Fewer Flights Mean Fewer Pilots, FAs, Ground Support Workers...

US scheduled passenger airlines employed 2.1 percent fewer workers in August 2008 than in August 2007, the second consecutive decrease in full-time equivalent employee (FTE) levels for the scheduled passenger carriers from the same month of the previous year and the largest year-to-year decrease since October 2006.

Those numbers come from the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), which issued its monthly report on the state of airline employment Tuesday.

According to BTS, all network airlines except Alaska Airlines decreased employment from August 2007 to August 2008, as did low-cost carriers AirTran Airways and Frontier Airlines. Regional carriers SkyWest Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, Comair, Horizon Air, Mesa Airlines, Executive Airlines, and PSA Airlines also reported reduced employment levels compared to last year.

The seven network carriers employed 276,118 FTEs in August, 67.9 percent of the passenger airline total, while low-cost carriers employed 15.1 percent and regional carriers also employed 14.8 percent. 

American Airlines employed the most FTEs in August 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.

US Airways stood alone among major carriers in reporting more workers in August 2008... but alas, BTS says that's a numerical fluke. The airline's August 2007 numbers did not reflect the carrier's merger with America West; at that time, both airlines still reported their employment numbers separately, and in different categories. The combined carrier's overall employment numbers slipped by 543 workers.

FMI: Read The Full BTS Report