In 2019, Southwest Employees volunteered more than 200,000 hours to help causes and organizations they care about.
As we’ve famously said for decades, our People are the Heartbeat of Southwest. But when we talk about “our People,” we mean more than just our Employees. Of course we love our Employees, and offer them great jobs and benefits—helping to create our amazing Culture. But we also believe that the rest of our Stakeholders—our Customers, communities, and Shareholders—are “our People” too. As such, we seek to always do right by them, living by the Golden Rule and acting with a Servant’s Heart. We remain a Company of our People, with a focus on serving our Customers.
In 2019, Southwest Employees volunteered more than 200,000 hours to help causes and organizations they care about.
Invested more than $450,000 in Hawaii community organizations since 2017.
We’ve always done things a little differently at Southwest, with The Golden Rule at the forefront of our Culture. We take pride in our reputation as the airline with Heart, and that naturally extends to a passion for making a difference in our communities and protecting our resources. We’re committed to being a good corporate citizen because it’s in our DNA and we believe community is more than a place—it’s at the Heart of what brings us together.
At Southwest, taking care of People always starts with our Employees. We provide them with great jobs and benefits, and a world-famous Culture where they are encouraged to be their authentic self—drawing on their unique perspectives, skills, and experiences in their day-to-day jobs. Over the years, we’ve seen how treating our Employees well does good things for the rest of our business. Because happy, empowered Employees make great ambassadors, and that affects Customers, the world around us, and the success of our business. It’s no wonder we’ve always said Employees are the Heart of Southwest.
At Southwest, we take a different approach to Customer Service than most companies. Customers are at the Heart of everything we do, and we view each Customer as a valued, unique individual. When you’re serving real, unique People with individual needs and wants, a one-size-fits-all approach to service just doesn’t work. We empower our Employees to connect with Customers on a personal level, so they can deliver distinctive, personal service. And after 47 consecutive years of profitability, our approach seems to be working. More than 134 million Customers chose to travel with us last year—a testament to the power of warm, personal service and the Southwest Heart.
Frontline Employee Training to learn our Commodity Tracking System, helping our Customers track their belongings.
Our focus on communities is a natural extension of Southwest’s People-centric approach to citizenship. We seek to connect People to what’s important in their lives, and the communities where we live, work, and play are an essential part of what brings us together. We believe that cooperation can advance our impact, so we partner with like-minded People and organizations to promote resilience, civility, and peace in our communities.
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active, full-time equivalent Employees at yearend1616) Active, full-time equivalent Employees as of Dec. 31 for specific calendar year. | 60,767 | 58,803 | 56,110 | 53,536 | 49,583 |
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active, full-time equivalent Employees at yearend, by gender1717) Active, full-time equivalent Employees as of Dec. 31 for specific calendar year. | 57 % Male 43 % Female | 57 % Male 43 % Female | 58 % Male 42 % Female | 57 % Male 43 % Female | NR |
| New Hires during the reporting period, by age and gender: under 30 years old | 1,093 Male 787 Female | 1,450 Male 1,038 Female | 1,223 Male 940 Female | NR | NR |
| New Hires during the reporting period, by age and gender: 30-50 years old | 1,530 Male 1,014 Female | 1,871 Male 1,092 Female | 1,831 Male 996 Female | NR | NR |
| New Hires during the reporting period, by age and gender: over 50 years old | 379 Male 422 Female | 444 Male 439 Female | 405 Male 448 Female | NR | NR |
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight | 25,864 43 % | 24,924 42 % | 23,561 42 % | 22,133 41 % | 21,108 42 % |
| Maintenance | 3,233 5 % | 3,021 5 % | 2,960 5 % | 2,951 6 % | 2,795 6 % |
| Ground, Customer, and Fleet Services | 21,013 35 % | 20,800 36 % | 20,175 36 % | 19,497 36 % | 17,315 35 % |
| Administrative (Technology, Management, Finance, Marketing, Clerical Personnel) | 10,657 17 % | 10,058 17 % | 9,414 17 % | 8,955 17 % | 8,365 17 % |
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active and inactive Employees who participate in benefits program | More than 64,800 | More than 62,800 | More than 58,900 | More than 56,300 | More than 52,000 |
| Employee benefit programs excluding 401(k) and ProfitSharing plans and share-based compensation (accrued)1919) Includes Southwest’s contributions to Employee health and welfare plans, workers’ compensation insurance, and employer payroll taxes. | More than $ 1.3 billion | More than $ 1.2 billion | More than $ 1.1 billion | More than $ 1.0 billion | More than $ 950 million |
| 401(k) savings plan participation | 91 % | 91 % | 91 % | 92 % | 92 % |
| 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 | $ 1.2 billion | $ 1.0 billion | $ 1.0 billion | $ 937 million | $ 945 million |
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot hours | 482,473 | 543,360 | 582,535 | 457,563 | 476,272 |
| Flight Attendant hours | 427,705 | 442,807 | 354,942 | 443,295 | 241,900 |
| Maintenance hours | 165,630 | 166,324 | 140,068 | 147,312 | 148,281 |
| Customer Support and Services hours | 134,783 | 181,670 | 255,106 | 175,447 | 214,745 |
| Ground Operations hours | 887,627 | 737,256 | 740,285 | 730,088 | 656,365 |
| Safety and Security hours (all Employees) | More than 780,000 | More than 820,000 | More than 660,000 | More than 811,000 | More than 800,000 |
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| External Customer commendations | More than 88,000 | More than 96,000 | More than 107,000 | More than 105,000 | More than 89,000 |
| Ratio of external Customer commendations to personnel complaints2020) Southwest revised its reporting methodology to “Ratio of external Customer commendations to personnel complaints” from “Ratio of external Customer commendation to personnel rudeness complaints.” For comparison purposes, Ratio of external Customer commendations to personnel complaints metrics for years 2015 to 2018, reflect the new reporting methodology. | 3:1 | 3:1 | 4:1 | 3:1 | 2:1 |
| American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) | 79 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 78 |
| U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Customer Satisfaction rating (consumer complaints per 100,000 enplanements)2121) U.S. Department of Transportation. (2020, February). Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR): A Product of the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, Aviation Consumer Protection Division. Washington, D.C. https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/february-2020-air-travel-consumer-report. The DOT ranks all U.S. carriers based on the lowest ratio of complaints filed with the DOT per 100,000 passengers enplaned. Southwest earned 1st place in the DOT’s 2019 ATCR. A Marketing Carrier is an airline that advertises under a common brand name, sells reservations, manages frequent flyer programs, and is ultimately responsible for the airline’s consumer policies. Operating Carriers handle the flight operations for the respective Marketing Carriers they serve—Operating Carriers are not responsible for policies, procedures, and advertising associated with the Marketing Carrier’s brand. | 0.33 | 0.36 | 0.47 | 0.47 | 0.52 |
| Percentage of reported flight operations arriving ontime | 80.2 | 79.2 | 78.7 | 80.8 | 79.7 |
| Number of mishandled bags reported per 1,000 enplaned bags2222) In accordance with DOT guidelines, Southwest revised its mishandled bag reporting to “Number of mishandled bags reported per 1,000 bags enplaned.” For comparison purposes, mishandled bag metrics have been provided for 2018 and 2017, to reflect the new reporting methodology. | 4.40 | 4.68 | 4.50 | NR | NR |
| Passengers denied boarding per 10,000 Passengers | 0.19 | 0.15 | 0.53 | 0.99 | 1.08 |
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donation requests received systemwide | 18,456 | 17,243 | 17,032 | 15,237 | 14,995 |
| Tickets donated | 45,301 | 50,060 | 50,586 | 53,291 | 38,936 |
| Total monetary donations | $ 5,843,946 | $ 4,581,579 | $ 13,390,938 | $ 3,280,307 | $ 3,258,761 |
| Total corporate monetary, in-kind, and ticket donations | $ 24,306,076 | $ 25,235,753 | $ 37,043,294 | $ 25,324,794 | $ 19,571,177 |
| Monies raised through official Southwest fundraising efforts | $ 800,000 | $ 950,000 | $ 500,000 | $ 675,000 | $ 675,000 |
| Employee volunteer hours | More than 200,000 | Nearly 190,000 | More than 180,000 | Nearly 150,000 | More than 145,000 |
| Value of Employee volunteer hours2323) Independent Sector. (2019, April 11). Independent Sector Releases New Value of Volunteer Time of $25.43 Per Hour. https://independentsector.org/ news-post/new-value-volunteer-time-2019/ | More than $ 5,800,000 | More than $ 4,800,000 | More than $ 4,300,000 | More than $ 3,500,000 | Nearly $ 3,500,000 |
| 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees represented by unions | Approximately 83 % | Approximately 83 % | Approximately 83 % | Approximately 83 % | Approximately 83 % |
| Employee human rights training hours | More than 53,500 | More than 44,000 | More than 39,000 | More than 51,000 | More than 22,000 |
| Employees trained on human rights | 48.9 % | 43.9 % | 40.4 % | 44.4 % | 36.1 % |
| Employees and business associates who acknowledged the Code of Ethics | More than 64,000 | More than 64,000 | More than 63,000 | More than 59,000 | More than 53,500 |
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