The following are components of Operating Expense. As a reminder
- Flying Operations The bulk of this represents compensation to flight crews, aircraft fuel, and other costs related directly to the Flight Operation.
- Maintenance Represents labor and parts for maintenance.
- Passenger Service Expenses for Passenger Service.
- Aircraft and Traffic Servicing Costs for anything ranging from cabin cleaners, crew schedule, station manager, and even line mechanics.
- Promotion and Sales
- General and Administrative General Administration of the Airline.
- General and Services General Services of the Airline.
- Depreciation and Amortization Applies to physical asset or lease that will lose value over time.
- Transport Related Expenses Other Transport Related Expenses.
- As can be seen some of the categories that are measured by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics can be fairly vague, allowing some flexibility regarding where airlines put their costs. This should be noted as users compare carriers.
