Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-Time Equivalent Employees,
Month of July, 1990-2013

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 381,070 workers in July 2013, 2.6 percent fewer than in July 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. July was the 11th consecutive month that full-time equivalent (FTE) employment for U.S. scheduled passenger carriers was below that of the same month of the previous year (Tables 1, 2).

BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the July 2013 FTE total for scheduled passenger carriers was 10,216 fewer than in July 2012 (Table 3). Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. Historical employment data can be found on the BTS web site.

The 2.6 percent decline in FTEs in July 2013 from July 2012 may, in part, be due to two factors.  First, American Airlines, the industry’s third largest employer, filed for bankruptcy in November 2011 and reduced FTEs by 8.0 percent year-to-year (Table 9). Second, network carriers have experienced increased fuel costs and have reduced contracts with the regional airlines that operate less fuel-efficient regional jets.  Regional airline employment is down 6.3 percent year-to-year (Table 1).

The five network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 2.8 percent fewer FTEs in July 2013 than in July 2012, the 12th consecutive month with a decline from the same month of the previous year. Delta Air Lines reduced FTEs by 4.1 percent from July 2012, American Airlines by 8.0 percent from July 2012 and United Airlines by 0.1 percent. US Airways reported 2.5 percent more FTEs, while Alaska Airlines increased FTEs by 3.8 percent from July 2012 (Table 9). Network airlines operate a significant portion of flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights to down-line destinations or spoke cities.

Of the six low-cost carriers, three - Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Airlines and JetBlue Airways - reported an increase in FTEs from July 2012 while three - Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America - reported a decline (Table 12). Low-cost airlines operate under a low-cost business model, with infrastructure and aircraft operating costs below the overall industry average.

Among the currently operating 13 regional carriers, eight carriers reported reduced employment levels in July compared to the previous year: Pinnacle Airlines, Air Wisconsin, Chautauqua Airlines, Horizon Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, PSA Airlines and Compass Airlines (Table 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 five network airlines employed 67.3 percent of the total number of FTEs employed by all scheduled passenger airlines in July, the six low-cost carriers employed 18.2 percent and the 13 regional carriers employed 13.0 percent (Table 4). The three airlines with the most FTEs in July – United, Delta and American – employed 56.6 percent of the month’s total passenger airline FTEs (Table 6). These three airlines carried 40.2 percent of total passengers traveling on U.S. airlines in June, the most recent month available.

Top employers by group: United employed the most FTEs (82,499) in July among the network airlines, Southwest employed the most FTEs (45,128) among low-cost airlines, and American Eagle Airlines employed the most FTEs (11,124) among regional airlines. Four of the top five employers in the industry are network airlines (Table 6).

Network Airlines

Recent Trend: The network airlines employed 7,319 fewer FTEs in July 2013 than in July 2012, a 2.8 percent decrease. Three of the five network carriers reported an FTE decrease from July 2012 to July 2013 (Tables 8, 9).

Five-Year Trend: The network airlines employed 3,985 fewer FTEs in July 2013 than in July 2009, a 1.5 percent decrease. American reported the biggest percentage decline in FTE employment from 2009 to 2013, 13.3 percent, followed by US Airways, down 0.1 percent. July 2009 and July 2013 numbers for United and Delta are not directly comparable because of the intervening mergers. United reported 2.7 percent more FTEs in July 2013 than United and Continental reported separately in July 2009. Delta reported 3.9 percent more FTEs in July 2013 than Delta and Northwest reported separately in July 2009 (Tables 8, 9).

Low-Cost Airlines

Recent Trend: The six low-cost airlines’ employed 246 fewer FTEs in July 2013 than in July 2012, a 0.4 percent decrease. Frontier, Southwest and Virgin America reported year-to-year decreases while the remaining three airlines reported increases (Table 12).

Five-Year Trend: The low-cost carriers employed 6,482 more FTEs in July 2013 than in July 2009, a 10.3 percent increase. Spirit reported the largest percentage increase, 75.8 percent, while Frontier reported a 17.1 percent decline. July 2013 numbers for Southwest are not directly comparable to 2009 because of the intervening merger. Southwest reported 4.8 percent more FTEs in July 2013 than Southwest and AirTran reported separately in July 2009 (Table 12). 

Regional Airlines

Recent Trend: Regional airlines reported a 6.3 percent decrease in FTE employment in July 2013 compared to July 2012 with three regional airlines having stopped service since a year ago. Republic Airlines and GoJet Airlines reported the largest percentage increases in FTEs from July 2012 to July 2013. Pinnacle and Air Wisconsin reported the largest percentage decreases (Table 15).

Five-Year Trend: The 13 regional carriers operating in July employed 12.6 percent fewer FTEs in 2013 than the 18 carriers operating in July 2009.  Pinnacle reported the largest percentage decline followed by Mesa.  The ExpressJet/Atlantic Southeast combination reported about the same number of FTE’s in July 2013 as the two airlines reported separately in July 2009.  GoJet reported the biggest four-year percentage gain (Table 15).

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

The “Other Carrier” category generally reflects those airlines that operate within specific niche markets such as Hawaiian Airlines serving the Hawaiian Islands. 

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of Sept. 6.  Additional airline employment data and previous press releases can be found on the BTS website. BTS has scheduled release of August passenger airline employment data for Oct. 24.

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

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

Month	Network Airlines	Low-Cost Airlines	Regional Airlines	All Passenger Airlines**
Jul 2011-Jul 2012	0.8	3.5	-3.3	0.8
Aug 2011-Aug 2012	-0.2	2.5	-2.3	0.1
Sep 2011-Sep 2012	-0.8	2.5	-4.3	-0.6
Oct 2011-Oct 2012	-1.4	1.9	-6.0	-1.3
Nov 2011-Nov 2012	-2.4	1.4	-5.4	-2.0
Dec 2011-Dec 2012	-3.3	1.3	-5.4	-2.6
Jan 2012-Jan 2013	-3.1	1.1	-4.1	-2.3
Feb 2012-Feb 2013	-3.0	0.2	-5.0	-2.5
Mar 2012-Mar 2013	-3.3	-0.1	-4.6	-2.7
Apr 2012-Apr 2013	-3.0	-0.3	-3.8	-2.4
May 2012-May 2013	-3.0	-0.3	-4.4	-2.5
Jun 2012-Jun 2013	-2.8	-0.6	-4.4	-2.4
Jul 2012-Jul 2013	-2.8	-0.4	-6.3	-2.6

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 and Sun Country Airlines.

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	2010	2011	2012	2013
January	-2.9	0.4	2.1	-2.3
February	-3.5	1.0	2.1	-2.5
March	-3.8	1.5	2.1	-2.7
April	-4.1	2.0	1.8	-2.4
May	-2.7	2.1	1.6	-2.5
June	-2.4	1.9	1.4	-2.4
July	-2.3	2.3	0.8	-2.6
August	-1.7	2.8	0.1
September	-0.6	2.9	-0.6
October	-0.4	3.0	-1.3
November	0.0	2.6	-2.0
December	0.2	2.7	-2.6

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

Month	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
						2009-2013	2012-2013
January	390,566	379,388	380,949	388,778	379,816	-2.7	-2.3
February	391,596	378,020	381,831	389,901	380,159	-2.9	-2.5
March	392,077	377,261	382,796	390,761	380,325	-3.0	-2.7
April	392,104	376,204	383,411	390,243	380,748	-2.9	-2.4
May	387,431	376,957	384,974	390,957	381,190	-1.6	-2.5
June	387,665	378,297	385,383	390,923	381,447	-1.6	-2.4
July	386,770	378,060	386,843	391,286	381,070	-1.5	-2.6
August	384,304	377,835	388,523	388,992
September	379,924	377,676	388,641	386,372
October	379,713	378,112	389,444	384,310
November	379,358	379,335	389,361	381,639
December	378,953	379,651	389,728	379,571
12-Month Average	385,872	378,066	385,967	387,811
Jan-Jul Average	389,744	377,741	383,741	390,407	380,679	-2.3	-2.5

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*, July 2009-2013

	Network	Low-Cost	Regional	All Passenger Airlines**
2009	260,459	63,025	56,477	386,770
2010	256,373	63,981	52,229	378,060
2011	261,818	67,373	53,197	386,843
2012	263,793	69,755	51,463	390,032
2013	256,474	69,510	49,387	381,070
Pct. Change 2009-2013	-1.5%	10.3%	-12.6%	-1.5%
Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2013	67.3%	18.2%	13.0%

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*, July 2009-2013

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

	Network	Low-Cost	Regional	All Passenger Airlines**
2009	-7.1	0.9	-6.9	-5.9
2010	-1.6	1.5	-7.5	-2.3
2011	2.1	5.3	1.9	2.3
2012	0.8	3.5	-3.3	0.8
2013	-2.8	-0.4	-6.3	-2.6

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.

Table 6: Top 10 Airlines, July 2013

Ranked by Number of Full-Time Equivalent Employees*

Rank	Airline	Total FTE Employees	Carrier Group**	Top 10 Airlines July 2012
1	United	82,499	Network	United
2	Delta	74,212	Network	Delta
3	American	59,056	Network	American
4	Southwest	45,128	Low-Cost	Southwest
5	US Airways	31,140	Network	US Airways
6	JetBlue	12,998	Low-Cost	JetBlue
7	American Eagle	11,124	Regional	American Eagle
8	Alaska	9,567	Network	SkyWest
9	SkyWest	9,410	Regional	ExpressJet
10	ExpressJet	9,020	Regional	Alaska

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* 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.

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

	2010	2011	2012	2013
January	-2.3	0.3	1.5	-3.1
February	-3.0	1.1	1.2	-3.0
March	-3.1	1.5	1.2	-3.3
April	-3.6	1.8	1.3	-3.0
May	-1.9	2.1	1.3	-3.0
June	-1.6	1.6	1.4	-2.8
July	-1.6	2.1	0.8	-2.8
August	-0.9	2.7	-0.2
September	0.3	2.7	-0.8
October	-1.2	2.7	-1.4
November	-0.7	2.6	-2.4
December	-0.5	2.3	-3.3

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 2009-2013

Month	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
						2009-2013	2012-2013
January	263,934	257,787	258,653	262,561	254,377	-3.6	-3.1
February	264,561	256,756	259,545	262,788	254,955	-3.6	-3.0
March	264,811	256,504	260,454	263,464	254,870	-3.8	-3.3
April	265,199	255,697	260,347	263,666	255,673	-3.6	-3.0
May	260,485	255,518	260,832	264,183	256,272	-1.6	-3.0
June	260,808	256,576	260,689	264,301	256,791	-1.5	-2.8
July	260,459	256,373	261,818	263,793	256,474	-1.5	-2.8
August	258,569	256,122	263,063	262,426
September	254,866	255,751	262,639	260,649
October	259,031	255,890	262,912	259,245
November	258,132	256,432	263,129	256,836
December	258,148	256,834	262,617	254,064
12-Month Average	260,750	256,353	261,385	261,498
Jan-Jul Average	262,894	256,459	260,334	263,537	255,630	-2.8	-3.0

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*, July 2009-2013

(FTEs for July of each year. Ranked by July 2013 FTEs)

Rank	Airline	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
							2009-2013	2012-2013
1	UA/CO Combined	80,326	76,538	76,780	82,617	82,499	2.7	-0.1
	United**	45,333	43,653	43,227	82,617	82,499	N/A	N/A
	Continental**	34,993	32,885	33,553	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	DL/NW Combined	71,406	75,463	79,267	77,365	74,212	3.9	-4.1
	Delta***	45,946	75,463	79,267	77,365	74,212	N/A	N/A
	Northwest***	25,460	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
3	American	68,090	65,765	66,561	64,224	59,056	-13.3	-8.0
4	US Airways	31,168	29,449	30,191	30,374	31,140	-0.1	2.5
5	Alaska	9,469	9,160	9,020	9,213	9,567	1.0	3.8
	Total	260,459	256,373	261,818	263,793	256,474	-1.5	-2.8

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.

*** Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines merged and began reporting combined numbers in January 2010.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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	2010	2011	2012	2013
January	1.4	2.2	5.7	1.1
February	1.4	2.3	6.4	0.2
March	1.2	2.3	7.1	-0.1
April	0.5	4.0	5.7	-0.3
May	0.6	4.1	5.3	-0.3
June	0.9	5.0	4.0	-0.6
July	1.5	5.3	3.5	-0.4
August	2.0	5.7	2.5
September	2.7	5.9	2.5
October	3.0	6.2	1.9
November	3.2	5.9	1.4
December	3.3	6.6	1.3

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

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
						2009-2013	2012-2013
January	62,699	63,600	64,978	68,684	69,464	10.8	1.1
February	62,958	63,845	65,321	69,473	69,595	10.5	0.2
March	63,027	63,783	65,273	69,886	69,853	10.8	-0.1
April	63,275	63,571	66,114	69,861	69,675	10.1	-0.3
May	63,532	63,933	66,553	70,053	69,817	9.9	-0.3
June	63,501	64,046	67,261	69,969	69,574	9.6	-0.6
July	63,025	63,981	67,373	69,756	69,510	10.3	-0.4
August	62,775	64,022	67,682	69,379
September	62,400	64,113	67,875	69,573
October	62,406	64,297	68,267	69,551
November	62,635	64,657	68,450	69,441
December	62,615	64,652	68,887	69,780
12-Month Average	62,904	64,042	67,003	69,617
Jan-Jul Average	63,145	63,823	66,125	69,669	69,641	10.3	0.0

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*, July 2009-2013

(FTEs for July of each year. Ranked by July 2013 FTEs)

Rank		2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
							2009-2013	2012-2013
1	WN/FL Combined	43,053	42,678	44,678	45,953	45,128	4.8	-1.8
	Southwest**	34,931	34,657	36,468	45,953	45,128	N/A	N/A
	AirTran	8,122	8,021	8,210	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	JetBlue	10,780	11,223	11,936	12,666	12,998	20.6	2.6
3	Frontier	4,359	4,825	4,938	4,126	3,612	-17.1	-12.5
4	Spirit	1,898	2,053	2,333	2,814	3,337	75.8	18.6
5	Virgin America	1,445	1,573	1,950	2,451	2,410	66.8	-1.7
6	Allegiant	1,493	1,630	1,540	1,746	2,025	35.6	16.0
	Total	63,028	63,982	67,375	69,756	69,510	10.3	-0.4

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 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	2010	2011	2012	2013
January	-8.5	0.4	0.1	-4.1
February	-9.8	0.9	0.8	-5.0
March	-10.1	1.8	0.2	-4.6
April	-9.3	2.1	-1.5	-3.8
May	-8.0	1.6	-2.2	-4.4
June	-7.7	1.5	-2.5	-4.4
July	-7.5	1.9	-3.3	-6.3
August	-7.2	2.1	-2.3
September	-6.6	2.0	-4.3
October	0.5	2.1	-6.0
November	-1.0	0.6	-5.4
December	-0.3	1.5	-5.4

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

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
						2009-2013	2012-2013
January	57,436	52,531	52,764	52,796	50,637	-11.8	-4.1
February	57,581	51,952	52,409	52,831	50,188	-12.8	-5.0
March	57,310	51,522	52,468	52,581	50,180	-12.4	-4.6
April	56,778	51,502	52,596	51,811	49,861	-12.2	-3.8
May	56,626	52,074	52,930	51,746	49,478	-12.6	-4.4
June	56,563	52,210	52,984	51,664	49,415	-12.6	-4.4
July	56,477	52,229	53,197	52,715	49,387	-12.6	-6.3
August	56,236	52,179	53,284	52,079
September	56,009	52,322	53,361	51,082
October	52,143	52,402	53,490	50,305
November	53,176	52,656	52,954	50,100
December	52,730	52,549	53,328	50,423
12-Month Average	55,755	52,177	52,980	51,678
Jan-Jul Average	56,967	52,003	52,764	52,306	49,878	-12.4	-4.6

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*, July 2009-2013

(FTEs for July of each year. Ranked by July 2013 FTEs)

Rank		2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
							2009-2013	2012-2013
1	American Eagle	9,022	9,286	9,868	9,888	11,124	23.3	12.5
2	SkyWest	8,589	8,904	9,435	9,411	9,410	9.6	0.0
3	XE/EV Combined	9,018	9,085	9,103	9,380	9,020	0.0	-3.8
	ExpressJet**	5,321	5,456	5,294	9,380	9,020	N/A	N/A
	Atlantic Southeast**	3,697	3,629	3,809	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
4	9E/XJ Combined	7,263	5,500	5,734	4,803	4,094	-43.6	-14.8
	Pinnacle***	3,306	3,301	3,627	4,803	4,094	N/A	N/A
	Mesaba***	3,957	2,199	2,107	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
5	Horizon	3,230	2,987	2,828	2,781	2,660	-17.6	-4.4
6	Air Wisconsin	2,570	2,517	2,546	2,627	2,472	-3.8	-5.9
7	Republic****	1,557	2,093	2,135	1,942	2,413	55.0	24.3
8	Shuttle America	1,405	1,337	1,516	1,901	2,065	47.0	8.6
9	Mesa	2,690	2,008	1,937	1,681	1,718	-36.1	2.2
10	Chautauqua#	N/A	N/A	N/A	1,251	1,183	N/A	-5.4
11	Compass	845	984	996	1,108	1,090	29.0	-1.6
12	GoJet	509	565	561	950	1,076	111.4	13.3
13	PSA	984	1,012	1,012	1,084	1,062	7.9	-2.0
14	Executive##	1,754	1,805	1,823	1,385	N/A	N/A	N/A
15	Colgan###	1,282	1,369	1,579	984	N/A	N/A	N/A
16	Comair####	5,352	2,551	2,128	1,539	N/A	N/A	N/A
17	Lynx#####	411	229	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Total	56,477	52,229	53,201	52,715	49,387	-12.6	-6.3

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

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

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

*** Pinnacle Airlines and Mesaba Airlines began reporting combined numbers in January 2012.

**** Effective with November 2009 reporting, Republic Airlines' employment numbers include FTE's from Midwest Airlines. Midwest employment data were formerly included in the "Other Airlines" category.

# Effective July 2012 Chautauqua Airlines began reporting employment data.

## 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.