An in-depth look at Southwest Airlines pilot salaries, including pay rates for captains and first officers, benefits and their employment outlook for 2024

At the height of the holiday season in December 2022, a once-in-a-generation blizzard swept through the Rockies before stalling over the Great Plains, sending high winds, icy chills, near-zero visibility, and heavy, wet snow from Colorado to the east coast.

A record 56” of snow fell in Buffalo, NY alone. The storm caused mass flight cancellations that disrupted vacation plans, but while most airlines returned to service within days, Southwest Airlines (LUV) it just crashed.

The storm triggered a domino effect of chaos within the company’s operations, as antiquated scheduling systems and IT infrastructure (some dating back to the 1990s) could not keep up with the demand for rescheduling. Southwest’s flights, which operated on a point-to-point system serving smaller markets, kept backup flight crews hundreds of miles away from where they needed to be, making it impossible to regroup the company.

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Southwest ultimately canceled 16,900 flights, left 2 million customers stranded and ended up paying $1.1 billion in losses, which included $750 million in refunds and a $140 million fine. at the US Department of Transportation.

Withdrawn, frustrated and filled with safety concerns, Casey Murray, a Southwest captain and president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), told NPR that pilots have seen these problems for years. In fact, in the summer of 2022, SWAPA had taken to the picket lines, not for increased wages or benefits, but rather to protest improvements to Southwest’s system technology.

Shortly after the crisis, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan apologized to customers and promised $1 billion in investments and upgrades to the company’s IT systems. As of August 2024, half of its technology has been moved to a more efficient cloud operating system, and its WiFi network is 10 times faster than before.

On board flights, customers have seen further improvements in the form of redesigned cabins, larger storage compartments, new in-seat charging ports and faster WiFi – and by 2025, the company has promised to make connecting to the internet completely free. It will also move away from the open seating model and start assigning seats, a move Jordan says 80 percent of customers want.

The public doesn’t seem to be holding a grudge either, as price-conscious travelers booked even more seats on the low-cost carrier during the 2023 holiday season than in 2022.

In May 2024, Southwest was named the #1 airline for customer service by Newsweek in a survey of 30,000 customers who considered communication, professionalism and accessibility over a three-year period.

And for those in the cockpit? In January 2024, Southwest’s pilot union offered one of the airline industry’s largest wage increases, approving a new contract that included a 50 percent pay increase over the next five years. It also included a new scheduling process during “unusual events”. Captain Murray summed up the deal by saying it “fairly rewards our pilots and supports our operational needs.”

Under the terms of the contract, the pilots received an immediate 29.15 percent raise, followed by 4 percent raises each year through 2027, before topping off with a final 3.25 percent raise in 2028. The pilots also have saw increased benefits for retirement, scheduling and parental leave. policies.

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A Brief History of Southwest Airlines

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, Southwest was originally incorporated as Air Southwest Co. and operated between Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. The airline catered mainly to business travelers and specialized in low-cost, off-peak flights at night and on weekends.

The airline has long been known for its focus on customers through a mix of humorous advertising, strong community relations and a term it has called “handover”, self-described as a mix of treating customers fairly while offering value.

In 1971, the company moved to Love Field in Dallas and changed its name to Southwest Airlines. In its IPO on June 8, it adopted the ticker symbol LUV, demonstrating its commitment to the area – as well as to its loyal customers.

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Southwest is also known for its innovation: it hired the industry’s first black captain, Louis Freeman, in 1980 and successfully sued to end the practice of all-female flight attendants. It was the first airline to offer ticketless travel (1994) and had the industry’s first website (1995).

How many pilots does Southwest have?

Today, Southwest flies to 117 destinations in the US, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and is the fifth largest airline in the world. Of its 75,000 employees, 10,746 are pilots.

Thanks to the airline’s point-to-point network, pilots have a larger network of base hubs to live in than other airlines, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville , Oakland, Orlando , Phoenix and, of course, Dallas.

Freedom One (737-800)

Gallons of paint: 64 pic.twitter.com/Gsua5uwps5

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) August 19, 2023

How big is Southwest’s fleet?

Southwest has a fleet of 817 Boeing aircraft. Exclusively operating the 737 series aircraft is a cost saving method for the airline as it reduces training and maintenance costs as the aircraft share common parts. According to Southwest, the average age of its fleet is 11 years.

To attract its customers and stand out in the sky, Southwest uses custom paint jobs that speak volumes about the aircraft, often featuring the flag of its home state, patriotic themes or specific destination cultures such as Hawaii.

Since 1997, Southwest pilots have also participated in an “Adopt-a-Pilot” program and make classroom appearances to 5th graders who learn about life as a pilot and conduct aerodynamic STEM experiments by building and flying airplanes. paper. Art students also sketch patterns for pilot uniform ties, and the winners are made for the entire Southwest fleet.

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How much do Southwest pilots earn?

According to Indeed, which compiles salary information from employees, users and job postings over a 12-month period, Southwest pilots earn an average salary of $173,677 per year and top out at $479,000 per year.

Glassdoor uses a statistical method that takes into account current and recent job listings, as well as user-generated data. It reports Southwest pilot salary range between $215,000 and $370,000 per year, with an average of $282,000. It also lists additional incentives of $24,000 per year, which could include bonuses, commissions and/or profit sharing.

While other major airlines pay their pilots hourly rates based on the type of aircraft flown, it’s harder to break down Southwest’s pilot salaries that way because the airline does things differently (again). Thrust Flight reports that Southwest pays its pilots by the flight segment (243 miles) flown, and pilots earn 10% more for every additional 40 hours they fly. Their monthly back-up guarantee is 87 flight segments over a 30-day period.

Another online source, TheWrightExperience, detailed what their pay per segment is in light of their new contract.

Southwest First Officer Pays

Southwest Captain Pays

In other words, a captain with five years of experience earns $300.42 per segment flown. If they are in reserve, they are guaranteed to fly at least 87 segments in a 30-day month (not including extra segments or overtime). This translates to about $26,136 per month or $313,638 per year.

What are Southwest pilot benefits?

Southwest pilots receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off, medical, dental and vision insurance, short and long term disability insurance, parental and maternity leave, 18% retirement contributions, profit sharing and benefits unlimited pending free travel for themselves and their families.

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Does Southwest have a flight academy?

Southwest is preparing the captains and first officers of tomorrow through the Destination 225 Pathway Program. This full-time, 13-month program prepares cadets to become certified flight instructors and prepares them for a career as a Southwest First Officer. Typical candidates come from a range of backgrounds that may or may not include previous cockpit experience as well as roles in the US military.

Southwest works with three regional carriers, CAE in Mesa, Ariz., SkyWarrior in Pensacola, Fla. and US Aviation in Denton, Texas, which provides flight training to cadets. Southwest First Officers serve as mentors to the cadets throughout their journey.

Southwest pilots have received a 50% pay increase in the airline industry in 2024, making it one of the largest in the industry.

FG Trade; Getty Images

How can I become a Southwest pilot? What is their outlook for 2024?

To apply for a pilot job, visit the careers page on Southwest’s website: https://careers.southwestair.com.

At the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, as customer demand for travel resumed, Southwest hired 1,140 pilots in 2022 and 1,916 pilots in 2023.

Travel Weekly reported that Southwest planned to hire just 350 pilots in 2024 and adjusted those plans in line with its business plan, which projected growth in the “low to mid-figures” after 2024.

Because Southwest operates an all-Boeing fleet, it has also been affected by the ongoing crises at the beleaguered manufacturer. In January, the FAA ordered Boeing to halt production of all Boeing 737 MAX series aircraft after a piece of fuselage fell from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on January 5, 2024.

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