Sixth Consecutive Drop In Full-Time Levels

US scheduled passenger airlines employed 6.7 percent fewer workers in December 2008 than in December 2007, the sixth 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 December 2003.

According to the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the December FTE total of 391,918 for the scheduled passenger carriers was the lowest total since 1993. FTE calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

All the network airlines decreased employment from December 2007 to December 2008, as did low-cost carriers AirTran Airways and Frontier Airlines. Regional carriers American Eagle Airlines, 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 264,744 FTEs in December, 67.6 percent of the passenger airline total, while low-cost carriers employed 16.0 percent and regional carriers employed 14.8 percent. American Airlines employed the most FTEs in December among the network carriers, Southwest Airlines employed the most among low-cost carriers, and American Eagle employed the most among regional carriers.

Five low-cost carriers reported year-to-year increases: Virgin America, Allegiant Airlines, Southwest, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue Airways. As for regional airlines, only Compass Airlines and Mesaba Airlines reported increases to worker ranks.

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