In 2018, Southwest Employees volunteered nearly 190,000 hours to help causes and organizations they care about.
In 2018, Southwest Employees volunteered nearly 190,000 hours to help causes and organizations they care about.
The size of our new world-class operational support and training facilities at our Dallas campus.
For nearly five decades, our world-famous Culture has created a loyal following with happy Employees translating to happy Customers and happy Shareholders—a philosophy that has proven to be a formula for success. We put People first, and that extends to our Employees, our Customers, and the people in the communities we serve. We’re often asked, “What’s the secret to Southwest’s success?” Our answer? It’s no secret—it’s our People.
Southwest’s Legendary Customer Service begins with the way we take care of our Employees. We’ve always believed that when you put your Employees first, your Customers feel the difference. We strive to create a diverse, inclusive, and high-performance workplace that allows each of our Employees to reach their full potential. We view the myriad of perspectives, skills, and experiences on our Team as a strength, so we seek to empower Employees to fully be themselves when serving our Customers—because genuine service is best when it comes from the Heart.
Customers are at the Heart of everything we do—after all, we have long thought of ourselves as a Customer Service organization that just happens to fly airplanes. Last year, a record of more than 134 million Customers chose to travel with Southwest—helping us reach our 46th consecutive year of profitability. Our continued success reinforces the importance of what’s brought us this far and serves as a signpost for what’s ahead. By finding new ways to extend our Legendary Customer Service and continuing to offer friendly, personal Southwest Hospitality, we’re pursuing our Vision to become the world’s most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline.11) The 2018 Southwest Airlines One Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to (i) the Company’s Vision; (ii) the Company’s financial position, outlook, goals, targets, strategies, plans, expectations, and projected results of operations, including specific factors expected to impact the Company’s results of operations; (iii) the Company’s network, growth, and capacity plans, strategies, opportunities, and expectations; (iv) the Company’s expectations and goals with respect to enhancing Shareholder value and returning value to Shareholders; (v) the Company’s fleet plans, strategies, and expectations, including its fleet modernization initiatives, and the Company’s related financial and operational expectations; (vi) the Company’s operational initiatives and related plans and expectations, including with respect to its technology and innovation initiatives; and (vii) the Company’s other initiatives, including construction, safety, fuel, and environmental initiatives, and related plans and expectations. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. Factors include, among others, (i) changes in demand for the Company’s services and other changes in consumer behavior; (ii) the impact of a continually changing business environment, economic conditions, fuel prices, actions of competitors (including without limitation pricing, product, scheduling, capacity, and network decisions, and consolidation and alliance activities), and other factors beyond the Company’s control, on the Company’s business decisions, plans, strategies, and results; (iii) the impact of governmental actions and governmental regulations related to the Company’s operations, in particular with respect to the grounding of the Company’s 737 MAX 8 fleet; (iv) the Company’s dependence on third parties, in particular with respect to its fleet and technology plans and expectations, and the impact on the Company’s operations and results of operations of any related third party delays or non-performance; (v) the Company’s ability to timely and effectively implement, transition, and maintain the necessary information technology systems and infrastructure to support its operations and initiatives; (vi) the Company’s ability to timely and effectively prioritize its initiatives and related expenditures; (vii) the impact of labor matters on the Company’s business decisions, plans, strategies, and costs; (viii) changes in aircraft fuel prices, the volatility of commodities used by the Company for hedging jet fuel, and any changes to the Company’s fuel hedging strategies and positions; and (ix) other factors, as described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the detailed factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2018.
As our business continues to grow, our influence on the communities where we live and work increases as well, presenting exciting new opportunities for us to connect People to what’s important in their lives. Investing in community-minded partnerships and volunteering in the communities where we live and work allows us to connect with more People in the places and ways that matter most.
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active, full-time equivalent Employees at yearend1313) Active, full-time equivalent Employees as of Dec. 31 for specific calendar year. | 58,803 | 56,110 | 53,536 | 49,583 | 46,278 |
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active, full-time equivalent Employees at yearend1313) Active, full-time equivalent Employees as of Dec. 31 for specific calendar year., by gender | 57 % Male 43 % Female | 58 % Male 42 % Female | 57 % Male 43 % Female | NR | NR |
| New Hires during the reporting period, by age and gender: under 30 years old | 1,450 Male 1,038 Female | 1,223 Male 940 Female | NR | NR | NR |
| New Hires during the reporting period, by age and gender: 30-50 years old | 1,871 Male 1,092 Female | 1,831 Male 996 Female | NR | NR | NR |
| New Hires during the reporting period, by age and gender: over 50 years old | 444 Male 439 Female | 405 Male 448 Female | NR | NR | NR |
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight | 24,924 42 % | 23,561 42 % | 22,133 41 % | 21,108 42 % | 20,013 43 % |
| Maintenance | 3,021 5 % | 2,960 5 % | 2,951 6 % | 2,795 6 % | 2,632 6 % |
| Ground, Customer, and Fleet Services | 20,800 36 % | 20,175 36 % | 19,497 36 % | 17,315 35 % | 15,739 34 % |
| Administrative (Technology, Management, Finance, Marketing, Clerical Personnel) | 10,058 17 % | 9,414 17 % | 8,955 17 % | 8,365 17 % | 7,894 17 % |
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active and inactive Employees who participate in benefits program | More than 62,800 | More than 59,800 | More than 56,300 | More than 52,000 | More than 49,000 |
| Employee benefit programs excluding 401(k) and ProfitSharing plans and share-based compensation (accrued)3333) Includes Southwest’s contributions to Employee health and welfare plans, workers’ compensation insurance, and employer payroll taxes. | More than $1.2 billion | More than $1.1 billion | More than $1 billion | More than $950 million | More than $880 million |
| 401(k) savings plan participation3434) 401(k) savings plan participation for 2017 has been revised to be consistent with current year and prior years’ participation calculations. | 91 % | 91 % | 92 % | 92 % | 93 % |
| ProfitSharing Plan participation | All eligible Employees | All eligible Employees | All eligible Employees | All eligible Employees | All eligible Employees |
| Company contributions to 401(k) and ProfitSharing plans | $1.0 billion | $1.0 billion | $937 million | $945 million | $644 million |
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot hours | 543,360 | 582,535 | 457,563 | 476,272 | 546,867 |
| Flight Attendant hours | 442,807 | 354,942 | 443,295 | 241,900 | 474,973 |
| Maintenance hours | 166,324 | 140,068 | 147,312 | 148,281 | 154,723 |
| Customer Support & Services hours | 181,670 | 255,106 | 175,447 | 214,745 | 128,845 |
| Ground Operations hours | 737,256 | 740,285 | 730,088 | 656,365 | 693,687 |
| Safety & Security hours (all Employees) | More than 820,000 | More than 660,000 | More than 811,000 | More than 800,000 | More than 820,000 |
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| External Customer commendations | More than 96,000 | More than 107,000 | More than 105,000 | More than 89,000 | More than 75,000 |
| Ratio of external Customer commendations to personnel rudeness complaints | 8:1 | 8:1 | 6:1 | 4:1 | 4:1 |
| American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) | 80 | 80 | 80 | 78 | 78 |
| U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Customer Satisfaction rating (consumer complaints per 100,000 enplanements) | 0.36 | 0.47 | 0.47 | 0.52 | 0.50 |
| Percentage of reported flight operations arriving on time | 79.2 | 78.7 | 80.8 | 79.7 | 73.0 |
| Number of mishandled bags reported per 1,000 Passengers | 2.89 | 2.83 | 2.98 | 3.31 | 4.06 |
| Passengers denied boarding per 10,000 Passengers | 0.15 | 0.53 | 0.99 | 1.08 | 1.03 |
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donation requests received systemwide | 17,243 | 17,032 | 15,237 | 14,995 | 15,046 |
| Tickets donated | 50,060 | 50,586 | 53,291 | 38,936 | 43,188 |
| Total monetary donations | $ 4,581,579 | $ 13,390,938 | $ 3,280,307 | $ 3,258,761 | $ 2,748,305 |
| Total corporate monetary, in-kind, and ticket donations | $ 25,235,753 | $ 37,043,294 | $ 25,324,794 | $ 19,571,177 | $ 20,128,153 |
| Monies raised through official Southwest fundraising efforts | $ 950,000 | $ 500,000 | $ 675,000 | $ 675,000 | $ 640,000 |
| Employee volunteer hours | Nearly 190,000 | More than 180,000 | Nearly 150,000 | More than 145,000 | More than 144,000 |
| Value of Employee volunteer hours3232) Based on Independent Sector’s estimated value of a volunteer hour. For more information, visit: http://www.independentsector.org/resource/the-value-of-volunteer-time/ | More than $4,800,000 | More than $ 4,300,000 | More than $ 3,500,000 | Nearly $ 3,500,000 | More than $ 3,300,000 |
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees represented by unions | Approximately 83 % | Approximately 83 % | Approximately 83 % | Approximately 83 % | Approximately 83% |
| Employee human rights training hours | More than 44,000 | More than 39,000 | More than 51,000 | More than 22,000 | More than 54,000 |
| Employees trained on human rights | 43.9 % | 40.4 % | 44.4 % | 36.1 % | 46.4 % |
| Employees and business associates who acknowledged the Code of Ethics | More than 64,000 | More than 63,000 | More than 59,000 | More than 53,500 | More than 50,800 |
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