Is Southwest Airlines a good company to work for?

Southwest Airlines has an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5, based on over 5,836 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 72% of employees would recommend working at Southwest Airlines to a friend and 52% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Southwest Airlines have been left by employees working as Intern , First Officer and Internship .

Does Southwest Airlines pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Southwest Airlines employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Southwest Airlines. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Southwest Airlines?

72% of Southwest Airlines employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Southwest Airlines 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.8 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Southwest Airlines?

Flight Attendant (723) , Ramp Agent (528) , Customer Service Representative (187) , Customer Service Agent (167) , Operations Agent (110) , Intern (99) , Manager (70) , Customer Service Supervisor (56) , CSA - Customer Service Associate (54) , Ramp Supervisor (53) , Airline Pilot (50) , Captain (47) , Analyst (46) , Customer Service (43) , Senior Software Engineer (38)

What are the pros of working at Southwest Airlines according to real employee reviews?

"401k benefits are great and so are retirement options." ((in 763 reviews)); "The culture here is great and I don't fear for my job because they rule with LUV and not through fear." ((in 506 reviews)); "very friendly and great people to work with" ((in 387 reviews)); "Flight benefits are great if you're the kind of person who loves to travel with no guarantees." ((in 307 reviews)); "It is very fun and the pay is great." ((in 269 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Southwest Airlines according to real employee reviews?

"Poor Management too much headquarters oversight with little consideration for front line employees" ((in 180 reviews)); "The only cons I can think of are the long hours and weather conditions at times." ((in 98 reviews)); "Senior leadership not tech focused." ((in 72 reviews)); "Bad managers can be a bane." ((in 44 reviews)); "salaries are low and they try to sell travel/401k match to make up for it" ((in 37 reviews))

What are employees saying about Southwest Airlines layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Southwest Airlines layoffs and their outlook for job security at Southwest Airlines in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Southwest Airlines locations?

Dallas , Denver , Chicago , Phoenix , Houston , Los Angeles , Atlanta , Baltimore , Oakland , Las Vegas , Orlando , Bwi Airport , San Antonio , Oklahoma City , Austin , Nashville , San Jose , San Diego , Fort Lauderdale , Saint Louis , New York , Tampa , Indianapolis , Sacramento , San Francisco , Kansas City , Albany , Boston , Washington , Minneapolis

Southwest Airlines reviews

3.9

72% would recommend to a friend

(5,210 total reviews)

Robert E. Jordan

50% approve of CEO

52% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Diversity & inclusion

4.0

Compensation and benefits

3.8

Culture & values

3.8

Work/Life balance

3.8

Career opportunities

3.1

Senior management

Southwest Airlines has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 5,210 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Southwest Airlines employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Transportation & Logistics industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

5K reviews

2.0

Apr 7, 2015

Technology Caution!

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great culture for employees. Job security (employees only). Lots of partying (mostly employees). Lots of money to pay for professional services. Enough said...

Cons

Where do I start? Like I said, great place for employees. For most employees, it's there first or second job in their entire career, hence lots of old timers who resist change. The 500+ awesome reviews are most likely from Flight Attendants who are full time employees protected by the union. In Technology at HDQ, it's a different story. Employees have been there for over 20 years and have not made it past Manager level. They know very little about industry standards and resist change. Very cut throat politics.....be nice to your face and stab you in the back! Not the SWA culture that is advertised. That is just how the employees deal with each other. If you as an employee do not perform, you are moved from group to group until you quit or retire. Contractors are like minions who are overworked and under appreciated. As a contractor, be prepared to do chores for the employees totally outside your job description. Unless you are with professional services, you are SOL. You will either get divorced (if married), sleep at the wheel due to exhaustion or get really sick. I have seen all three happen during my tenure here. I could go on and on and I know it sounds nothing like the awesome reputation Southwest has as an employer but unfortunately this IS the truth. Hopefully things will change for the better.

2.0

Mar 5, 2019

Disaapointing

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-SWA does a great job in cultivating a positive culture. It's so competitive to get in, which lets them choose great people. Unfortunately, what is good about the company as a whole doesn't guarantee you're going to get that in your individual department. -Great benefits -Lots of fun activities, from friendly holiday competitions to weekly deck parties -Many opportunities for feedback - they don't act on it, but hey, at least they listen -Great communication from upper management about company priorities and initiatives

Cons

-The senior employees (not management) rule the roost. The company puts a huge honor on those who have worked here 10+ years, and they know it. They set the rules, and you'd better get out of their way. -Advancement is difficult. Again, based on the amount of time you've deposited in the company, not at all on your performance. -Technology is laughably outdated. The company's actively working to improve this, but their slow, disorganized, and honestly downright rude Technology department is not speeding the process up. -Pay is below average. They make up for it with great benefits, but it's good to know going in.

4.0

Jan 27, 2019

A Great Job If You Can Get Past The Cons

Ramp agent

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay rates if you can stick it out for a few years. It starts on the low side, but after the five year mark you start to make a decent wage. Currently tops out at about $32 per hour, which is good for an entry level job with no prerequisites. Benefits are good. Health, Vision and Dental coverage. Free flights on standby. They have a point based system where you can purchase gift cards and other goods for having perfect attendance which is awarded monthly. Good values for a company that is ultimately out to make a profit. Stable, good set of ethics, have not seen any layoffs in the 4 1/2 years I've worked. Very physical job. If you like working outdoors and keeping active, this is a great option. Strong Union. Probably one of the strongest I've worked with. Pretty good at negotiating contracts, and they are good at keeping people from getting screwed over by a supervisor with a chip on their shoulder. I've seen lots of folks who were fired for whatever reason get their jobs back, and they tend to give good advice when you aren't sure of a policy.

Cons

Very physically demanding. If you aren't in shape, or have issues with health, this might not be for you. You'll stacking bags in a bin, on your knees, trying to move bags that can way up to 99 pounds and freight that can get up to 200+. You're subject to whatever weather comes your way. Where I work, we get everything from rain, to high wind, to severe storms, to snow. Temperatures can get to either extreme from -20 to 105+, and the conditions of the ramp go anywhere from a sheet of ice to being like standing on an oven. Consider the weather in your area and ask yourself if you can handle working in those conditions daily. Seniority based, with many stations having staff that have been around for 15+ years. Depending on the station, some of the smaller ones will undoubtedly be hard to get the hours you want. On top of that, mandatory OT is issued by seniority starting at the bottom, so if you wind up in a very senior station, expect to get hit up very frequently with forced overtime. While the Management at headquarters generally have good values, this does not quite apply to the management of the station you work at. Expect to see the same things you would see in most jobs, with supervisors that just hate you and hate the world, and administration that is just plain incompetent from time to time. Many of the supervisor staff come off the streets directly into their job and have no experience in actual ramp activities. There is a very strong Us vs. Them mentality, at least in my station. Monthly bids for your weekly schedule occur every month or bi-monthly, depending on your station. All of it is done through paper. Have to plan your vacations around it to ensure you don't miss the week a bid rolls out, or have a bid on file that you know you can hold.

Viewing 22 - 24 of 5,210 Reviews

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