Down 4.5 Percent From Same Period In 2007

US scheduled passenger airlines employed 4.5 percent fewer workers in September 2008 than in September 2007, the third consecutive decrease in full-time equivalent employee levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year and the largest year-to-year decrease since July 2006, the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Tuesday.

The September FTE total of 397,400 for the scheduled passenger carriers was the first time since BTS began keeping employment statistics in 1997 that industry employment fell below 400,000.

All the network airlines except Alaska Airlines decreased employment from September 2007 to September 2008, as did low-cost carriers AirTran Airways and Frontier Airlines. Regional carriers American Eagle Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, Comair, Horizon Air, Mesa Airlines, and PSA Airlines also reported reduced employment levels compared to last year.

The seven network carriers employed 268,416 FTEs in September, 67.5 percent of the passenger airline total, while low-cost carriers employed 15.4 percent and regional carriers employed 15.0 percent.

American Airlines employed the most FTEs in September among the network carriers, Southwest Airlines employed the most among low-cost carriers, and American Eagle employed the most among regional carriers. Seven of the top 10 employers in the industry are network carriers.

Of particular note, four low-cost carriers reported year-to-year increases: JetBlue Airways, 6.7 percent, Spirit Airlines 9.0 percent, Virgin America, 107.8 percent and Southwest Airlines, 5.2 percent. AirTran and Frontier reported FTE year-to-year decreases.

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