U.S. Airlines: Total Number of Employees (both Full-Time and Part-Time)
U.S. airline industry (passenger and cargo airlines combined) employment decreased to 1,004,718 workers in February 2025, 4,423 (0.44%) less workers than in January 2025 (1,009,141).
U.S. scheduled-service passenger airlines employed 544,156 workers in February 2025, or 54% of the industry-wide total. Passenger airlines gained 269 employees in February 2025. United Air Lines led scheduled passenger carriers, adding 433 employees; Delta Air Lines added 314, and American Airlines added 124.
U.S. cargo airlines employed 456,352 workers in February 2025, or 46% of the industry-wide total. Cargo carriers lost 4,677 employees in February. FedEx, the leading air cargo employer, decreased employment by 4,730 jobs.
Scheduled passenger airlines gained 247 full-time equivalents in February 2025
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 February 2025 industry-wide numbers include 747,930 full-time and 256,788 part-time workers for a total of 876,324 FTEs, a decrease from January of 2,274 FTEs (0.26%).
The 26 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reporting data for February 2025 employed 515,221 FTEs, 247 FTEs (0.05%) more than in January 2025. Data by passenger carrier category can be found in the accompanying tables.
U.S. cargo airlines employed 356,976 FTEs in February 2025, down 2,510 FTEs (0.70%) from January 2025.
