Originally Posted by simkiss
That statistic is not particularly meaningful, ConnFlyer.
It's not just labor costs, it's revenue per employee. US Airways has ridiculous union work rules in force, which means they use their equipment and people *much* less efficiently than Southwest.
The work rules in place at US Airways mean that FAs are not allowed to clean planes and that pilots fly relatively few hours per month. They also mean that baggage handlers spend a lot of time standing around doing nothing.
Labor costs for the work that the unionized employees do ARE the single biggest problem at US Airways.
p.s. You mean that they have shrunk, not "have shrunken." Shrink. Shrank. Shrunk.
Revenue produced per employee (2nd quarter numbers):
US $72,805
WN $54,510
Cost per employee (includes wages and benefits) (2nd quarter number):
US $23,325
WN $19,803
So yes, you're average US employee does cost more than WN, but they also produce substantially more revenue than WN.
Once again, labor costs aren't USAirways biggest problem anymore. Sure, US could probably squeeze a little more out of their employees, but it won't save USAirways at this point.