft operating costs below the overall industry average.

The 12 regional carriers reported 0.2 percent more FTEs in December 2016 than in December 2015 (Tables 13, 14, 15). Nine regional airlines – Republic Airlines, Compass Airlines, Endeavor Air, PSA Airlines, Mesa Airlines, GoJet Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, Horizon Air and Envoy Air increased FTEs from December 2015. The others reported decreases (Table 15). Month-to-month, the number of regional airline FTEs was virtually unchanged from November to December (Table 1A). The 12 regional carriers reporting in December 2016 employed 0.4 percent more FTEs than the 14 carriers reporting in December 2012 (Tables 14, 15). Regional carriers typically provide service from small cities, using primarily regional jets to support the network carriers’ hub and spoke systems.

Carrier Groups: The four network airlines employed 65.5 percent of the 416,337 FTEs employed by all scheduled passenger airlines in December, the six low-cost carriers employed 20.5 percent and the 12 regional carriers employed 12.2 percent (Table 4). In comparison, in December 2006, the network airlines employed 65.1 percent of the FTEs, the six low-cost carriers employed 17.7 percent and the regional carriers employed 14.4 percent (Table 5).

Top Employers by Group: American employed the most FTEs (99,508) in December among the network airlines, Southwest employed the most FTEs (53,536) among low-cost airlines, and Envoy employed the most FTEs (10,930) among regional airlines (Table 6). The three airlines with the most FTEs in December – American, Delta and United – employed 62.7 percent of the month’s total passenger airline FTEs (Tables 3, 6).

Reporting Notes

Airlines that operate at least one aircraft that has more than 60 seats or the capacity to carry a payload of passengers, cargo and fuel weighing more than 18,000 pounds must report monthly employment statistics.

The “Other Carrier” category generally reflects those airlines that operate within specific niche markets such as the Hawaiian Islands served by Hawaiian Airlines and Island Air Hawaii.                           

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of Feb. 7. Additional airline employment data and previous press releases can be found on the BTS website. BTS has scheduled release of January passenger airline employment data for March 20.  

Table 1. Yearly Change in Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Airline Group, December 2016

Network Airlines Low-Cost Airlines Regional Airlines All Passenger Airlines**
Dec 2014-Dec 2015 3.5 7.8 0.9 3.9
Jan 2015-Jan 2016 3.3 7.9 2.0 4.1
Feb 2015-Feb 2016 3.2 8.5 0.2 3.8
Mar 2015-Mar 2016 2.9 9.6 0.4 3.9
Notes:

Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.        
See Table 2 for all passenger airlines, Table 7 for Network, Table 10 for Low-Cost and Table 13 for Regional.
* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers. Other Carriers generally operate within specific niche markets.  They are: Hawaiian Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and Island Air Hawaii.    
 

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 1A: Monthly Change in Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Airline Group, December 2016

Network Airlines Low-Cost Airlines Regional Airlines All Passenger Airlines**
Dec 2015-Jan 2016 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.2
Jan 2016-Feb 2016 0.3 1.2 -0.1 0.4
Feb 2016-Mar 2016 0.5 0.8 0.3 0.5
Mar 2016-Apr 2016 0.3 1.2 -0.4 0.4
Apr 2016-May2016 0.5 1.1 0.4 0.6
May 2016-Jun2016 0.3 0.9 0.5 0.5
Jun 2016-July 2016 0.2 0.8 0.4 0.3
July 2016-Aug 2016 0.1 0.4 -0.1 0.1
Aug 2016-Sep 2016 0.0 0.6 -0.6 0.1
Sep 2016-Oct 2016 0.2 0.8 -0.1 0.3
Oct 2016-Nov 2016 -0.2 0.6 0.0 0.0
Nov 2016-Dec 2016 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1
Notes:

Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
See Table 2 for all passenger airlines, Table 7 for Network, Table 10 for Low-Cost and Table 13 for Regional.
* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers. Other Carriers generally operate within specific niche markets.  They are: Hawaiian Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and Island Air Hawaii. 

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 2: Change from Previous Year in Scheduled Passenger Airline* Full-time Equivalent Employees**, December 2016

Month 2013 2014 2015 2016
January -1.6 0.5 1.2 4.1
February -1.7 0.4 1.8 3.8
March -1.9 0.8 1.9 3.9
April -1.8 1.0 2.4 3.6
May -1.8 1.1 2.6 3.7
June -1.7 0.9 3.0 3.9
July -1.8 1.3 2.7 4.3
August -1.6 1.0 3.3 4.3
September -0.9 1.1 3.3 4.3
October -0.3 0.9 4.0 4.0
November 0.1 1.5 3.7 3.7
December 0.3 1.4 3.9 3.7
Notes:

Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.
* Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.            
** Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics                 

Table 3: Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2012-2016, December 2016

Month 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Percent Change
2012-2016 2015-2016
January 386,166 380,042 381,819 386,528 402,208 4.2 4.1
February 387,091 380,414 381,985 388,976 403,917 4.3 3.8
March 387,968 380,540 383,575 390,817 406,113 4.7 3.9
April 387,501 380,487 384,265 393,439 407,763 5.2 3.6
May 388,341 381,372 385,619 395,621 410,338 5.7 3.7
June 388,165 381,672 385,243 396,973 412,333 6.2 3.9
July 388,475 381,299 386,243 396,503 413,746 6.5 4.3
August 386,749 380,486 384,478 397,007 414,242 7.1 4.3
September 383,604 380,165 384,501 397,326 414,558 8.1 4.3
October 382,162 381,178 384,700 399,928 415,979 8.8 4.0
November 380,949 381,224 386,912 401,280 416,046 9.2 3.7
December 379,575 380,809 386,222 401,440 416,337 9.7 3.7
12-Month Average 385,562 380,807 384,630 395,487 411,132 6.6 4.0
Notes:

* Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.            
** Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
 

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 4: Airline Group Full-time Equivalent Employees*, December 2012-2016

Network Low-Cost Regional All Passenger Airlines**
2012 254,065 69,781 50,425 379,575
2013 255,155 69,365 50,191 380,809
2014 257,251 72,399 50,083 386,222
2015 266,136 78,035 50,521 401,440
2016 272,614 85,434 50,616 416,337
Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2016 65.5% 20.5% 12.2% 100.0%
Notes:

* Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.            
** Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 6: Top 10 Airlines, December 2016

Rank Airline Total FTE Employees Carrier Group** Top 10 Airlines December 2015
1 American 99,508 Network American
2 United 82,132 Network Delta
3 Delta 79,447 Network United
4 Southwest 53,536 Low-Cost Southwest
5 JetBlue 16,531 Low-Cost JetBlue
6 Alaska 11,527 Network Alaska
7 Envoy 10,930 Regional SkyWest
8 SkyWest 10,866 Regional Envoy
9 ExpressJet 6,278 Regional ExpressJet
10 Hawaiian 5,576 Other Spirit
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee. 
** See Table 9 for Network, Table 12 for Low-Cost and Table 15 for Regional.

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 7: Network Airline Year-to-Year Change in Full-time Equivalent Employees* from the Previous Year, December 2016

2013 2014 2015 2016
January -2.1 0.4 0.8 3.3
February -1.9 0.1 1.4 3.2
March -2.2 0.6 1.7 2.9
April -2.0 0.4 2.4 2.4
May -2.0 0.5 2.7 2.3
June -1.8 0.3 3.1 2.3
July -1.7 0.4 3.1 2.4
August -1.5 0.1 3.7 2.5
September -1.0 0.4 3.6 2.6
October -0.6 0.3 3.6 2.7
November -0.1 0.4 3.7 2.3
December 0.4 0.8 3.5 2.4
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 8: Network Airlines Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2012-2016, December 2016

Month 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Percent Change
2012-2016 2015-2016
January 259,749 254,377 255,518 257,627 266,245 2.5 3.3
February 259,971 254,955 255,158 258,796 266,987 2.7 3.2
March 260,666 254,871 256,342 260,794 268,375 3.0 2.9
April 260,876 255,674 256,732 262,905 269,169 3.2 2.4
May 261,426 256,274 257,578 264,438 270,559 3.5 2.3
June 261,539 256,791 257,491 265,486 271,503 3.8 2.3
July 260,982 256,474 257,541 265,551 271,963 4.2 2.4
August 259,617 255,800 256,095 265,567 272,112 4.8 2.5
September 257,875 255,194 256,133 265,315 272,136 5.5 2.6
October 257,270 255,741 256,409 265,704 272,787 6.0 2.7
November 256,141 255,914 256,823 266,251 272,347 6.3 2.3
December 254,065 255,155 257,251 266,136 272,614 7.3 2.4
12-Month Average 259,181 255,602 256,589 263,714 270,566 4.4 2.6
Notes:

*Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
 

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics     

Table 9: Network Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, December 2012-2016

Rank Airline 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Percent Change
2012-2016 2015-2016
1 AA/US Combined 89,884 90,922 92,477 97,285 99,508 10.7 2.3
American** 59,574 59,458 60,714 97,285 99,508 N/A 2.3
US Airways** 30,310 31,464 31,763 N/A N/A N/A N/A
2 United 82,383 81,368 78,835 78,858 82,132 -0.3 4.2
3 Delta 72,529 73,356 75,737 79,072 79,447 9.5 0.5
4 Alaska 9,269 9,509 10,202 10,921 11,527 24.4 5.5
Total 254,065 255,155 257,251 266,136 272,614 7.3 2.4
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee
** American Airlines and US Airways merged and began reporting combined numbers in July 2015.
 

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 10: Low-Cost Airline Year-to-Year Change in Full-time Equivalent Employees* from the Previous Year, December 2016

Month 2013 2014 2015 2016
January 0.8 0.3 4.6 7.9
February 0.2 0.7 4.6 8.5
March 0.0 0.8 3.9 9.6
April -0.3 1.5 4.2 10.2
May -0.3 1.8 4.3 10.7
June -0.6 2.2 4.9 11.0
July -0.4 2.5 5.2 11.3
August -0.9 3.0 5.8 11.0
September -0.2 2.9 6.6 10.6
October -0.1 3.8 6.9 10.2
November -0.1 5.2 6.5 9.8
December -0.6 4.4 7.8 9.5
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 11: Low-Cost Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2012-2016, December 2016

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Percent Change
2012-2016 2015-2016
January 68,926 69,465 69,693 72,909 78,638 14.1 7.9
February 69,476 69,630 70,135 73,351 79,578 14.5 8.5
March 69,887 69,854 70,384 73,163 80,202 14.8 9.6
April 69,862 69,677 70,751 73,695 81,180 16.2 10.2
May 70,055 69,818 71,095 74,167 82,070 17.2 10.7
June 69,970 69,574 71,074 74,592 82,796 18.3 11.0
July 69,756 69,510 71,272 74,999 83,481 19.7 11.3
August 69,940 69,286 71,387 75,549 83,823 19.8 11.0
September 69,575 69,426 71,428 76,176 84,284 21.1 10.6
October 69,552 69,496 72,110 77,063 84,945 22.1 10.2
November 69,442 69,402 73,014 77,783 85,439 23.0 9.8
December 69,781 69,365 72,399 78,035 85,434 22.4 9.5
12-Month Average 69,685 69,542 71,229 75,124 82,656 18.6 10.0
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee
 

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 12: Low-Cost Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, December 2012-2016

Rank 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Percent Change
2012-2016 2015-2016
1 Southwest 45,861 44,831 46,278 49,583 53,536 16.7 8.0
2 JetBlue 12,460 12,952 13,665 15,219 16,531 32.7 8.6
3 Spirit 3,367 3,543 3,925 4,702 5,597 66.2 19.0
4 Allegiant 1,816 2,065 2,405 2,843 3,412 87.9 20.0
5 Frontier 3,898 3,494 3,625 2,953 3,392 -13.0 14.9
6 Virgin America 2,379 2,480 2,501 2,735 2,966 24.7 8.4
Total 69,781 69,365 72,399 78,035 85,434 22.4 9.5
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 13: Regional Airline Year-to-Year Change in Full-time Equivalent Employees* from the Previous Year, December 2016

Month 2013 2014 2015 2016
January -4.1 -0.4 -1.9 2.0
February -5.0 0.5 -0.3 0.2
March -4.6 0.9 -0.5 0.4
April -4.8 2.3 -0.4 0.1
May -4.7 2.4 -0.3 0.2
June -4.4 1.9 0.1 0.9
July -6.3 3.5 -3.3 3.3
August -5.1 2.5 -2.7 3.3
September -3.0 2.1 -2.7 2.9
October -0.5 -0.2 1.4 0.3
November -0.5 1.5 -0.2 0.2
December -0.5 -0.2 0.9 0.2
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 14: Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2012-2016, December 2016

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Percent Change
2012-2016 2015-2016
January 52,800 50,640 50,425 49,477 50,482 -4.4 2.0
February 52,835 50,191 50,458 50,318 50,416 -4.6 0.2
March 52,584 50,181 50,623 50,361 50,424 -4.1 0.1
April 51,858 49,387 50,526 50,326 50,374 -2.9 0.1
May 51,884 49,424 50,633 50,469 50,554 -2.6 0.2
June 51,666 49,415 50,336 50,373 50,823 -1.6 0.9
July 52,715 49,387 51,107 49,403 51,021 -3.2 3.3
August 52,082 49,434 50,671 49,320 50,957 -2.2 3.3
September 51,085 49,546 50,574 49,231 50,677 -0.8 2.9
October 50,245 49,890 49,789 50,486 50,637 0.8 0.3
November 50,102 49,851 50,605 50,522 50,625 1.0 0.2
December 50,425 50,191 50,083 50,521 50,616 0.4 0.2
12-Month Average 51,690 49,795 50,486 50,067 50,634 -2.0 1.1
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Table 15: Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, December 2012-2016

Rank 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Percent Change
2012-2016 2015-2016
1 Envoy 10,754 11,030 10,841 10,700 10,930 1.6 2.1
2 SkyWest 9,300 9,696 9,642 10,411 10,866 16.8 4.4
3 ExpressJet 8,779 9,054 8,671 7,394 6,278 -28.5 -15.1
4 Republic 2,137 2,647 3,122 3,124 3,960 85.3 26.8
5 Endeavor 4,732 3,920 3,447 3,292 3,768 -20.4 14.5
6 Horizon 2,694 2,731 2,895 3,214 3,295 22.3 2.5
7 Mesa 1,540 1,804 2,204 2,790 3,090 100.6 10.8
8 PSA 1,088 1,120 1,799 2,454 2,772 154.8 13.0
9 Compass 1,199 1,279 1,466 1,653 1,899 58.4 14.9
10 Air Wisconsin 2,525 2,467 1,893 1,834 1,437 -43.1 -21.6
11 GoJet 1,221 1,332 1,342 1,237 1,297 6.2 4.9
12 S5/RP Combined 3,192 3,111 2,761 2,418 1,024 -67.9 -57.7
Shuttle America# 1,876 1,982 2,715 2,418 1,024 N/A -57.7
Chautauqua# 1,316 1,129 46 N/A N/A N/A N/A
13 Executive## 1,264 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total 50,425 50,191 50,083 50,521 50,616 0.4 0.2
Notes:

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
#  Effective the end of December 2014, Shuttle America and Chautauqua Airlines combined operations and Chautauqua ceased operating.
## Effective the end of March 2013, Executive Airlines ceased operations.
N/A: Carriers did not meet the standard for filing, was no longer operating, merged with another operating carrier or failed to file.  See previous notes.    

Source:

Bureau of Transportation Statistics