U.S. Cargo and Passenger Airlines Gained 511 Jobs in April 2024

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

BTS 28-24

April 2024 Airline Employment Infographic

U.S. Airline Total Number of Employees (both Full-Time and Part-Time)

U.S. airline industry (passenger and cargo airlines combined) employment increased to 800,807 workers in April 2024, 511 (0.06%) more workers than in March 2024 (800,296).

U.S. scheduled-service passenger airlines employed 541,445 workers in April 2024, or 68% of the industry-wide total. Passenger airlines gained 295 employees in April 2024. United Air Lines led scheduled passenger carriers, adding 623 employees; Southwest Airlines added 256, and Frontier Airlines added 162.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 255,327 workers in April 2024, or 32% of the industry-wide total. Cargo carriers gained 795 employees in April. FedEx, the leading air cargo employer, increased employment by 829 jobs.

Line chart showing total U.S. airline industry emplyment in April 2022 through April 2024

Scheduled passenger airlines gained 411 full-time equivalents in April 2024

U.S. Airline Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)

BTS calculates FTEs by dividing the number of part-time employees by 2 and adding that figure to the number of full-time employees. The April 2024 industry-wide numbers include 686,407 full-time and 114,400 part-time workers for a total of 743,607 FTEs, an increase from March of 485 FTEs (0.07%).

The 26 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reporting data for April 2024 employed 513,895 FTEs, 411 FTEs (0.08%) more than in March 2024. Data by passenger carrier category can be found in the accompanying tables.

U.S. cargo airlines employed 225,797 FTEs in April 2024, up 637 FTEs (0.28%) from March 2024.

Line chart showing employees at U.S. scheduled passenger airlines in month of April 1990-2024

Revisions: The data from P-1(a) submissions from January 2021-March 2024 has been revised and resubmitted for the following carriers: 1BQ, 1EQ, 27Q, 2HQ, 2PQ, 34Q, 3EQ, 3FQ, 3M, 5V, 5Y, 8C, ABX, AMQ, AS, B6, C5, DL, F9, G7, HA, KD, KLQ, L2, M6, MQ, NK, OO, PFQ, PO, PT, QX, SI, U7, UA, WI, WL, X9, YV, YX, and ZW.

Reporting Notes

Data is compiled from monthly reports filed with BTS by commercial air carriers as of June 7, 2024. Additional airline employment data and previous releases can be found on the BTS website. The month-to-month numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Passenger, cargo, and charter 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. Regulations require U.S. airlines to report employment numbers for employees who worked or received pay for any part of the pay period(s) ending nearest the 15th day of the month.

See the tables that accompany this release on the BTS website for detailed data (Tables 1-15) and industry summary monthly data since 1990. Additional individual airline numbers are available on the BTS airline employment web page. The web page provides full-time and part-time employment numbers by carrier by month from 1990 through April 2024.

Missing carriers: Swift Air (09Q)

The next update for U.S. airline employment is scheduled for Friday, July 12, 2024.