BTS Statistics Release: November 2016 Passenger Airline Employment Data

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BTS 05-17

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Contact: Dave Smallen

Tel: 202-366-5568

david.smallen@dot.gov

 

 

BTS Statistics Release: November 2016 Passenger Airline Employment Data

 

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.7 percent more workers in November 2016 than in November 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. November was the highest monthly FTE total (416,046) since January 2005 (417,789) and was the 37th consecutive month that U.S. scheduled passenger airline full-time equivalent (FTE) employment exceeded the same month of the previous year (Tables 1, 2, 3).

 

Fig1 

  

Month-to-month, the number of FTEs was virtually unchanged from October to November (Table 1A). Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. Historical employment data can be found on the BTS web site.

 

The four network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 2.3 percent more FTEs in November 2016 than in November 2015 (Tables 7, 8, 9). Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines increased FTEs from November 2015 (Table 9). Month-to-month, the number of network airline FTEs declined 0.2 percent from October to November (Table 1A).

 

The network airlines employed 6.3 percent more FTEs in November 2016 than in November 2012 (Tables 8, 9). Network airlines operate a significant portion of their flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights to down-line destinations or spoke cities.

 

The six low-cost carriers reported 9.8 percent more FTEs in November 2016 than in November 2015 (Tables 10, 11, 12). Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Virgin America and Southwest Airlines increased FTEs from November 2015 (Table 12). Month-to-month, the number of low-cost airline FTEs rose 0.6 percent from October to November (Table 1A). The six low-cost airlines employed 23.0 percent more FTEs in November 2016 than in November 2012 (Tables 11, 12). Low-cost airlines operate under a low-cost business model, with infrastructure and aircraft operating costs below the overall industry average.

 

The 12 regional carriers reported 0.2 percent more FTEs in November 2016 than in November 2015 (Tables 13, 14, 15). Nine regional airlines – Republic Airlines, Compass Airlines, Endeavor Air, PSA Airlines, Mesa Airlines, GoJet Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, Horizon Air and Envoy Air increased FTEs from November 2015. The others reported decreases (Table 15). Month-to-month, the number of regional airline FTEs was virtually unchanged from October to November (Table 1A). The 12 regional carriers reporting in November 2016 employed 1.0 percent more FTEs in November 2016 than the 14 carriers reporting in November 2012 (Tables 14, 15). Regional carriers typically provide service from small cities, using primarily regional jets to support the network carriers’ hub and spoke systems.

 

Carrier Groups: The four network airlines employed 65.5 percent of the 416,046 FTEs employed by all scheduled passenger airlines in November, the six low-cost carriers employed 20.5 percent and the 12 regional carriers employed 12.2 percent (Table 4). In comparison, in November 2006, the network airlines employed 65.1 percent of the FTEs, the six low-cost carriers employed 17.6 percent and the 12 regional carriers employed 14.4 percent (Table 5).

 

Top Employers by Group: American employed the most FTEs (99,426) in November among the network airlines, Southwest employed the most FTEs (53,678) among low-cost airlines, and Envoy employed the most FTEs (10,887) among regional airlines (Table 6). The three airlines with the most FTEs in November – American, Delta and United – employed 62.7 percent of the month’s total passenger airline FTEs (Tables 3, 6).

 

Reporting Notes

 

Airlines that operate at least one aircraft that has more than 60 seats or the capacity to carry a payload of passengers, cargo and fuel weighing more than 18,000 pounds must report monthly employment statistics.

 

The “Other Carrier” category generally reflects those airlines that operate within specific niche markets such as the Hawaiian Islands served by Hawaiian Airlines and Island Air Hawaii.

                            

Data are compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of Jan. 10. Additional airline employment data and previous press releases can be found on the BTS website. BTS has scheduled release of December passenger airline employment data for Feb. 21.  

 

 

Table 1: Yearly Change in Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Airline Group

Most recent 13 months - percent change from same month of the previous year

 

Network Airlines  

Low-Cost Airlines

Regional Airlines

All Passenger Airlines**

Nov 2014-Nov 2015

3.7

6.5

-0.2

3.7

Dec 2014-Dec 2015

3.5

7.8

0.9

3.9

Jan 2015-Jan 2016

3.3

7.9

2.0

4.1

Feb 2015-Feb 2016

3.2

8.5

0.2

3.8

Mar 2015-Mar 2016

2.9

9.6

0.4

3.9

Apr 2015-Apr 2016

2.4

10.2

0.1

3.6

May 2015-May 2016

2.3

10.7

0.2

3.7

June 2015-Jun 2016

2.3

11.0

0.9

3.9

July 2015-July 2016

2.4

11.3

3.3

4.3

Aug 2015-Aug 2016

2.5

11.0

3.3

4.3

Sep 2015-Sep 2016

2.6

10.6

2.9

4.3

Oct 2015-Oct 2016

2.7

10.2

0.3

4.0

Nov 2015-Nov 2016

2.3

9.8

0.2

3.7

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers. Other Carriers generally operate within specific niche markets. They are: Hawaiian Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and Island Air Hawaii.           

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.                                          

Note: See Table 2 for all passenger airlines, Table 7 for Network, Table 10 for Low-Cost and Table 13 for Regional.

 

 

Table 1A: Monthly Change in Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Airline Group

Percent change in FTEs from the previous month

 

Network Airlines  

Low-Cost Airlines

Regional Airlines

All Passenger Airlines**

Nov 2015-Dec 2015

0.0

0.3

0.0

0.0

Dec 2015-Jan 2016

0.0

0.8

0.0

0.2

Jan 2016-Feb 2016

0.3

1.2

-0.1

0.4

Feb 2016-Mar 2016

0.5

0.8

0.3

0.5

Mar 2016-Apr 2016

0.3

1.2

-0.4

0.4

Apr 2016-May2016

0.5

1.1

0.4

0.6

May 2016-Jun2016

0.3

0.9

0.5

0.5

Jun 2016-July 2016

0.2

0.8

0.4

0.3

July 2016-Aug 2016

0.1

0.4

-0.1

0.1

Aug 2016-Sep 2016

0.0

0.6

-0.6

0.1

Sep 2016-Oct 2016

0.2

0.8

-0.1

0.3

Oct 2016-Nov 2016

-0.2

0.6

0.0

0.0

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers. Other Carriers generally operate within specific niche markets. They are: Hawaiian Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and Island Air Hawaii.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Note: See Table 2 for all passenger airlines, Table 7 for Network, Table 10 for Low-Cost and Table 13 for Regional.

 

 

Table 2: Change from Previous Year in Scheduled Passenger Airline* Full-time Equivalent Employees**

Percent change compared to same month of the previous year

Month

2013

2014

2015

2016

January

-1.6

0.5

1.2

4.1

February

-1.7

0.4

1.8

3.8

March

-1.9

0.8

1.9

3.9

April

-1.8

1.0

2.4

3.6

May

-1.8

1.1

2.6

3.7

June

-1.7

0.9

3.0

3.9

July

-1.8

1.3

2.7

4.3

August

-1.6

1.0

3.3

4.3

September

-0.9

1.1

3.3

4.3

October

-0.3

0.9

4.0

4.0

November

0.1

1.5

3.7

3.7

December

0.3

1.4

3.9

 

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.                                    

** Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding. 

 

 

Table 3: Scheduled Passenger Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2012-2016

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

Month

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent Change    

2012-2016

2015-2016

January

386.2

380.0

381.8

386.5

402.2

4.2

4.1

February

387.1

380.4

382.0

389.0

403.9

4.3

3.8

March

388.0

380.5

383.6

390.8

406.1

4.7

3.9

April

387.5

380.5

384.3

393.4

407.8

5.2

3.6

May

388.3

381.4

385.6

395.6

410.3

5.7

3.7

June

388.2

381.7

385.2

397.0

412.3

6.2

3.9

July

388.5

381.3

386.2

396.5

413.7

6.5

4.3

August

386.7

380.5

384.5

397.0

414.2

7.1

4.3

September

383.6

380.2

384.5

397.3

414.6

8.1

4.3

October

382.2

381.2

384.7

399.9

416.0

8.8

4.0

November

380.9

381.2

386.9

401.3

416.0

9.2

3.7

December

379.6

380.8

386.2

401.4

     

12-Month Average

385.6

380.8

384.6

395.5

     

Jan-Nov Average

386.1

380.8

384.5

394.9

410.7

6.4

4.0

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

 

 

Table 4: Airline Group Full-time Equivalent Employees*, November 2012-2016

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

 

Network

Low-Cost

Regional  

All Passenger Airlines**

2012

256.1

69.4

50.1

380.9

2013

255.9

69.4

49.9

381.2

2014

256.8

73.0

50.6

386.9

2015

266.3

77.8

50.5

401.3

2016

272.3

85.4

50.6

416.0

Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2016

65.5%

20.5%

12.2%

100.0%

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.

 

 

Table 5: Carrier Group Percent of Total Scheduled Passenger Airline FTEs 2007-2016

Percent of Total Passenger FTEs November of each year

 

Network

Low-Cost

Regional

Other

2006

67.4

18.4

13.1

1.0

2011

68.3

18.0

12.5

1.2

2015

66.4

19.4

12.6

1.7

2016

65.5

20.5

12.2

1.8

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee. ** Includes network, low-cost, regional and other carriers.                                        

 

 

Table 6: Top 10 Airlines, November 2016

Ranked by Number of Full-Time Equivalent Employees*

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

Rank

Airline

Total FTE Employees

Carrier Group**

Top 10 Airlines November 2015

1

American

99.4

Network

American

2

United

82.0

Network

Delta

3

Delta

79.3

Network

United

4

Southwest

53.7

Low-Cost

Southwest

5

JetBlue

16.7

Low-Cost

JetBlue

6

Alaska

11.5

Network

Alaska

7

Envoy

10.9

Regional

SkyWest

8

SkyWest

10.7

Regional

Envoy

9

ExpressJet

6.4

Regional

ExpressJet

10

Hawaiian

5.6

Other

Spirit

 Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** See Table 9 for Network, Table 12 for Low-Cost and Table 15 for Regional.

                       

 

Table 7: Network Airline Year-to-Year Change in Full-time Equivalent Employees*

from the Previous Year

Percent change compared to same month of the previous year

 

2013

2014

2015

2016

January

-2.1

0.4

0.8

3.3

February

-1.9

0.1

1.4

3.2

March

-2.2

0.6

1.7

2.9

April

-2.0

0.4

2.4

2.4

May

-2.0

0.5

2.7

2.3

June

-1.8

0.3

3.1

2.3

July

-1.7

0.4

3.1

2.4

August

-1.5

0.1

3.7

2.5

September

-1.0

0.4

3.6

2.6

October

-0.6

0.3

3.6

2.7

November

-0.1

0.4

3.7

2.3

December

0.4

0.8

3.5

 

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee. Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

           

 

Table 8: Network Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2012-2016

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

Month

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent Change    

2012-2016

2015-2016

January

259.7

254.4

255.5

257.6

266.2

2.5

3.3

February

260.0

255.0

255.2

258.8

267.0

2.7

3.2

March

260.7

254.9

256.3

260.8

268.4

3.0

2.9

April

260.9

255.7

256.7

262.9

269.2

3.2

2.4

May

261.4

256.3

257.6

264.4

270.6

3.5

2.3

June

261.5

256.8

257.5

265.5

271.5

3.8

2.3

July

261.0

256.5

257.5

265.6

272.0

4.2

2.4

August

259.6

255.8

256.1

265.6

272.1

4.8

2.5

September

257.9

255.2

256.1

265.3

272.1

5.5

2.6

October

257.3

255.7

256.4

265.7

272.8

6.0

2.7

November

256.1

255.9

256.8

266.3

272.3

6.3

2.3

December

254.1

255.2

257.3

266.1

     

12-Month Average

259.2

255.6

256.6

263.7

     

Jan-Nov Average

259.6

255.6

256.5

263.5

270.4

4.1

2.6

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                                                            

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding. 

                                                              

 

Table 9: Network Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, November 2012-2016

(FTEs for November of each year. Ranked by November 2016 FTEs)

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

Rank

Airline

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent Change      

2012-2016

2015-2016

1

AA/US Combined

91.8

91.0

92.3

97.4

99.4

8.3

2.1

 

   American**

61.5

59.5

60.6

97.4

99.4

N/A

2.1

 

   US Airways**

30.4

31.5

31.7

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2

United

82.4

81.9

78.9

78.8

82.0

-0.4

4.0

3

Delta

72.7

73.6

75.5

79.1

79.3

9.1

0.3

4

Alaska

9.2

9.5

10.1

10.9

11.5

25.4

5.6

 

Total

256.1

255.9

256.8

266.3

272.3

6.3

2.3

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

** American Airlines and US Airways merged and began reporting combined numbers in July 2015.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 10: Low-Cost Airline Year-to-Year Change in Full-time Equivalent Employees*

from the Previous Year

Percent change compared to same month of the previous year

Month

2013

2014

2015

2016

January

0.8

0.3

4.6

7.9

February

0.2

0.7

4.6

8.5

March

0.0

0.8

3.9

9.6

April

-0.3

1.5

4.2

10.2

May

-0.3

1.8

4.3

10.7

June

-0.6

2.2

4.9

11.0

July

-0.4

2.5

5.2

11.3

August

-0.9

3.0

5.8

11.0

September

-0.2

2.9

6.6

10.6

October

-0.1

3.8

6.9

10.2

November

-0.1

5.2

6.5

9.8

December

-0.6

4.4

7.8

 

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.                                          

  

 

Table 11: Low-Cost Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2012-2016

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent Change    

2012-2016

2015-2016

January

68.9

69.5

69.7

72.9

78.6

14.1

7.9

February

69.5

69.6

70.1

73.4

79.6

14.5

8.5

March

69.9

69.9

70.4

73.2

80.2

14.8

9.6

April

69.9

69.7

70.8

73.7

81.2

16.2

10.2

May

70.1

69.8

71.1

74.2

82.1

17.2

10.7

June

70.0

69.6

71.1

74.6

82.8

18.3

11.0

July

69.8

69.5

71.3

75.0

83.5

19.7

11.3

August

69.9

69.3

71.4

75.5

83.8

19.8

11.0

September

69.6

69.4

71.4

76.2

84.3

21.1

10.6

October

69.6

69.5

72.1

77.1

84.9

22.1

10.3

November

69.4

69.4

73.0

77.8

85.4

23.0

9.8

December

69.8

69.4

72.4

78.0

 

   

12-Month Average

69.7

69.5

71.2

75.1

 

   

Jan-Nov Average

69.7

69.6

71.1

74.9

82.4

18.3

10.1

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.    

 

 

Table 12: Low-Cost Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees,* November 2012-2016**

(FTEs for November of each year. Ranked by November 2016 FTEs)

Rank

 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent Change

2012-2016

2015-2016

1

Southwest

45,953

44,911

46,299

49,578

53,678

16.8

8.3

2

JetBlue

12,465

12,990

13,677

15,214

16,681

33.8

9.6

3

Spirit

2,888

3,521

4,447

4,623

5,484

89.9

18.6

4

Frontier

3,950

3,444

3,672

2,875

3,380

-14.4

17.6

5

Allegiant

1,779

2,048

2,398

2,737

3,223

81.2

17.8

6

Virgin America

2,407

2,488

2,521

2,756

2,993

24.3

8.6

 

Total

69,442

69,402

73,014

77,783

85,439

23.0

9.8

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.    

 

 

Table 13: Regional Airline Year-to-Year Change in Full-time Equivalent Employees*

from the Previous Year

Percent change compared to same month of the previous year

Month

2013

2014

2015

2016

January

-4.1

-0.4

-1.9

2.0

February

-5.0

0.5

-0.3

0.2

March

-4.6

0.9

-0.5

0.4

April

-4.8

2.3

-0.4

0.1

May

-4.7

2.4

-0.3

0.2

June

-4.4

1.9

0.1

0.9

July

-6.3

3.5

-3.3

3.3

August

-5.1

2.5

-2.7

3.3

September

-3.0

2.1

-2.7

2.9

October

-0.5

-0.2

1.4

0.3

November

-0.5

1.5

-0.2

0.2

December

-0.5

-0.2

0.9

 

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 14: Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2012-2016

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent Change    

2012-2016

2015-2016

January

52.8

50.6

50.4

49.5

50.5

-4.4

2.0

February

52.8

50.2

50.5

50.3

50.4

-4.6

0.2

March

52.6

50.2

50.6

50.4

50.4

-4.1

0.1

April

51.9

49.4

50.5

50.3

50.4

-2.9

0.1

May

51.9

49.4

50.6

50.5

50.6

-2.6

0.2

June

51.7

49.4

50.3

50.4

50.8

-1.6

0.9

July

52.7

49.4

51.1

49.4

51.0

-3.2

3.3

August

52.1

49.4

50.7

49.3

51.0

-2.2

3.3

September

51.1

49.5

50.6

49.2

50.7

-0.8

2.9

October

50.2

49.9

49.8

50.5

50.6

0.8

0.3

November

50.1

49.9

50.6

50.5

50.6

1.0

0.2

December

50.4

50.2

50.1

50.5

 

   

12-Month Average

51.7

49.8

50.5

50.1

 

   

Jan-Nov Average

51.8

49.8

50.5

50.0

50.6

-2.3

1.2

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.    

 

 

Table 15: Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, November 2012-2016

(FTEs for November of each year. Ranked by November 2016 FTEs)

Rank

 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percent Change

2012-2016

2015-2016

1

Envoy

10,616

11,099

11,661

10,692

10,887

2.6

1.8

2

SkyWest

9,283

9,595

9,774

10,314

10,746

15.8

4.2

3

ExpressJet

8,824

9,085

8,800

7,483

6,399

-27.5

-14.5

4

Republic

2,115

2,633

3,066

3,097

3,959

87.2

27.8

5

Endeavor

4,750

3,987

3,550

3,293

3,765

-20.7

14.3

6

Horizon

2,703

2,724

2,855

3,231

3,291

21.8

1.9

7

Mesa

1,575

1,770

2,182

2,769

3,075

95.2

11.1

8

PSA

1,090

1,102

1,719

2,394

2,736

151.0

14.3

9

Compass

1,099

1,142

1,199

1,653

1,939

76.4

17.3

10

Air Wisconsin

2,565

2,468

1,895

1,860

1,479

-42.3

-20.5

11

GoJet

1,051

1,122

1,097

1,237

1,300

23.7

5.1

12

S5/RP Combined

3,164

3,124

2,807

2,499

1,049

-66.8

-58.0

 

   Shuttle America#

1,857

1,988

1,991

2,499

1,049

N/A

-58.0

 

   Chautauqua#

1,307

1,136

816

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

13

Executive##

1,267

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

 

Total

50,102

49,851

50,605

50,522

50,625

1.0

0.2

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

# Effective July 2012 Chautauqua Airlines began reporting employment data. Chautauqua did not qualify for monthly reporting prior to July 2012 because it did not operate aircraft with more than 60 seats. Effective the end of December 2014, Shuttle America and Chautauqua combined operations and Chautauqua ceased operating.

## Effective the end of March 2013, Executive Airlines ceased operations.

N/A: Carriers did not meet the standard for filing, was no longer operating, merged with another operating carrier or failed to file. See previous notes.                                                                      

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.