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

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 380,325 workers in March 2013, 2.7 percent fewer than in March 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. March was the seventh 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, (December 2010 through August 2012) (Tables 1, 2).

BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the March 2013 FTE total for scheduled passenger carriers was 10,436 fewer than in March 2012 and down 3.0 percent from the recent March high of 392,077 in March 2009 (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 five network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 3.3 percent fewer FTEs in March 2013 than in March 2012, the eighth consecutive decline from the same month of the previous year. Delta Air Lines reduced FTEs by 4.1 percent from March 2012. American Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, reduced FTEs by 9.9 percent over the same period. United Airlines reported 0.9 percent more FTEs than in March 2012. US Airways reported 1.3 percent more FTEs while Alaska Airlines increased FTEs by 3.9 percent from March 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.

Four of the six low-cost carriers – Allegiant Airlines, Virgin America Airlines, Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways – reported an increase in FTEs. Southwest Airlines, following its merger with AirTran Airways, reported 45,791 FTEs in March 2013, 0.7 percent less than the two airlines reported separately in March 2012. Frontier Airlines also reported fewer FTEs (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 14 regional carriers, six carriers reported reduced employment levels in March compared to last year: ExpressJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Horizon Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, Air Wisconsin and Executive 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 67.0 percent of the total number of FTEs employed by all scheduled passenger airlines in March, the six low-cost carriers employed 18.4 percent and the 14 regional carriers employed 13.2 percent (Table 4). The three airlines with the most FTEs in March – United, Delta and American – employed 56.6 percent of the month’s total passenger airline FTEs (Table 6). These three airlines carried 39.6 percent of total passengers traveling on U.S. airlines in February, the most recent month available.

Top employers by group: United employed the most FTEs (82,835) in March among the network airlines, Southwest employed the most FTEs (45,791) among low-cost airlines, and American Eagle Airlines employed the most FTEs (11,244) 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 8,594 fewer FTEs in March 2013 than in March 2012, a 3.3 percent decrease. Three of the five network carriers reported an FTE increase from March 2012 to March 2013 (Tables 8, 9).

Five-Year Trend: The network airlines employed 9,941 fewer FTEs in March 2013 than in March 2009, a 3.8 percent decrease. American reported the biggest percentage decline in FTE employment from 2009 to 2013, 15.6 percent, followed by US Airways, down 1.6 percent. March 2009 and March 2013 numbers for United and Delta are not directly comparable because of the intervening mergers. United reported 2.2 percent more FTEs in March 2013 than United and Continental reported separately in March 2009; Delta reported 0.3 percent more FTEs in March 2013 than Delta and Northwest reported separately in March 2009 (Tables 8, 9).

Low-Cost Airlines

Recent Trend: The six low-cost airlines’ reported 0.1 percent fewer FTEs in March 2013 than in March 2012. All low-cost airlines except Frontier and Southwest reported year-to-year increases (Table 12).

Five-Year Trend: The six low-cost carriers reporting employment data in both 2009 and 2013 employed 10.8 percent more FTEs in March 2013 than in March 2009.  Virgin America reported the largest percentage increase (70.9 percent), while Frontier reported a 13.2 percent decline. March 2013 numbers for Southwest are not directly comparable to 2009 because of the intervening merger. Southwest reported 5.6 percent more FTEs in March 2013 than Southwest and AirTran reported separately in March 2009 (Table 12).

Regional Airlines

Recent Trend: Regional airlines reported a 4.6 percent decrease in FTE employment in March 2013 compared to March 2012. GoJet Airlines and Republic Airlines reported the largest percentage increases in FTEs from March 2012 to March 2013 among airlines not involved in mergers. Executive and Pinnacle reported the largest percentage decreases (Table 15).

Five-Year Trend: The 14 regional carriers reporting employment data in both March 2009 and March 2013 employed 12.4 percent fewer FTEs in 2013 than in 2009. For airlines not involved in mergers, Executive reported the largest percentage decline followed by Mesa. The ExpressJet/Atlantic Southeast combination reported 6.5 percent fewer FTE’s in March 2013 than the two airlines reported separately in March 2009.  The Pinnacle/Mesaba combination reported 39.5 percent fewer FTE’s in March 2013 than the two airlines reported separately in March 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 May 16. Additional airline employment data and previous press releases can be found on the BTS website. BTS has scheduled release of April passenger airline employment data for June 25.

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**
Mar 2011-Mar 2012	1.2	7.1	0.2	2.1
Apr 2011-Apr 2012	1.3	5.7	-1.5	1.8
May 2011-May 2012	1.3	5.3	-2.2	1.6
Jun 2011-Jun 2012	1.4	4.0	-2.5	1.4
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

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
May	-2.7	2.1	1.6
June	-2.4	1.9	1.4
July	-2.3	2.3	0.8
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
May	387,431	376,957	384,974	390,957
June	387,665	378,297	385,383	390,923
July	386,770	378,060	386,843	390,032
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	387,707
Jan-Mar Average	391,413	378,223	381,859	389,813	380,100	-2.9	-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*, March 2009-2013

	Network	Low-Cost	Regional	All Passenger Airlines**
2009	264,811	63,027	57,310	392,077
2010	256,504	63,783	51,522	377,261
2011	260,454	65,273	52,468	382,796
2012	263,464	69,886	52,581	390,761
2013	254,870	69,853	50,180	380,325
Pct. Change 2009-2013	-3.8%	10.8%	-12.4%	-3.0%
Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2013	67.0%	18.4%	13.2%

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*, March 2009-2013

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

	Network	Low-Cost	Regional	All Passenger Airlines**
2009	-6.7	0.1	-4.9	-5.6
2010	-3.1	1.2	-10.1	-3.8
2011	1.5	2.3	1.8	1.5
2012	1.2	7.1	0.2	2.1
2013	-3.3	-0.1	-4.6	-2.7

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, March 2013

Ranked by Number of Full-Time Equivalent Employees*

Rank	Airline	Total FTE Employees	Carrier Group**	Top 10 Airlines March 2012
1	United	82,835	Network	United
2	Delta	73,395	Network	Delta
3	American	59,006	Network	American
4	Southwest	45,791	Low-Cost	Southwest
5	US Airways	30,706	Network	US Airways
6	JetBlue	12,775	Low-Cost	JetBlue
7	American Eagle	11,244	Regional	American Eagle
8	SkyWest	9,414	Regional	ExpressJet
9	Alaska	9,379	Network	SkyWest
10	ExpressJet	8,848	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
May	-1.9	2.1	1.3
June	-1.6	1.6	1.4
July	-1.6	2.1	0.8
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
May	260,485	255,518	260,832	264,183
June	260,808	256,576	260,689	264,301
July	260,459	256,373	261,818	263,793
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-Mar Average	264,435	257,016	259,551	262,938	254,734	-3.7	-3.1

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*, March 2009-2013

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

Rank	Airline	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
							2009-2013	2012-2013
1	UA/CO Combined	81,018	76,957	77,069	82,127	82,385	2.2	0.9
	United**	45,745	43,738	43,584	82,127	82,385	N/A	0.9
	Continental**	35,273	33,219	33,485	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	DL/NW Combined	73,210	74,728	78,506	76,524	73,395	0.3	-4.1
	Delta***	45,438	74,728	78,506	76,524	73,395	N/A	-4.1
	Northwest***	27,772	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
3	American	69,931	66,167	66,201	65,470	59,006	-15.6	-9.9
4	US Airways	31,209	29,456	29,790	30,313	30,706	-1.6	1.3
5	Alaska	9,444	9,198	8,889	9,031	9,379	-0.7	3.9
	Total	264,812	256,506	260,455	263,464	254,870	-3.8	-3.3

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
May	0.6	4.1	5.3
June	0.9	5.0	4.0
July	1.5	5.3	3.5
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
May	63,532	63,933	66,553	70,053
June	63,501	64,046	67,261	69,969
July	63,025	63,981	67,373	69,755
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-Mar Average	62,895	63,743	65,191	69,348	69,637	10.7	0.4

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*, March 2009-2013

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

Rank		2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
							2009-2013	2012-2013
1	WN/FL Combined	43,362	42,439	43,230	46,116	45,791	5.6	-0.7
	Southwest**	35,512	34,637	35,259	38,833	45,791	N/A	N/A
	AirTran	7,850	7,802	7,971	7,283	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	JetBlue	10,525	11,234	11,571	12,521	12,775	21.4	2.0
3	Frontier	4,386	4,966	4,902	4,426	3,808	-13.2	-14.0
4	Spirit	1,906	2,024	2,139	2,770	3,215	68.7	16.1
5	Virgin America	1,396	1,525	1,823	2,359	2,386	70.9	1.1
6	Allegiant	1,454	1,597	1,609	1,695	1,879	29.2	10.9
	Total	63,027	63,783	65,273	69,886	69,853	10.8	-0.1

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
May	-8.0	1.6	-2.2
June	-7.7	1.5	-2.5
July	-7.5	1.9	-3.3
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
May	56,626	52,074	52,930	51,746
June	56,563	52,210	52,984	51,664
July	56,477	52,229	53,197	51,463
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	51,573
Jan-Mar Average	57,442	52,002	52,547	52,736	50,335	-12.4	-4.5

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*, March 2009-2013

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

Rank		2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change
							2009-2013	2012-2013
1	American Eagle	9,196	9,045	9,663	9,906	11,244	22.2	13.5
2	SkyWest	8,935	8,989	9,139	9,372	9,414	5.4	0.4
3	XE/EV Combined	9,461	8,981	8,885	9,430	8,848	-6.5	-6.2
	ExpressJet**	5,299	5,435	5,187	9,430	8,848	N/A	-6.2
	Atlantic Southeast**	4,162	3,546	3,698	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
4	9E/XJ Combined	7,323	5,494	5,634	5,061	4,432	-39.5	-12.4
	Pinnacle***	3,460	3,289	3,479	5,061	4,432	N/A	-12.4
	Mesaba***	3,863	2,205	2,155	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
5	Horizon	3,356	3,028	2,875	2,792	2,650	-21.0	-5.1
6	Air Wisconsin	2,581	2,518	2,575	2,608	2,543	-1.5	-2.5
7	Republic****	1,477	1,974	2,195	1,984	2,273	53.9	14.6
8	Shuttle America	1,313	1,289	1,341	1,794	2,040	55.4	13.7
9	Mesa	2,838	2,199	1,979	1,751	1,545	-45.6	-11.8
10	Chautauqua#	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1,212	N/A	N/A
11	Compass	808	966	899	1,071	1,090	34.9	1.8
12	GoJet	501	541	588	831	1,086	116.8	30.7
13	PSA	978	965	997	1,058	1,067	9.1	0.9
14	Executive	1,718	1,333	1,884	1,588	737	-57.1	-53.6
15	Colgan##	1,271	1,275	1,522	1,655	N/A	N/A	N/A
16	Comair###	5,175	2,551	2,264	1,683	N/A	N/A	N/A
17	Lynx####	382	379	30	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Total	57,310	51,522	52,468	52,581	50,180	-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.

** 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 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.