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Performance Measures: Spirit Airlines Compared to All Low-Cost Carriers
Performance Measures: Spirit Airlines Compared to All Low-Cost Carriers
2006
| Spirit | Low-Cost** Carrier Average | Spirit's 2006 Rank Among 7 Low-Cost Carriers | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure 1: System Operating Profit/(Loss) per Originating Passenger in Dollars | -$9.99 | $6.56 | 6 | All of the network*** carriers except Delta and Alaska exceeded the profitability per originating passenger of Southwest |
| Measure 2: System Operating Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per Originating Passenger in Dollars | $138 | $123 | 3 | Operating costs per enplanement for low-cost carriers increased mainly due to double-digit fuel cost increases and higher wages for a maturing work force. |
| Measure 3: System Operating Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per Aircraft in Millions of Dollars | $18.975 | $19.144 | 3 | Low-cost carrier operating expenses per aircraft increased by 24 percent from 2001 to 2006. |
| Measure 4: Passenger Revenue per Originating Passenger (excluding Regional Jet Contract Revenue) in dollars | $118 | $122 | 6 | Network and low-cost carriers benefited from fare increases that began in mid-2005. Low-cost carrier revenue per passenger rose 11 percent from 2001 to 2005 and 8 percent from 2005 to 2006. |
| Measure 5: Full-Time Equivalent Employees* per Aircraft | 63 | 75 | 2 | The industry showed a wide-range of performance, with AirTran's 62 FTEs per aircraft, the fewest of any carrier, about half the 123 FTEs reported by Delta and ATA. |
| Measure 6: Average Monthly Available Seat-Miles (ASMs) per Full-Time Equivalent Employee* in millions of ASMs | 232 | 232 | 4 | Both the network carriers and low-cost airlines substantially improved productivity with more ASMs generated per FTE from 2001 to 2006. |
| Measure 7: Average Monthly Revenue Aircraft Minutes per Full-Time Equivalent Employee* in Minutes | 224 | 234 | 3 | The network carriers improved by 40 percent but the low-cost carrier group has a wide advantage over the network airlines in average monthly revenue air minutes per FTE. |
| Measure 8: Average Monthly Originating Passengers per Full-Time Equivalent Employee* | 181 | 173 | 2 | In 2006, the low-cost carriers generated 173 originating passengers per FTE employee compared to 75 passengers per FTE for the network airlines. |
| Measure 9: Fuel Cost in Dollars per Originating Passenger | $41 | $37 | 2 | The low-cost group paid $61 less in fuel costs per originating passenger than the network carriers in 2006. |
| Measure 10: Average Full-Time Equivalent Employee* Compensation (Salaries + Benefits) per Originating Passenger in dollars | $33 | $39 | 2 | The financially stronger low-cost carrier group's compensation expenses increased a modest $4 per originating passenger, reflecting wage increases for the group's increasingly senior work force partially offset by sustained operational efficiencies. |
| Measure 11: Average Annual Full-Time Equivalent Employee* Compensation (Salaries + Benefits) in dollars | $71,089 | $80,873 | 3 | From 2001 to 2006, low-cost carrier annual compensation costs rose 40 percent while network airline costs were up a more modest 8 percent. |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
* Full-time Equivalent Employee (FTE) calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.
** Low-cost carriers are those that the industry recognizes as operating under a low-cost business model, with fewer infrastructure costs and greater expectations of productivity.
*** Network carriers operate a significant portion of their flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights on a spoke system.