Our Benefits

The Freedom to Travel

"You are now free to move about the country"...and so are Southwest Employees. Our Employees enjoy many great travel perks:

Free Flights on Southwest Airlines
Employees, spouses, eligible dependent children, and parents fly Southwest for free. Committed/Registered Partners also enjoy travel privileges on Southwest. Space-available travel is unlimited and starts on day one of employment.

Discounted Flights
Discounted, space-available travel with participating carriers is available through the Southwest Airlines Pass Bureau, subject to eligibility and other restrictions.

Guest Passes
Our Guest Pass Program provides a way for Employees to share the Freedom to Travel with friends and family not covered under dependent flight privileges.

Additional Discounts
Many companies including hotels, theme parks, and rental car companies offer discounts to Southwest Airlines Employees.

Southwest Airlines is an equal opportunity employer.

The Freedom to Create Financial Security

As an Employer, Southwest knows that financial security is a top priority for our People. We offer great programs like these to help our Employees plan for the future.

• 401(k) Plan: This Company-sponsored retirement plan allows Employees to contribute a portion of their pay on a pre-tax basis to build up savings for retirement. Currently, we match Employee contributions $1 for $1 up to 9.3 percent of eligible salary.
• ProfitSharing Plan: Without great Employees, we wouldn't have great profits. Each year Southwest rewards our People with a portion of the Company's profits to Employee ProfitSharing accounts. For example, in 2006 Southwest contributed 7.96 percent of our Employees' salaries into their ProfitSharing accounts!
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan: This plan allows Employees to buy shares of Southwest stock at a 10% discount.

Southwest Airlines is an equal opportunity employer.

The Freedom to Pursue Good Health

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away..." but in case it doesn't, Southwest has you covered! Our competitive health package makes staying healthy affordable, currently for as little as $15 per month.

• Medical
• Vision
• Dental
• Life Insurance
• Other Benefits
  • Longterm Disability Insurance
  • Dependent Care Spending Account
  • Healthcare Spending Account
  • Adoption Assistance Reimbursement Benefit
  • Child and Elder Care Resource and Referral Program
  • Mental Health Chemical Dependency/Employee Assistance Program
  • Family and Medical Leave Act Employee Rights and Responsibilities

Southwest is an equal opportunity employer.

The Freedom to Create and Innovate

We think big at Southwest Airlines... just look at some of the history-making ideas that came straight from our creative and innovative Leaders and Employees.

• The Ten-Minute Turnaround: In 1972, Southwest had to sell its fourth airplane to save money. With only three planes, Southwest had to move quickly to keep from cutting back service. An Employee came up with a brilliant innovation-keep the planes on the ground no more than ten minutes. After all, planes make money in the air, not on the ground.
• Fuel from the Heart: In 1990, to help offset the enormous rise in jet fuel costs, many Southwest Employees began purchasing jet fuel at $1.10 per gallon through payroll deduction.
• Ticketless Travel: On January 31, 1995, Southwest became the first major airline to offer Ticketless Travel systemwide, beginning a new era in airline travel.
• Blended Winglets: Southwest Airlines announced in 2003 that we would add Blended Winglets to our current and future fleet of Boeing 737-700's. The distinctive winglets improve performance by extending the airplane's range, saving fuel, lowering engine maintenance costs, and reducing takeoff noise.

The Freedom to Learn and Grow

Southwest Airlines values our People and their goals. Here are some opportunities our Employees have to learn and grow:

Learning

• University for People: Our learning facility provides a variety of professional and personal development for Employees.
• Leadership Training: Want to be a Leader? Classes like Leadership 101 and Leadership Southwest Style will show you how!
• Personal Development: The University offers classes on interviewing, public speaking, and everything in between.
• Job Training: Southwest ensures that each and every Employee receives thorough training for their position.

Growing

• Moving around the Company: We encourage movement in new roles to increase job skillls.
• Days in the Field: Spend time in another person's shoes to learn about their job.
• Manager in Training (MIT) Program: Our MIT Program was created to develop our high-potential Leaders.

The Freedom to Make a Positive Difference

We're not known as the LUV airline for nothing! Making a positive difference is part of what keeps our Culture alive. Employees are encouraged to give back From the Heart through programs like these:

• Spread the LUV: Southwest Employees filled our Headquarters lobby with donated jars of peanut butter.
• Employee Catastrophic Fund: Employees have the option of making payroll deducted donations to this fund supporting our own Employees in times of trouble. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Employees donated $543,300 to Fellow Employees in need.
• LUV Classic Golf Tournaments: Southwest sponsors annual golf tournaments in Dallas and Phoenix. Since the tradition started, Southwest raised over $9.7 million for Ronald McDonald Houses.
• Adopt-A-Pilot: Many of our Pilots volunteer their time visiting fifth grade classes and corresponding with students throughout the year. The program allows students to see the importance of education in reaching personal goals.
• Operation Phone Home: Southwest partnered with the USO and its OPERATION PHONE HOME program to provide phone cards to troops.

Southwest Airlines is an equal opportunity employer.

The Freedom to Work and Have Fun

Happy Employees = Happy Customers. Happy Customers keep Southwest flying. Our one of a kind culture includes FUN events like these that keep our Employees motivated and make it worthwhile to work hard for the Company they love!

• Haunted Headquarters:  Halloween is more spectacular than spooky at this annual event. Skits, costumes, and activities provide FUN for our Employees, families, and friends.
• Culture Committees: These Employee-led groups volunteer time to celebrate life events, plan FUN events, and make Southwest a FUN place to work.
• Chili Cookoff: Our annual event featuring food, talent, prizes, and of course, chili!
• Spirit Parties: Events hosted by our field locations which help promote cross-country FUN!

Southwest Airlines is an equal opportunity employer.

The Freedom to Stay Connected

Being a Southwest Employee makes you part of the Southwest family! As our Company grows, we know how important it is to keep those family ties. We have many communication methods in place to do just that.

• Today@SWA: Our daily newsletter that provides late-breaking news, Company announcements, messages from Leaders, industry news, Employee recognition, and more.
• Employee Communications: An entire Team dedicated to keeping us informed and in touch.
• LUVLines: Our Employee magazine published monthly features in-depth articles on Company and industry news.
• Message to the Field: Our traveling annual meeting offers Employees the opportunity to hear a Company update from our CEO and other Executive Leaders.
• SWALife: Our secure Employee web site that provides important Company News and Information, Culture Updates, Employee Benefits, Travel Tools, and other business-critical content.
• SWA Blog:  Nuts About Southwest is a blog all about our Employees, Customers, airplanes, and airports. We really are Nuts about Southwest and we hope that our Readers are too.
• Employee News Line:  Gary Kelly and other Southwest Officers record a recap of what's important at Southwest on this toll-free hotline.

Southwest Airlines is an equal opportunity employer.