February 2010 Employment Down 3.5 Percent from February 2009

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.5 percent fewer workers in February 2010 than in February 2009, the 20th consecutive decrease in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported Tuesday.  FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the February FTE total of 378,100 for the scheduled passenger carriers was almost 13,600 below that of February 2009 and the lowest monthly total for any month since at least 1990. Historic employment data can be found on the BTS web site.

Five network airlines decreased employment from February 2009 to February 2010.  Delta Air Lines, after completing its merger with Northwest Airlines, is reporting combined numbers in 2010 compared to separate reporting through December 2009. 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.

Southwest Airlines and AirTran were the only low-cost carriers to report a decrease from February 2009. Regional carriers American Eagle Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, Comair, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, Horizon Air, Mesa Airlines, Air Wisconsin Airlines, Mesaba Airlines, Shuttle America, PSA Airlines and Colgan Airlines also reported reduced employment levels compared to last year.

Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. The six network airlines employed 256,800 FTEs in February, 67.9 percent of the passenger airline total, while low-cost carriers employed 16.9 percent and regional carriers employed 13.7 percent.

FMI: www.bts.gov