Outsourcing Costs Skyrocket Over 2000 Figures

US scheduled passenger airlines may employ more workers than ever... but it seems fewer of them are responsible for actually keeping planes in the air. The Department of Transportation announced Tuesday US carriers employed four percent fewer pilots and 32 percent fewer maintenance workers in 2007 than in 2000, citing figures from DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The seven large network carriers employed 29.9 percent fewer pilots and 42.6 percent fewer maintenance workers in 2007 than in 2000. The six low-cost carriers now operating employed 24.2 percent more pilots and 2.1 percent more maintenance workers from 2000 to 2007.

United Airlines had the largest reduction in pilots of any network airline from 2000 to 2007, while Alaska Airlines was the only network airline to add pilots during that time. Northwest Airlines had the largest reduction in maintenance workers of any network airline; Alaska and Continental Airlines were the only network carriers to add maintenance employees during that time.

All US low-cost carriers added pilots from 2000 to 2007. JetBlue Airways had the largest increase while Frontier Airlines had the smallest gain. JetBlue also had the largest increase in maintenance workers of any low-cost airline from 2000 to 2007, while Spirit Airlines had the only reduction.

Overall, the seven network carriers employed 13.5 pilots per aircraft in 2007, down from 15.0 pilots per aircraft in 2000. The low-cost carriers employed 11.1 pilots per aircraft in 2007, down from 13.3 pilots per aircraft in 2000 even though all of the low-cost carriers added pilots from 2000 to 2007.

Northwest had 12.4 pilots per aircraft in 2007, down from 14.2 per aircraft in 2000, the fewest of any network airline. United, with 14.7 per aircraft, down from 18.8 per aircraft in 2000, had the largest decline in the number of pilots per aircraft from 2000 to 2007 but still had the most pilots per aircraft of any network carrier. Continental, which had the fewest pilots per aircraft of any network carrier in 2000, was the only one of the group to have more pilots per aircraft in 2007 than in 2000.

As for maintenance personnel, passenger airlines had 8.3 maintenance workers per aircraft in 2007, down from 13.0 per aircraft in 2000. The network airlines had 12.3 maintenance workers per aircraft in 2007, down from 16.6 per aircraft in 2000.

Not surprisingly, over the same period spending by network airlines for outsourced maintenance increased from 29.6 percent of total maintenance spending in 2000, to 45.3 percent in 2007.

The low-cost airlines had 3.6 maintenance workers per aircraft in 2007, down from 5.2 per aircraft in 2000. Spending by low-cost airlines for outsourced maintenance increased from 52.0 percent of total maintenance spending in 2000 to 54.2 percent in 2007.

Northwest had 0.8 maintenance workers per aircraft in 2007, the fewest of any network airline and down from 13.9 employees per aircraft in 2000. Northwest's spending for outsourcing increased from 23.8 percent of total spending in 2000 to 71.0 percent in 2007.

American Airlines had 22.4 maintenance workers per aircraft in 2007 -- the most of any network airline and up from 21.4 employees per aircraft in 2000, though American's spending percentage for outsourcing remained constant at 23.4 percent.

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