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Performance Measures: American Airlines Compared to All Network Carriers
Performance Measures: American Airlines Compared to All Network Carriers
2006
| American | Network** Carrier Average | American's 2006 Rank Among 7 Network Carriers | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure 1: System Operating Profit/(Loss) per Originating Passenger in Dollars | $13.21 | $12.56 | 4 | 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 | $311 | $321 | 3 | The network carriers' aggressive downsizing in operations reduced costs that help offset the parallel rise in fuel expense. Delta's costs rose $43 per passenger. |
| Measure 3: System Operating Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per Aircraft in Millions of Dollars | $28.045 | $29.409 | 4 | Operating costs per aircraft rose for all the network carriers except United. Delta's rose the most - $2.7 million per aircraft. |
| Measure 4: Passenger Revenue per Originating Passenger (excluding Regional Jet Contract Revenue) in dollars | $289 | $293 | 4 | Benefiting from the fare increases of the past 15 months, only American and Northwest had less passenger revenue per originating passenger in 2006 than in 2001. Delta had $55 more revenue per passenger. |
| Measure 5: Full-Time Equivalent Employees* per Aircraft | 108 | 103 | 5 | United, American and Delta reported the most FTEs per aircraft. Continental and Delta had the least improvement from 2001 to 2006. |
| Measure 6: Average Monthly Available Seat-Miles (ASMs) per Full-Time Equivalent Employee* in millions of ASMs | 197 | 218 | 7 | Delta generated 250 million ASMs per FTE, the most of any network carrier and showed the most improvement, 58 percent, from 2001 to 2006. |
| Measure 7: Average Monthly Revenue Aircraft Minutes per Full-Time Equivalent Employee* in Minutes | 146 | 162 | 7 | 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* | 70 | 75 | 6 | The network carriers improved performance by 59 percent from 2001 to 2006. |
| Measure 9: Fuel Cost in Dollars per Originating Passenger | $94 | $98 | 3 | The network airlines' fuel cost per originating passenger more than doubled in 2006 to $91 per passenger from $39 in 2001. Delta's increase of $66 per passenger was the most of any airline. |
| Measure 10: Average Full-Time Equivalent Employee* Compensation (Salaries + Benefits) per Originating Passenger in dollars | $105 | $95 | 6 | The network carrier group reduced labor expense per originating passenger by $41 from 2001 to 2006. Delta cut costs by $26 per passenger. |
| Measure 11: Average Annual Full-Time Equivalent Employee* Compensation (Salaries + Benefits) in dollars | $87,814 | $85,310 | 2 | 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.
** Network carriers operate a significant portion of their flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights on a spoke system.
*** 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.