U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 388,983 workers in February 2015, 1.8 percent more than in February 2014, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. February was the 15th consecutive month that full-time equivalent (FTE) employment for U.S. scheduled passenger airlines exceeded the same month of the previous year and was the highest monthly total since August 2012 (Tables 1, 2, 3).

Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-Time Equivalent Employees,
Month of February, 1990-2015

Month-to-month, the number of FTEs rose 0.6 percent from January to February, following a one-month decline (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 five network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 1.4 percent more FTEs in February 2015 than in February 2014 (Table 7). Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and US Airways increased FTEs from February 2014 while United Airlines reduced FTEs (Table 9). Month-to-month, the number of network airline FTEs rose 0.5 percent from January to February, rising for the fifth consecutive month (Table 1A). 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 4.6 percent more FTEs in February 2015 than in February 2014 (Table 10). Allegiant Airlines, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Virgin America and Frontier Airlines – all reported increases (Table 12). Month-to-month, the number of low-cost airline FTEs rose 0.6 percent from January to February, rising for the second consecutive month (Table 1A). 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 0.3 percent fewer FTEs in February 2015 than in February 2014 (Table 13). Six regional airlines – PSA Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airlines, Compass Airlines, Horizon Air and GoJet Airlines– reported increased employment levels. The others reported decreases (Table 15). Month-to-month, the number of regional airline FTEs rose 1.7 percent from January to February, following two consecutive monthly declines (Table 1A). Regional carriers typically provide service from small cities, using primarily regional jets to support the network carriers’ hub and spoke systems.

Carrier Groups: The five network airlines employed 66.5 percent of the total number of FTEs employed by all scheduled passenger airlines in February, the six low-cost carriers employed 18.9 percent and the 12 regional carriers employed 12.9 percent (Table 4). The three airlines with the most FTEs in February – United, Delta and American – employed 55.6 percent of the month’s total passenger airline FTEs (Tables 3, 6).

Top Employers by Group: United employed the most FTEs (78,380) in February among the network airlines, Southwest employed the most FTEs (46,784) among low-cost airlines, and Envoy Air employed the most FTEs (10,936) among regional airlines. Four of the top five employers in the industry are network airlines (Table 6).    

Airline Mergers: Airlines that announce mergers typically begin joint reporting following U.S. Department of Transportation approval and issuance of a single economic certificate. American and US Airways, following their January 2013 merger announcement, will report separately until the Department approves single carrier reporting and a single economic certificate is issued.

Network Airlines
The network airlines employed 1.4 percent more FTEs in February 2015 than in February 2014 and 0.4 percent fewer FTEs in February 2015 than in February 2011 (Tables 8, 9).

Low-Cost Airlines
The six low-cost airlines employed 4.6 percent more FTEs in February 2015 than in February 2014 and 12.3 percent more FTEs in February 2015 than in February 2011 (Tables 11, 12).

Regional Airlines
Regional airlines employed 0.3 percent fewer FTEs in February 2015 than in February 2014.  The 12 regional carriers operating in February 2015 employed 4.0 percent fewer FTEs in February 2015 than the 18 carriers reporting in February 2011 (Tables 14, 15).

Envoy operated as American Eagle prior to April 2014. Endeavor operated as Pinnacle prior to August 2013.

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 April 13. Additional airline employment data and previous press releases can be found on the BTS website. BTS has scheduled release of March passenger airline employment data for May 21.

Table 1: Yearly Change in Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Airline Group

Most recent 13 months - percent change compared to same month the previous year

	Network Airlines	Low-Cost Airlines	Regional Airlines	All Passenger Airlines**
Feb 2013-Feb 2014	0.1	0.7	0.5	0.4
Mar 2013-Mar 2014	0.6	0.8	0.9	0.8
Apr 2013-Apr 2014	0.4	1.5	2.3	1.0
May 2013-May 2014	0.5	1.8	2.4	1.1
Jun 2013-Jun 2014	0.3	2.2	1.9	0.9
Jul 2013-Jul 2014	0.4	2.5	3.5	1.3
Aug 2013-Aug 2014	0.1	3.0	2.5	1.0
Sep 2013-Sep 2014	0.4	2.9	1.9	1.1
Oct 2013-Oct 2014	0.3	3.8	-0.2	0.9
Nov 2013-Nov 2014	0.4	5.2	1.5	1.5
Dec 2013-Dec 2014	0.8	4.4	-0.2	1.4
Jan 2014-Jan 2015	0.8	4.6	-1.9	1.2
Feb 2014-Feb 2015	1.4	4.6	-0.3	1.8

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* 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.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: See Table 2 for all passenger airlines, Table 7 for Network, Table 10 for Low-Cost and Table 13 for Regional.

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

Percent change in FTEs from the previous month

	Network Airlines	Low-Cost Airlines	Regional Airlines	All Passenger Airlines**
Feb 2014-Mar 2014	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.4
Mar 2014-Apr 2014	0.2	0.5	-0.2	0.2
Apr 2014-May 2014	0.3	0.5	0.2	0.4
May 2014-Jun 2014	0.0	0.0	-0.6	-0.1
Jun 2014-Jul 2014	0.0	0.3	1.5	0.3
Jul 2014-Aug 2014	-0.6	0.2	-0.9	-0.5
Aug 2014-Sep 2014	0.0	0.1	-0.3	0.0
Sep 2014-Oct 2014	0.1	1.0	-1.4	0.1
Oct 2014- Nov 2014	0.2	1.3	1.6	0.6
Nov 2014-Dec 2014	0.2	-0.8	-1.0	-0.2
Dec 2014-Jan 2015	0.1	0.7	-1.2	0.1
Jan 2015-Feb 2015	0.5	0.6	1.7	0.6

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* 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.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: See Table 2 for all passenger airlines, Table 7 for Network, Table 10 for Low-Cost and Table 13 for Regional.

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

Percent change compared to same month the previous year

Month	2012	2013	2014	2015
January	2.1	-2.3	0.5	1.2
February	2.1	-2.5	0.4	1.8
March	2.1	-2.7	0.8
April	1.8	-2.4	1.0
May	1.6	-2.5	1.1
June	1.4	-2.4	0.9
July	0.8	-2.6	1.3
August	0.1	-2.2	1.0
September	-0.6	-1.6	1.1
October	-1.3	-0.8	0.9
November	-2.0	-0.1	1.5
December	-2.6	0.3	1.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 3: Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2011-2015

Month	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Percent Change
						2011-2015	2014-2015
January	380,949	388,778	380,042	381,819	386,559	1.5	1.2
February	381,841	389,901	380,375	381,985	388,983	1.9	1.8
March	382,796	390,761	380,536	383,575
April	383,411	390,243	380,957	384,265
May	384,974	390,957	381,423	385,619
June	385,383	390,923	381,672	385,243
July	386,843	391,286	381,299	386,243
August	388,523	389,000	380,564	384,478
September	388,641	386,372	380,165	384,439
October	389,444	384,310	381,178	384,700
November	389,361	381,639	381,224	386,912
December	389,728	379,576	380,809	386,222
12-Month Average	385,991	387,812	380,854	384,625
Jan-Feb Average	381,395	389,340	380,209	381,902	387,771	1.7	1.5

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 4: Airline Group Full-time Equivalent Employees*, February 2011-2015

	Network	Low-Cost	Regional	All Passenger Airlines**
2011	259,816	65,323	52,413	381,841
2012	262,788	69,473	52,831	389,901
2013	254,955	69,630	50,191	380,414
2014	255,158	70,135	50,458	381,985
2015	258,796	73,351	50,325	388,983
Pct. Change 2011-2015	-0.4%	12.3%	-4.0%	1.9%
Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2015	66.5%	18.9%	12.9%	100%

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

Table 5: Year-to-Year Change in Airline Group Full-time Equivalent Employees*, February 2011-2015

Percent change in FTEs from the same month of the previous year

	Network	Low-Cost	Regional	All Passenger Airlines**
2011	1.2	2.3	0.9	1.0
2012	1.1	6.4	0.7	2.1
2013	-3.0	0.2	-5.0	-2.4
2014	0.1	0.7	0.5	0.4
2015	1.4	4.6	-0.3	1.8

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

** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

Table 6: Top 10 Airlines, February 2015

Ranked by Number of Full-Time Equivalent Employees*

Rank	Airline	Total FTE Employees	Carrier Group**	Top 10 Airlines February 2014
1	United	78,380	Network	United
2	Delta	76,440	Network	Delta
3	American	61,410	Network	American
4	Southwest	46,784	Low-Cost	Southwest
5	US Airways	32,226	Network	US Airways
6	JetBlue	13,901	Low-Cost	JetBlue
7	Envoy**	10,936	Regional	American Eagle
8	Alaska	10,340	Network	SkyWest
9	SkyWest	9,747	Regional	Alaska
10	ExpressJet	8,846	Regional	ExpressJet

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** Envoy operated as American Eagle prior to April 2014

*** See Table 9 for Network, Table 12 for Low-Cost and Table 15 for Regional.

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

Percent change compared to same month of the previous year

	2012	2013	2014	2015
January	1.5	-3.1	0.4	0.8
February	1.2	-3.0	0.1	1.4
March	1.2	-3.3	0.6
April	1.3	-3.0	0.4
May	1.3	-3.0	0.5
June	1.4	-2.8	0.3
July	0.8	-2.8	0.4
August	-0.2	-2.5	0.1
September	-0.8	-2.1	0.4
October	-1.4	-1.4	0.3
November	-2.4	-0.4	0.4
December	-3.3	0.4	0.8

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

Table 8: Network Airlines Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2011-2015

Month	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Percent Change
						2011-2015	2014-2015
January	258,889	262,561	254,377	255,518	257,627	-0.5	0.8
February	259,816	262,788	254,955	255,158	258,796	-0.4	1.4
March	260,454	263,464	254,870	256,342
April	260,347	263,666	255,673	256,732
May	260,832	264,183	256,272	257,578
June	260,689	264,301	256,791	257,491
July	261,818	263,793	256,474	257,541
August	263,063	262,428	255,800	256,095
September	262,639	260,649	255,194	256,133
October	262,912	259,245	255,741	256,409
November	263,129	256,836	255,914	256,823
December	262,617	254,065	255,155	257,251
12-Month Average	261,434	261,498	255,601	256,589
Jan-Feb Average	259,353	262,675	254,666	255,338	258,212	-0.4	1.1

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 9: Network Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, February 2011-2015

(FTEs for February of each year. Ranked by February 2015 FTEs)

Rank	Airline	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Percent Change
							2011-2015	2014-2015
1	UA/CO Combined	80,591	81,693	82,214	80,694	78,380	-2.7	-2.9
	United**	43,602	81,693	82,214	80,694	78,380	N/A	-2.9
	Continental**	36,989	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	Delta	74,568	76,282	73,465	73,602	76,440	2.5	3.9
3	American	66,034	65,413	59,461	59,699	61,410	-7.0	2.9
4	US Airways	29,722	30,393	30,507	31,604	32,226	8.4	2.0
5	Alaska	8,901	9,007	9,308	9,559	10,340	16.2	8.2
	Total	259,816	262,788	254,955	255,158	258,796	-0.4	1.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** United Airlines and Continental Airlines merged and began reporting combined numbers in January 2012.

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

Percent change compared to same month of the previous year

Month	2012	2013	2014	2015
January	5.7	1.1	0.3	4.6
February	6.4	0.2	0.7	4.6
March	7.1	-0.1	0.8
April	5.7	-0.3	1.5
May	5.3	-0.3	1.8
June	4.0	-0.6	2.2
July	3.5	-0.4	2.5
August	2.5	0.0	3.0
September	2.5	-0.2	2.9
October	1.9	-0.1	3.8
November	1.4	-0.1	5.2
December	1.3	-0.6	4.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 11: Low-Cost Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2011-2015

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Percent Change
						2011-2015	2014-2015
January	64,978	68,684	69,464	69,693	72,909	12.2	4.6
February	65,323	69,473	69,595	70,135	73,351	12.3	4.6
March	65,273	69,886	69,853	70,384
April	66,114	69,861	69,675	70,751
May	66,553	70,053	69,817	71,095
June	67,261	69,969	69,574	71,074
July	67,373	69,756	69,510	71,272
August	67,682	69,380	69,364	71,387
September	67,875	69,573	69,426	71,428
October	68,269	69,551	69,496	72,110
November	68,450	69,441	69,402	73,014
December	68,887	69,781	69,365	72,399
12-Month Average	67,003	69,617	69,545	71,229
Jan-Feb Average	65,151	69,079	69,530	69,914	73,130	12.2	4.6

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Note: Percent changes and averages based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Table 12: Low-Cost Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, February 2011-2015

(FTEs for February of each year. Ranked by February 2015 FTEs)

Rank		2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Percent Change
							2011-2015	2014-2015
1	WN/FL Combined	43,271	45,926	45,857	45,091	46,784	8.1	3.8
	Southwest**	35,357	38,468	45,857	45,091	46,784	N/A	3.8
	AirTran	7,914	7,458	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	JetBlue	11,458	12,459	12,678	13,301	13,901	21.3	4.5
3	Spirit	2,243	4,508	3,850	3,565	4,079	81.9	14.4
4	Frontier	4,904	2,630	3,026	3,534	3,575	-27.1	1.2
5	Virgin America	1,828	2,305	2,352	2,510	2,552	39.6	1.7
6	Allegiant	1,619	1,648	1,867	2,134	2,460	51.9	15.3
	Total	65,323	69,476	69,630	70,135	73,351	12.3	4.6

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways merged and began reporting combined employment numbers in April 2012.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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

Percent change compared to same month of the previous year

Month	2012	2013	2014	2015
January	0.1	-4.1	-0.4	-1.9
February	0.8	-5.0	0.5	-0.3
March	0.2	-4.6	0.9
April	-1.5	-3.8	2.3
May	-2.2	-4.5	2.4
June	-2.5	-4.4	1.9
July	-3.3	-6.3	3.5
August	-2.3	-5.1	2.5
September	-4.3	-3.0	1.9
October	-6.0	-0.8	-0.2
November	-5.4	-0.5	1.5
December	-5.4	-0.5	-0.2

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 14: Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2011-2015

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Percent Change
						2011-2015	2014-2015
January	52,764	52,796	50,640	50,425	49,484	-6.2	-1.9
February	52,413	52,831	50,188	50,458	50,325	-4.0	-0.3
March	52,468	52,581	50,180	50,623
April	52,596	51,811	49,861	50,526
May	52,930	51,746	49,478	50,633
June	52,984	51,664	49,415	50,336
July	53,197	52,715	49,387	51,107
August	53,284	52,082	49,434	50,671
September	53,361	51,082	49,546	50,512
October	53,490	50,305	49,890	49,789
November	52,954	50,100	49,851	50,605
December	53,328	50,426	50,191	50,083
12-Month Average	52,949	51,792	49,806	50,517
Jan-Feb Average	52,589	52,814	50,414	50,442	49,905	-5.1	-1.1

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 15: Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, February 2011-2015

(FTEs for February of each year. Ranked by February 2015 FTEs)

Rank		2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Percent Change
							2011-2015	2014-2015
1	Envoy**	9,548	9,948	11,355	10,955	10,936	14.5	-0.2
2	SkyWest	9,128	9,387	9,382	9,831	9,747	6.8	-0.9
3	XE/EV Combined	8,947	9,442	8,801	9,201	8,846	-1.1	-3.9
	ExpressJet***	5,215	9,442	8,801	9,201	8,846	69.6	-3.9
	Atlantic Southeast***	3,732	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
4	9E/XJ Combined	5,624	5,088	4,485	3,892	3,306	-41.2	-15.1
	Endeavor****	3,448	5,088	4,485	3,892	3,306	-4.1	-15.1
	Mesaba****	2,176	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
5	Republic	2,146	1,977	2,226	2,752	3,150	46.8	14.5
6	Horizon	2,885	2,824	2,687	2,798	2,874	-0.4	2.7
9	Air Wisconsin	2,585	2,600	2,538	2,544	1,917	-25.8	-24.6
8	Mesa	1,990	1,808	1,541	1,841	2,313	16.2	25.6
7	S5/RP Combined	1,306	1,811	3,231	3,101	2,791	N/A	-10.0
	Shuttle America#	1,306	1,811	2,013	1,970	2,784	N/A	N/A
	Chautauqua#	N/A	N/A	1,218	1,131	7	N/A	N/A
10	PSA	989	989	1,080	1,227	1,956	97.8	59.4
11	Compass	892	1,076	1,082	1,203	1,361	52.6	13.1
12	GoJet	569	769	1,039	1,113	1,128	98.2	1.3
14	Executive##	1,884	1,622	744	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
15	Colgan###	1,514	1,722	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
16	Comair####	2,312	1,705	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
17	Lynx#####	94	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Total	52,413	52,768	50,191	50,458	50,325	-4.0	-0.3

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

** Envoy Air operated as American Eagle prior to April 2014.

*** ExpressJet Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines began reporting combined numbers in January 2012.

**** Endeavor Airlines operated as Pinnacle prior to August 2013. Pinnacle Airlines and Mesaba Airlines began reporting combined numbers in January 2012.

# Effective July 2012 Chautauqua Airlines began reporting employment data. Chautauqua did not qualify for monthly reporting prior to July 2012 because it did not operate aircraft with more than 60 seats. Effective the end of December 2014, Shuttle America and Chautauqua combined operations and Chautauqua ceased operating.

## Effective the end of March 2013, Executive Airlines ceased operations.

### Effective the end of September 2012, Colgan Airlines ceased operations.

#### Effective the end of October 2012, Comair ceased operations.

##### Effective the end of March 2011, Lynx 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.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.