Southwest Airlines Reviews
80% would recommend to a friend
(4236 total reviews)
Robert E. Jordan
77% approve of CEO
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Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "Flight benefits are great if you're the kind of person who loves to travel with no guarantees." (in 242 reviews)
Found 4,236 of over 5K reviews
Updated 3 Dec 2023
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- 5.0FEATURED REVIEW26 Sept 2023Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsDallas, TX
Pros
Southwest was my first job out of college, and I feel so fortunate to have found such a welcoming and encouraging company where I've been able to grow and develop personally and professionally. When first joining, there is *so* much to learn about our operation and culture, and how that sets us apart. From there, there are almost limitless opportunities to continue learning and lean in to our Culture - from taking company-facilitated development classes, to "days in the field", to helping plan our legendary Halloween festivities, to even finding ways to embrace Cohearts in the day-to-day. When you mix in the incredible health benefits, 401k contributions, workperks, profitsharing, education reimbursement, and traveling the world for free (or close to it!) - you really can't beat a company like Southwest. Very thankful for the opportunity to pilot my own career path and work with the very best people along the way!
Cons
Southwest has taken incredible strides to continue growing and leaning into opportunities to serve new communities/serve our existing communities even better - including our Employees! This growth can come with growing pains and a feeling of being "disconnected" - especially when it comes to maintaining a work:life balance and seeing the bigger picture of what we're doing There's work being done to keep us all connected through company updates, and make sure that we all know how important one another's roles are. It's been insightful to learn how other parts of the company work, and it really does take *all* of us to maintain that "family feeling."
2 - 3.03 Dec 2023Flight Operations SafetyCurrent Employee, more than 8 years
Pros
Remote Options, Pay, Total Rewards, Career Advancement
Cons
Very few full remote roles available in Flight Operations HDQ roles. 3 days in the office per week is about 2 too many. So many leaders yet very little leadership. No empathy. Employees are disengaged, exhausted, overwhelmed, and stressed from micromanagement. Burnout is rampant without any relief options. If you say something, management will deflect and retaliate while continuing to play game of thrones at HDQ.
1 - 3.04 Nov 2023Technology AnalystCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearDallas, TX
Pros
- Can’t beat free flights and profit sharing. - Even if you live in the Waco circle, you’re pretty much remote and only have to come into the office three weeks out of the year. - Learning about the airline industry is really interesting. - Senior leaders are very transparent about company performance and changes.
Cons
- For corporate employees, paid time off is very low- 15 days per year including sick and personal time is NOT enough. - The dynamic between frontline and headquarter employees is terrible: with no time allowed to be spent in the field or business partners, it feeds into this “us vs them” nonsense that’s currently happening. - All of IT is migrating to AWS, and almost no one is a subject matter expert in it so the learning curve is really sweet. - Unless your manager makes a point to take you under their wing, they won’t really know you. So all of your feedback you get from them - good and bad is 100 percent from their chosen “go to” people and not from anything they actually know or have observed for themselves. (Yes, that includes your performance reviews).
4 - 4.024 Oct 2023Associate Software EngineerCurrent Employee, more than 1 year
Pros
- Great benefits (medical, vision, dental, 100% 401k match up to near 10% salary) - Fantastic WLB, never once been pressured to work past standard operating hours or over weekends - Coworkers are very friendly - Work is interesting enough without being overbearing - Able to work fully remote bar ~quarterly onsite visits which are only a week
Cons
- Slightly below average salary (no RSUs/signing bonus) - Little/slow vertical growth. If you're relatively new to the industry and are trying to put in 150% effort and try and get promoted - simply don't bother. Promotions are HEAVILY (read: exclusively) dependent on which department/team you end up on and your manager. You can get exceptional on every category on your quarterly performance review and still be passed up on promotion whether it be due to your manager not submitting you or "budget reasons". At the same time you're being denied despite consistent exceptional performance, you'll see other people from your team and department in more senior positions continue to be promoted without delay. All of this on top of the fact that promotions are strictly quarterly, so if you are passed up you are waiting at minimum 3 months just to be denied again for the same BS. Not to mention at the same time you might even be receiving numerous accolades from coworkers telling you how great your work has been, but this will not realize itself in title/compensation. If you're already a senior/staff SE/SLA I'm sure this won't be an issue.
3 - 2.011 Nov 2023Aircraft Maintenance TechnicianFormer Employee, more than 10 yearsDallas, TX
Pros
401K plan, line experience, doing unorthodox things the people in the same industry never heard of, and great coworkers
Cons
Plan on working all night, have a meal before you come to work because you probably will go without breaks. company has a tone deaf culture, no sense of purpose. speaking up about inefficient ways of doing things will make you targeted by management. They say there is always room for improvement, but they never give the improvements for the work environment. The people have improved, however the culture t here is toxic, stay far away from here. The pay here is not worth your health. Glas I left before the threats of layoffs and termination for natural disasters.
1 - 5.029 Sept 2023Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, less than 1 yearDallas, TX
Pros
I am relatively new to SWA but have learned very quickly that the culture is unmatched. This is the very first place that I have worked, that I can honestly say that the good of the employee is considered first. Many many meetings that I have been a part of, the culture stands out and is top of mind. The benefits are amazing. Some are on par with industry standards, but some far exceed. There is a very flexible environment that also has a very strong family-first feel. You will hear people talking about being able to step away to care for their family during the day, and there are days that you will see kids in the halls of the office. The perks are pretty awesome too. I mean free flying is great! I feel that they did a good job of keeping Herb's vision alive while having to navigate a very different working world from when he was alive.
Cons
The office is a bit dated and could use some refreshing, but all in all, it is still a very, very lovely place to work. No coffee is provided, and you must bring your own K-cups or buy on-site. However, they have offset the cost in the cafeteria to help make lunch more affordable.
1 - 4.017 Jul 2023Ramp AgentCurrent Employee, less than 1 yearChicago, IL
Pros
Great Benefits, I've been here for 4 months and I already have $1k in my 401k. OT is available most always flexibility travel benefits
Cons
I like the job and the company, but my station is so disorganized. I often got paired with trainers that weren't even here and informed no one. Some trainers are really good and will take the time to make sure you feel comfortable. Others will try to rush and lecture if you do something wrong. Training is all over the place, everyday you train with someone different and they don't follow the company procedures. Which makes it difficult to learn the job especially if you've never worked in this industry. We're often being rushed to push flights out on time, eventhough the flight came in delayed or were waiting on bags/mx/pax boarding. Recently, we've been told to follow the ops agent to "help reduce delays" but this is creating more delays because you have teams on opposite ends of the airport and there is no one to bring the flights in. If don't show up for your flight you are threatened with being written up eventhough it takes a bit to walk from either side. They refuse to close the ramp when there's lightning so we can push out planes. That doesn't seem very safe. Some sups/management are very rude and have attitude problems.
6 - 4.028 Sept 2023Human Resources Sr. ManagerCurrent Employee, more than 10 years
Pros
Health Benefits, 401k, Profitsharing, career development, Leadership is focused on your career, and the most amazing people to work alongside. The Company is built on the foundation of Employees first and you see that day in and day out. Even in the darkest times, during COVID, we were given stability, care and concern, and fought through the loss of millions of dollars without sacrificing our Employees. There is a strong focus on helping our Employees grow their careers. The High Impact (Leadership Development) Program is designed to educate and build business acumen, challenge our way of thinking, and create strong and lasting partnerships across Departments to help Leaders who want to continue into higher level leadership roles. In addition, Career Mobility is a team that not only provides awareness around the roles within the Company but also to help our Employees understand the experience they need for those roles, and best prepare for the interview process through resume and interview advice. Over the years, I've experienced Leaders that support me, give me invaluable feedback, and provide stretch opportunities to achieve my career goals. Enjoying the work you do, the people you work with, and working for a Company that cares about you goes a long way.
Cons
We strive to do more with less so work life balance can be a struggle at times.
- 5.02 Oct 2023Technology Project ManagerCurrent Employee, more than 5 years
Pros
I’ve worked with Southwest Airlines for over 6 years now, starting as a direct college hire, and have been with the company through many ups and downs within the company, the airline industry, and the major events in the world like covid, and even personal events, and can definitely say they support their employees! I definitely plan on staying here until I retire! Pros are definitely the employee perks like free & discounted travel perks; ensuring financial stability for now and in the future through competitive pay, employee stock purchase plan, and generous 401k matching; thorough and affordable insurance options; workplace flexibility; response to employee feedback; continuous improvement; and always encouraging career growth and flexibility available for career shifts!
Cons
My only con is around the current workplace flexibility program for technology as there seems to be more onsite activities that are difficult to attend for folks living outside the Dallas area; so finding ways for those of us living in other states to connect with the local culture committees at the stations or connect with other cohearts who also live in our area for technology specific culture activities.
- 4.022 Oct 2023Ramp AgentCurrent Employee, less than 1 year
Pros
Easy to pick up or give away shifts on our ramp. We have 700 agents. I work from about 2-10:30 PM and have been getting Fri/Sat off for a while. As of this post I just hit my 6 months so now off probation. I've never been "Mando'd" Mandatory Overtime, although most of my classmates have (21 of us started the same class) I usually GAW Give Away the last 1.5 hours of my shift and go home early. The travel is great. In 6 months I did 30 round trips and am still flying once a week. It's why I work here.
Cons
Low starting pay $17 an hour in 2023 but the 9.3% 401K match is outstanding. Med/Dental benefits are real good too
Southwest Airlines Reviews FAQs
Southwest Airlines has an overall rating of 4.1 out of 5, based on over 4,773 reviews left anonymously by employees. 80% of employees would recommend working at Southwest Airlines to a friend and 71% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.
80% 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, 4.1 for culture and values and 4.2 for career opportunities.
