F/T Numbers Rose For Ninth Straight Month

US scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.5 percent more workers in October 2007 than in October 2006, according to the Department of Transportation -- the ninth consecutive increase in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels for scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year.

Among legacy -- or "network" -- carriers, Delta Air Lines boasted the largest increase in its ranks, at 8.8 percent. Alaska Airlines came in second at 4.5 percent; even United Airlines saw an increase, albeit less than one-tenth of one percent... but that's still the first time the airline's employment numbers have gone up since September 2001.

Northwest was the only legacy carrier to report a decrease in October 2007 over the same period in 2006, with full-time staffing numbers down 3.4 percent. FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

As the two carriers are now operating under a single certificate, America West Airlines and US Airways reported jointly for the first time in October. The merged airline, which is listed in the low-cost category (US Airways was previously listed among legacy airlines, while American West was considered an LCC) reported 32,880 FTEs for October 2007 -- an increase of over 1,200 FTEs since October 2006, when the two carriers combined for a total of 31,674.

All low-cost carriers but ATA Airlines posted employment gains over 2006. Over on the regionals side, American Eagle Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, Comair, Horizon Air, Pinnacle Airlines, Mesaba Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Executive Airlines, PSA Airlines, Republic Airlines and GoJet Airlines increased their FTEs compared to last year.

The 417,554 FTEs employed by the industry in October was the most in any month since July 2005 (Table 3). The six network carriers employed 249,014 FTEs in October, 59.6 percent of the passenger airline total, while low-cost carriers employed 22.9 percent and regional carriers employed 14.6 percent.  

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

FMI: www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/number_of_employees/