U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 386,219 workers in December 2014, 1.4 percent more than in December 2013, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. December was the 13th consecutive month that full-time equivalent (FTE) employment for U.S. scheduled passenger airlines was higher than the same month of the previous year.
The December 2014 FTE total for scheduled passenger airlines was 5,410 more than in December 2013. Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines.
The five network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 0.8 percent more FTEs in December 2014 than in December 2013. Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and US Airways increased FTEs from December 2013 while United Airlines reduced FTEs. 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 4.4 percent more FTEs in December 2014 than in December 2013. Allegiant Airlines, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America – all reported increases. Low-cost airlines operate under a low-cost business model, with infrastructure and aircraft operating costs below the overall industry average.
The 13 regional carriers reported 0.2 percent fewer FTEs in December 2014 than in December 2013. Seven regional airlines – PSA Airlines, Shuttle America, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airlines, Compass Airlines, Horizon Air and GoJet Airlines – reported increased employment levels. The others reported decreases. Regional carriers typically provide service from small cities, using primarily regional jets to support the network carriers’ hub and spoke systems.
See Passenger Airline Employment press release for summary tables and additional data. Historical employment data can be found on the BTS web site.
