BTS 14-17

Monday, March 20, 2017

Contact: Dave Smallen

Tel: 202-366-5568

david.smallen@dot.gov

 

BTS Statistics Release: January 2017 Passenger Airline Employment Data

 

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.9 percent more workers in January 2017 than in January 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. January was the highest monthly FTE total (417,833) since November 2007 (419,313) and was the 39th 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).

 

 

 

Month-to-month, the number of FTEs rose 0.4 percent from December to January (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 January 2017 than in January 2016 (Tables 7, 8, 9). Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines increased FTEs from January 2016 (Table 9). Month-to-month, the number of network airline FTEs declined 0.1 percent from December to January (Table 1A).

 

The network airlines employed 7.1 percent more FTEs in January 2017 than in January 2013 (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 9.7 percent more FTEs in January 2017 than in January 2016 (Tables 10, 11, 12). The carriers – Allegiant Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Virgin America and Southwest Airlines – all increased FTEs from January 2016 (Table 12). Month-to-month, the number of low-cost airline FTEs rose 1.0 percent from December to January (Table 1A). The six low-cost airlines employed 24.2 percent more FTEs in January 2017 than in January 2013 (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 11 regional carriers reported 1.9 percent more FTEs in January 2017 than the 12 regional carriers operating in January 2016 (Tables 13, 14, 15). Eight regional airlines – Compass Airlines, Endeavor Air, PSA Airlines, Mesa Airlines, GoJet Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, Envoy Air and Horizon Air – increased FTEs from January 2016. In addition, Republic Airlines reported 2.0 percent more FTEs in January 2017 than the combined total that Republic and Shuttle America reported in January 2016. The others reported decreases (Table 15). Month-to-month, the number of regional airline FTEs rose 1.6 percent from December to January (Table 1A). The 11 regional carriers reporting in January 2017 employed 1.6 percent more FTEs than the 14 carriers reporting in January 2013 (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 65.2 percent of the 417,833 FTEs employed by all scheduled passenger airlines in January, the six low-cost carriers employed 20.7 percent and the 11 regional carriers employed 12.3 percent (Table 4). In comparison, in January 2006, the network airlines employed 66.6 percent of the FTEs, the six low-cost carriers employed 16.7 percent and the regional carriers employed 13.6 percent (Table 5).

 

Top Employers by Group: American employed the most FTEs (99,490) in January among the network airlines, Southwest employed the most FTEs (54,051) among low-cost airlines, and Envoy employed the most FTEs (11,059) among regional airlines (Table 6). The three airlines with the most FTEs in January – American, Delta and United – employed 62.4 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 March 7. Additional airline employment data and previous press releases can be found on the BTS website. BTS has scheduled release of January passenger airline employment data for April 20.  

 

 

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 **
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		0.1	3.9
Apr 2015 - Apr 2016	2.4	10.2		0.1	3.7
May 2015 - May 2016	2.3	10.7		0.2	3.7
Jun 2015 - Jun 2016	2.3	11.0		0.9	3.9
Jul 2015 - Jul 2016	2.4	11.3		3.3	4.4
Aug 2015 - Aug 2016	2.5	11.0		3.3	4.4
Sep 2015 - Sep 2016	2.6	10.6		2.9	4.4
Oct 2015 - Oct 2016	2.7	10.3		0.3	4.0
Nov 2015 - Nov 2016	2.3	9.8		0.2	3.6
Dec 2015 - Dec 2016	2.4	9.5		0.2	3.7
Jan 2016 - Jan 2017	2.3	9.7		1.9	3.9

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 **
Jan 2016 - Feb 2016	0.3	1.2	-0.1	0.4
Feb 2016 - Mar 2016	0.5	0.8	0.0	0.5
Mar 2016 - Apr 2016	0.3	1.2	-0.1	0.4
Apr 2016 - May 2016	0.5	1.1	0.4	0.6
May 2016 - Jun 2016	0.3	0.9	0.5	0.5
Jun 2016 - Jul 2016	0.2	0.8	0.4	0.3
Jul 2016 - Aug 2016	0.1	0.4	-0.1	0.1
Aug 2016 - Sep 2016	0.0	0.5	-0.5	0.1
Sep 2016 - Oct 2016	0.2	0.9	-0.1	0.3
Oct 2016 - Nov 2016	-0.2	0.5	0.0	0.0
Nov 2016 - Dec 2016	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1
Dec 2016 - Jan 2017	-0.1	1.0	1.6	0.4

 

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	2014	2015	2016	2017
January	0.4	1.2	4.1	3.9
February	0.3	1.8	3.8
March	0.6	1.9	3.9
April	0.8	2.4	3.7
May	1.0	2.6	3.7
June	0.8	3.1	3.9
July	1.1	2.7	4.4
August	0.9	3.3	4.4
September	1.0	3.3	4.4
October	0.8	4.0	4.0
November	1.3	3.8	3.6
December	1.3	3.9	3.7

 

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 2013-2017

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

Month	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Percent Change
						2013-2017	2016-2017
January	380.0	381.8	386.5	402.2	417.8	9.9	3.9
February	380.4	382.0	389.0	403.9
March	380.5	383.6	390.8	406.1
April	380.5	384.3	393.4	407.8
May	381.4	385.6	395.6	410.3
June	381.7	385.2	397.0	412.3
July	381.3	386.2	396.5	413.7
August	380.5	384.5	397.0	414.2
September	380.2	384.5	397.3	414.6
October	381.2	384.7	399.9	416.0
November	381.2	386.9	401.3	416.0
December	380.8	386.2	401.4	416.3
12-Month Average	380.8	384.6	395.5	411.1

 

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                        

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

** Full-time Equivalent

 

 

Table 4: Airline Group Full-time Equivalent Employees*, January 2013-2017

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

	Network	Low-Cost	Regional	All Passenger Airlines**
2013	254.4	69.5	50.6	380.0
2014	255.5	69.7	50.4	381.8
2015	257.6	72.9	49.5	386.5
2016	266.2	78.6	50.5	402.2
2017	272.4	86.3	51.4	417.8
Percent of Total Passenger Airline Employees in 2017	65.2%	20.7%	12.3%	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 2006-2017

Percent of Total Passenger FTEs January of each year

	Network	Low-Cost	Regional	Other
2006	66.4	16.9	14.6	2.1
2012	67.5	17.7	13.6	1.2
2016	66.2	19.6	12.6	1.7
2017	65.2	20.7	12.3	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, January 2017

Ranked by Number of Full-Time Equivalent Employees*

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

Rank	Airline	Total FTE Employees	Carrier Group**	Top 10 Airlines January 2016
1	American	99.5	Network	American
2	United	82.1	Network	Delta
3	Delta	79.2	Network	United
4	Southwest	54.1	Low-Cost	Southwest
5	JetBlue	16.8	Low-Cost	JetBlue
6	Alaska	11.6	Network	Alaska
7	Envoy	11.1	Regional	Envoy
8	SkyWest	11.0	Regional	SkyWest
9	ExpressJet	6.2	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

	2014	2015	2016	2017
January	0.4	0.8	3.3	2.3
February	0.1	1.4	3.2
March	0.6	1.7	2.9
April	0.4	2.4	2.4
May	0.5	2.7	2.3
June	0.3	3.1	2.3
July	0.4	3.1	2.4
August	0.1	3.7	2.5
September	0.4	3.6	2.6
October	0.3	3.6	2.7
November	0.4	3.7	2.3
December	0.8	3.5	2.4

 

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 2013-2017

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

Month	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Percent Change
						2013-2017	2016-2017
January	254.4	255.5	257.6	266.2	272.4	7.1	2.3
February	255.0	255.2	258.8	267.0
March	254.9	256.3	260.8	268.4
April	255.7	256.7	262.9	269.2
May	256.3	257.6	264.4	270.6
June	256.8	257.5	265.5	271.5
July	256.5	257.5	265.6	272.0
August	255.8	256.1	265.6	272.1
September	255.2	256.1	265.3	272.1
October	255.7	256.4	265.7	272.8
November	255.9	256.8	266.3	272.3
December	255.2	257.3	266.1	272.6
12-Month Average	255.6	256.6	263.7	270.6

 

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*, January 2013-2017

(FTEs for January of each year. Ranked by January 2017 FTEs)

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

Rank	Airline	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Percent Change
							2013-2017	2016-2017
1	AA/US Combined	89.7	91.3	93.0	97.5	99.5	10.9	2.0
	American**	59.4	59.7	61.0	97.5	99.5	N/A	2.0
	US Airways**	30.3	31.6	32.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2	United	82.2	81.4	78.4	79.1	82.1	-0.1	3.9
3	Delta	73.2	73.4	76.0	78.7	79.2	8.2	0.6
4	Alaska	9.3	9.5	10.2	11.0	11.6	25.6	6.0
	Total	254.4	255.5	257.6	266.2	272.4	7.1	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	2014	2015	2016	2017
January	0.3	4.6	7.9	9.7
February	0.7	4.6	8.5
March	0.8	3.9	9.6
April	1.5	4.2	10.2
May	1.8	4.3	10.7
June	2.2	4.9	11.0
July	2.5	5.2	11.3
August	3.0	5.8	11.0
September	2.9	6.6	10.6
October	3.8	6.9	10.3
November	5.2	6.5	9.8
December	4.4	7.8	9.5

 

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 11: Low-Cost Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2013-2017

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Percent Change
						2013-2017	2016-2017
January	69.5	69.7	72.9	78.6	86.3	24.2	9.7
February	69.6	70.1	73.4	79.6
March	69.9	70.4	73.2	80.2
April	69.7	70.8	73.7	81.2
May	69.8	71.1	74.2	82.1
June	69.6	71.1	74.6	82.8
July	69.5	71.3	75.0	83.5
August	69.3	71.4	75.5	83.8
September	69.4	71.4	76.2	84.3
October	69.5	72.1	77.1	84.9
November	69.4	73.0	77.8	85.4
December	69.4	72.4	78.0	85.4
12-Month Average	69.5	71.2	75.1	82.7

 

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics                                                              

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

Note: Percent changes and averages based on numbers prior to rounding.

 

 

Table 12: Low-Cost Carrier Full-time Equivalent Employees,* January 2013-2017**

(FTEs for January of each year. Ranked by January 2017 FTEs)

Rank		2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Percent Change
							2013-2017	2016-2017
1	Southwest	45.8	45.0	46.6	50.0	54.1	17.9	8.1
2	JetBlue	12.6	13.1	13.8	15.3	16.8	33.3	10.1
3	Spirit	3.0	3.6	4.0	4.8	5.6	88.6	17.3
4	Allegiant	1.8	2.1	2.4	2.9	3.4	89.7	18.5
5	Frontier	3.9	3.4	3.6	3.0	3.4	-11.7	15.3
6	Virgin America	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.7	3.0	24.9	8.2
	Total	69.5	69.7	72.9	78.6	86.3	24.2	9.7

 

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	2014	2015	2016	2017
January	-0.4	-1.9	2.0	1.9
February	0.5	-0.3	0.2
March	0.9	-0.5	0.1
April	2.3	-0.4	0.1
May	2.4	-0.3	0.2
June	1.9	0.1	0.9
July	3.5	-3.3	3.3
August	2.5	-2.7	3.3
September	2.1	-2.7	2.9
October	-0.2	1.4	0.3
November	1.5	-0.2	0.2
December	-0.2	0.9	0.2

 

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 14: Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees* by Month 2013-2017

FTE numbers in thousands (000’s)

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Percent Change
						2013-2017	2016-2017
January	50.6	50.4	49.5	50.5	51.4	1.6	1.9
February	50.2	50.5	50.3	50.4
March	50.2	50.6	50.4	50.4
April	49.4	50.5	50.3	50.4
May	49.4	50.6	50.5	50.6
June	49.4	50.3	50.4	50.8
July	49.4	51.1	49.4	51.0
August	49.4	50.7	49.3	51.0
September	49.5	50.6	49.2	50.7
October	49.9	49.8	50.5	50.6
November	49.9	50.6	50.5	50.6
December	50.2	50.1	50.5	50.6
12-Month Average	49.8	50.5	50.1	50.6

 

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 15: Regional Airline Full-time Equivalent Employees*, January 2013-2017

(FTEs for January of each year. Ranked by January 2017 FTEs)

Rank		2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Percent Change
							2013-2017	2016-2017
1	Envoy	11,324	11,017	10,693	10,657	11,059	-2.3	3.8
2	SkyWest	9,400	9,816	9,700	10,438	10,985	16.9	5.2
3	ExpressJet	8,832	9,178	8,525	7,325	6,233	-29.4	-14.9
4	YX/S5/RP Combined	5,444	5,886	5,904	5,410	5,516	1.3	2.0
	Republic#	2,160	2,747	3,141	3,133	5,516	155.4	76.1
	Shuttle America#	2,035	1,977	2,763	2,277	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Chautauqua#	1,249	1,162	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
5	Endeavor	4,902	3,911	3,383	3,321	3,811	-22.3	14.8
6	Horizon	2,706	2,795	2,881	3,277	3,287	21.5	0.3
7	Mesa	1,542	1,817	2,272	2,828	3,074	99.4	8.7
8	PSA	1,078	1,166	1,799	2,496	2,815	161.1	12.8
9	Compass	1,097	1,196	1,294	1,653	1,934	76.3	17.0
10	Air Wisconsin	2,535	2,512	1,914	1,840	1,401	-44.7	-23.9
11	GoJet	1,019	1,131	1,112	1,237	1,315	29.0	6.3
12	Executive##	761	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Total	50,640	50,425	49,477	50,482	51,430	1.6	1.9

 

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

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

^# Effective the end of December 2016, Republic and Shuttle America combined operations and Shuttle America ceased operating. Effective the end of December 2014, Shuttle America and Chautauqua Airlines 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.