Largest Same-Month Increase Since August 2001
Despite clouds looming on the
horizon, in the forms of high fuel prices and a slowing economy...
domestic airlines continue to show strong signs of resurgence,
according to the latest hiring figures from the US Department
of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS).
US scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.7 percent more
workers in November 2007 than in November 2006, the 10th
consecutive increase in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels
for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the
previous year, according to BTS.
That increase was the largest from the same month of the
previous year since August 2001. FTE calculations count two
part-time employees as one full-time employee.
Adding FTEs from November 2006 to November 2007 were network
carriers Continental Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines,
and American Airlines. In addition, all of the low-cost
carriers except ATA Airlines, and regional carriers American Eagle
Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, Comair, Horizon
Air, Pinnacle Airlines, Mesaba Airlines, Executive Airlines,
Republic Airlines and GoJet Airlines increased their FTEs compared
to last year.
Scheduled passenger airlines include network, low-cost, regional
and other airlines. Many regional carriers were not required to
report employment numbers before 2003, so year-to-year comparisons
involving regional carriers, or the total industry, are not
available for the years before 2003.
The 419,444 FTEs employed by the industry in November was the
most in any month since July 2005. The six network carriers
employed 249,862 FTEs in November, 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 November 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.
America West Airlines and US Airways are now operating under a
single certificate and began reporting jointly with October data.
The combined airline’s employment numbers are included with
the low-cost carriers while US Airways’ previous numbers
remain with network carriers and America West’s previous
numbers are listed separately as a low-cost carrier.
The merged airline, which is listed in the low-cost category,
reported 32,799 FTEs for November 2007. In November 2006, US
Airways reported 19,350 FTEs in the network category and America
West reported 12,368 FTEs in the low-cost category for a total of
31,718.
A complete breakdown of the BTS findings is available at the FMI
link below.
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