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Performance Measures: Northwest Airlines Compared to All Network Carriers
Performance Measures: Northwest Airlines Compared to All Network Carriers
First Quarter 2007
| Northwest | Network** Carrier Average | Northwest's 2007 Rank Among 7 Network Carriers | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure 1: System Operating Profit/(Loss) per Originating Passenger in Dollars | $27.42 | $13.52 | 1 | Network carriers Northwest, Delta, US Airways and American all had operating profits per originating passenger higher than America West, the leading low cost carrier. |
| Measure 2: System Operating Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per Originating Passenger in Dollars | $312 | $331 | 3 | The network carriers' aggressive downsizing in operations reduced other costs, partially offsetting the rise in fuel expense. |
| Measure 3: System Operating Expenses (excluding Regional Jet Contract) per Aircraft in Millions of Dollars | $6.283 | $6.836 | 3 | Network operating expenses per aircraft increased 24 percent from 2002 as that group moved towards more international flying which requires larger and more expensive aircraft. |
| Measure 4: Passenger Revenue per Originating Passenger (excluding Regional Jet Contract Revenue) in dollars | $293 | $302 | 5 | Network and low-cost carriers benefited from fare increases that began in mid-2005. Network carrier revenue per passenger rose 2 percent from 2002 to 2005 and 18 percent from 2005 to 2007. |
| Measure 5: Full-Time Equivalent Employees* per Aircraft | 102 | 99 | 5 | The industry showed a wide-range of performance, with AirTran's 59 FTEs per aircraft, the fewest of any carrier, about half the 113 FTEs reported by United. |
| Measure 6: Average Monthly Available Seat-Miles (ASMs) per Full-Time Equivalent Employee* in millions of ASMs | 243 | 212 | 1 | Both the network carriers and low-cost airlines substantially improved productivity with more ASMs generated per FTE from 2002 to 2007. |
| Measure 7: Average Monthly Revenue Aircraft Minutes per Full-Time Equivalent Employee* in Minutes | 180 | 159 | 2 | The network carriers improved by 31 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* | 86 | 69 | 3 | In 2007, the low-cost carriers generated 166 originating passengers per FTE employee compared to 69 passengers per FTE for the network airlines. |
| Measure 9: Fuel Cost in Dollars per Originating Passenger | $92 | $93 | 4 | The low-cost group paid $55 less in fuel costs per originating passenger than the network carriers in 2007. |
| Measure 10: Average Full-Time Equivalent Employee* Compensation (Salaries + Benefits) per Originating Passenger in dollars | $86 | $100 | 3 | The financially stronger low-cost carrier group's compensation expenses increased a modest $3 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 | $88,646 | $83,374 | 1 | From 2002 to 2007, low-cost carrier annual compensation costs rose 43 percent while network airline costs declined 0.8 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.