Southwest Airlines is a low-cost airline in the United States. It is headquartered in the Love Field neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It is the fourth-largest airline in North America when measured by passengers carried, as of 2024. With its all-Boeing 737 fleet, Southwest serves over 100 destinations in 42 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and ten other countries and territories near the southern United States in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea regions: Aruba, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
The airline was established on March 9, 1967, by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Co. and adopted its current name, Southwest Airlines Co., in 1971, when it began operating as an intrastate airline wholly within the state of Texas, first flying between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. It began regional interstate service in 1979, expanding nationwide in the following decades.
History
Destinations
Southwest uses a point-to-point system combined with a rolling-hub model in its base cities, in contrast to the hub-and-spoke system of other major airlines. , Southwest Airlines flew to over 100 destinations in 43 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. This system means that the airline has no real hubs, but rather some airports with more destinations than others.
Interline agreements
Southwest currently has interline agreements with the following airlines: Air Premia All Nippon Airways China Airlines Condor EVA Air Icelandair Polish Airlines LOT Philippine Airlines Singapore Airlines Turkish Airlines
Fleet
Passenger experience Southwest Airlines offers a single-class cabin with economy and extended legroom seating and does not operate separate business or first-class cabins.
The airline provides complimentary light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages on all flights, with alcoholic drinks available for purchase. Complimentary alcoholic beverages are offered on select holidays, including Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, the airline's June 18 anniversary, and Halloween. Southwest does not sell full meals on board.
The airline has become known for informal and sometimes humorous onboard announcements.
Until January 26, 2026, Southwest used an open seating policy in which passengers were assigned a boarding group (A, B, or C) and a number, and selected any available seat upon boarding. A 2012 episode of MythBusters found the process to be faster on average than conventional boarding methods.Stromberg, Joseph. The way we board airplanes makes absolutely no sense. Vox, April 25, 2014. Assigned seating was introduced beginning January 27, 2026, with passengers grouped by seat location at boarding. Beginning in May 2025, the airline introduced extra-legroom seating in the first rows and at exit doors on Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft as part of a phased cabin update.
Southwest maintains a "customer of size" policy under which passengers requiring additional space may purchase a second seat.
In-flight entertainment Southwest provides complimentary Wi-Fi access to members of its Rapid Rewards program. After connecting, passengers can access the onboard entertainment portal on their personal devices, which includes a flight tracker, on-demand movies, and live television. Beginning in summer 2026, the airline plans to deploy Starlink satellite-based high-speed internet across its fleet.
Rapid Rewards Southwest introduced a frequent-flyer program, The Company Club, on June 18, 1987, awarding credits based on trips flown rather than distance. The program was renamed Rapid Rewards in 1996. Under the original structure, members earned one credit per one-way flight; 16 credits within 24 months qualified for a free round-trip ticket valid for one year.
On March 1, 2011, Rapid Rewards transitioned to a revenue-based points system in which members earn and redeem points according to ticket price and fare type. The revision eliminated blackout dates and seat restrictions. Since October 18, 2019, points do not expire provided the member remains active.
Corporate affairs Business trends The key trends for Southwest Airlines are (as of the end of the calendar year): + Key business trends Year Net income(in million US$) Employees (FTE) Passengers(in millions) Load factor (%) Avg. fare(US$) Aircraft 20152,18149,58311883.6154704 20162,18353,53612484.0152723 2017 3,35756,11013083.9151706 20182,46558,80313483.4151750 20192,70060,76713483.5154770 202056,5375452.4141718 202197755,0939978.5141728 202253966,65612683.4169770 202346574,80613780.0172817 202446572,45014080.4178803 202544172,79013477.4190803
Headquarters
The Southwest Airlines headquarters are located on the grounds of Dallas Love Field in Dallas."Southwest Airlines Corporate Headquarters, Love Field, Dallas ." Southwest Airlines. Retrieved on February 18, 2010.
On September 17, 2012, Southwest broke ground on a new Training and Operational Support building, across the street from its current headquarters building.
On June 2, 2016, Southwest broke ground on its new office and training facility known as Wings. The newest addition to the corporate campus is composed of a 420,000-square-foot, six-story office building, and a 380,000-square-foot adjoining structure called the Leadership Education and Aircrew Development (LEAD) Center that serves as the new pilot training facility. The LEAD Center has the capacity to house and support 18 flight simulators. It is designed to be expanded to accommodate up to 26 simulator bays. The building opened on April 3, 2018.
On August 16, 2019, Southwest announced an expansion of the LEAD Center to accommodate eight additional simulators for future operational and training demands. On January 2, 2020, it was announced that Southwest would be purchasing an additional of land adjacent to its Wings and LEAD facilities. No additional details were disclosed.
Employment , Southwest Airlines had 72,450 active full-time equivalent employees. According to The Washington Post, it uses the hiring motto of seeking people that have a "Servant's Heart, Warrior Spirit, Fun-LUVing Attitude". It also uses the internal practice of ranking "employees first, customers second". Southwest Airlines pilots are represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association union.
Bob Jordan became Southwest's sixth CEO on February 1, 2022, replacing Gary C. Kelly. Kelly continues as chairman of Southwest Airlines. Kelly replaced Jim Parker on July 15, 2004, and assumed the title of president on July 15, 2008, replacing former president Colleen Barrett.
In September 2024, in response to pressure from Elliott Investment Management, Kelly announced that he would not seek reelection as executive chairman in 2025. Jordan is expected to remain as CEO. On October 24, 2024, Kelly announced he would accelerate his retirement, which – along with the previously announced retirements of six other Southwest directors – would go into effect on November 1, 2024. Rakesh Gangwal was announced as independent chair of the board of directors three days later. Gangwal stepped down as chair on August 1, 2025, and Doug Brooks was announced as the new independent chair of the board.
About 83% of Southwest employees are members of a union. The Southwest Airline Pilots' Association, a union not affiliated with the Air Line Pilots Association, represents the airline's pilots. The aircraft maintenance technicians are represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. Customer service agents and reservation agents are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union. Flight dispatchers, flight attendants, ramp agents, and operations agents are represented by the Transport Workers Union.
The company has appeared on various "best places to work" list, with its employee culture mentioned by Travel and Leisure, CNBC, and Forbes. The company has also been named to Fortune magazine's "Most Admired Companies" list, reaching number 14 in 2021.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Southwest never furloughed an employee. As a result of the pandemic, the company launched voluntary separation and extended time-off programs in 2020, and around 16,900 employees volunteered to take an early retirement or long-term leave. Roughly 24% were pilots and 33% were flight attendants. In late 2020, the airline issued some WARN Act notices and announced incipient pay cuts for many employees in response to pandemic impacts, but these measures were rescinded after the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was enacted on December 27, 2020, providing additional financial aid to US airlines.
The latest five-year labor contract for Southwest Airlines pilots was approved in January 2024.
Following the Elliot board takeover in February 2025, Southwest laid off 1,750 of its non-contract staff, approximately 15% of its corporate workforce.
Impact on carriers Southwest and its business model have had an influence on other low-cost carriers (LCCs). The competitive strategy combines a high level of employee and aircraft productivity with low unit costs by reducing aircraft turnaround time, particularly at the gate. Europe's EasyJet and Ryanair are two of the best-known airlines to follow Southwest's business strategy in that continent. Other airlines with a business model based on Southwest's system include Canada's WestJet, Malaysia's AirAsia (the first and biggest LCC in Asia), India's IndiGo, Australia's Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas (although Jetstar now operates three aircraft types), Philippines' Cebu Pacific, Thailand's Nok Air, Mexico's Volaris, Indonesia's Lion Air and Turkey's Pegasus Airlines.
Lobbying against high-speed rail In the early 1990s, Southwest Airlines actively opposed proposals to develop high-speed rail in Texas, viewing the project as a competitor to its short-haul flights. The proposed rail system would have connected Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. Southwest lobbied both the United States Congress and the Texas Legislature, and filed multiple lawsuits aimed at halting the initiative. In a 1991 statement to Texas officials, the airline argued that high-speed rail would only be feasible if it displaced existing airline services and received substantial public subsidies. The project was cancelled in 1994 with many observers citing Southwest’s lobbying efforts as a significant factor in its failure.
Advertising The company has always employed humor in its advertising. Former slogans include "Love Is Still Our Field", "Just Plane Smart", "The Somebody Else Up There Who Loves You", "You're Now Free to Move About the Country", "THE Low Fare Airline", "Grab your bag, It's On!", and "Welcome Aboard". The airline's slogan (as of 2022) is "Low fares. Nothing to hide. That's TransFarency!"