Southwest Airlines Reviews

Pros

People are dedicated and sincere in helping each other. It made for a great family feel environment that was appreciated.

Cons

Out of college you may have to start in the call center which isn't the end of the world but the pay is low and difficult to justify if you have a family.

Advice to Senior Management

Be mindful of the work of those underneath you. They have their own duties to tend to and aren't able when more work is piled on from above.

Pros

Good benefits, fly free, everybody treated as equal, respect from mgmt, good pay once you have been there at least ten years, union job.

Cons

This is an overwhelming job, which is non stop most of the year. This year we were forced to work 12 hr days on a consistent basis. We were worked like robuts.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire tons of new employees, most dont stick around long to help. With Airtran coming onboard, this company is going to have a real mess on their hands, if not enough employees are there.

Pros

flight benefits, casual dress, lot of parties and celebrations, security of the union, mostly good co-workers and mostly good customers

Cons

more hype than what is real on the inside. very few if any minorities at the upper level they like to hire minorities at the low levels, some of the new commercials are silly and make me embarassed

Advice to Senior Management

walk your talk and practice the golder rule yourselves. listen to the employees and managers who work on the front lines, and stop trying to be like everybody else. Herb didnt do it that way and he built a great company and a great airline

Pros

Company has good intentions. At least tries to treat their people and customers well. Relatively more relaxed, fun, casual environment to work at. Treats support reps more humanly unlike some other call-centers that see you as just a robot. Decent compensation. This company seems to have lived up to its culture and creed back in the day when the going was good and there was a lot of easy money (and low-hanging fruit) to be had.

Cons

Rising fuel prices and the realities of our pessimistic macroeconomic climate trends threatens and looms over the already razor thin profit margins in the airline industry. From a bigger-picture perspective the structural forces at play will constrain what is possible for Southwest from a perspective of growth, what level of customer service the company can continue to afford to maintain and offer to its passengers, and as a direct result also affects the job security, compensation and opportunities for growth for its existing employees, interns and contractors. This is no fault of the company itself, just a reflection of reality that the jet age is over and the flying public views it as a commodity. In the end oil running out has far fetching ripple effects and the downsizing and reduction of how SWA can afford to treat its employees is certainly one of the all too real "bottom lines" negatively impacted... But it is what it is.

SWA is the right company (but) in the wrong industry.

Advice to Senior Management

Gary Kelly seems to have the right approach. Cautiously optimistic. AirTran acquisition was a smart move. In this competitive cut-throat "last man standing" industry the only way to survive (forget about real growth) is for bigger fish to eat smaller fish (mergers, acquisitions) and taking pieces of the pie away from competitors (steal AA customers in this zero-sum-game) and through cannibalization and downsizing when and where appropriate. Need to more aggressively cut costs. Outsource as much as possible. Cut the fat and bureaucracy. Hire more long-term contractors and get rid of the whole "seniority" thing were old employees are just milking the company and feeling entitled. Continue to be even more honest and transparent with all employees and contractors about the realistic outlook and future prospects of SWA to set proper emotional expectations. Realize, recognize and acknowledge that the free spirited culture of SWA during its heyday that served to its benefit and competitive advantage is quickly becoming (from financial standpoint) an unsustainable hindrance. There needs to be a top-down acknowledgement from senior management of the correcting shift in culture commensurate to the shift in how business practices are actually run at SWA these days, otherwise the cognitive dissonance inadvertently caused by such disconnects resulting from the stark contrasting juxtapositions of ideal and actual empirical reality will be most disillusioning to all and damage the brand reputation even more.

Pros

I have what I consider to be some of the best health insurance in the work place. I enjoy what I do and the people I work with. Even though I work really hard, I generally have fun at work. Not too many people can say that!

Cons

There is absolutely NO recognition and/or raises in my department. Very disheartening. There are no growth opportunities in my department. It seems that if you are not part of a group that has a CBA (collecctive bargaining agreement), your salary will remain stagnant. Along with any growth opportunties. I was actually told that I would never be able to hold my dream job at Southwest. How sad is that?!

Advice to Senior Management

Recognize the hard work of your SUPPORT staff. We are doing everything we can to hold down costs and yet we get nothing! If you don't have a Manager willing to go to battle for you, forget it.

Pros

SWA promotes individuality, does not limit you to your job title and position..encourages you to make a difference.

Cons

mandatory overtime , mostly full-time positions.

Advice to Senior Management

Believe in your team, don't assume that we all have the same work ethics..based upon prior bad experiences and encourage us to promote ourselves within company.

Pros

SWA has awesome benefits and great people. Advancement is always an option.

Cons

Schedules are not done fairly. Sucky hours unless you are kissing some one's ass or are not white. Corporate isn't involved enough therefore local management can get away with murder and win an award for it.

Advice to Senior Management

Make the same rules for everyone. Bring back the wonderful SWA atmosphere.

Pros

Great health, retirement and travel benefits as well as tremendous opportunities to advance your career if you are driven and reasonably qualified.

Cons

Inexpensive flights and job security are achieved through mediocre financial compensation. Majority of the workforce is unionized and but some individuals act in their own self-interest.

Advice to Senior Management

Recognize the impact and efforts of everyone that you interact with. Those who have a positive impact and put in great effort should be rewarded while those who detract from the company should be reprimanded and/or asked to leave the company.

Pros

Decent benefits, free flights if you can get on as it is space available travel. Can transfer to other locations in the country.

Cons

The station where I worked was always understaffed so a lot of mandatory overtime. Little work-life balance. At one point I was working 6 day weeks. Puts a lot of stress on your body lifting heavy bags which the company encourages fliers to pack (Bags fly Free campaign). Not knowing when the work day is over- If the incoming flight is late at night youre stuck.

Advice to Senior Management

I know labor is a big expence for an airline but with all the bags and cargo youre moving you should examine your staffing levels.I think the Airtran acquisition is a bad move just to get to Atlanta. If you want to go there..go yourself not buy another airline

Pros

Excellent benefits: This company offers benefits to its ramp agents that can't compare to any other airline. 401k benefits, profit sharing, flight benefits, dental, medical
Most of the people you work with are great people:Most of the people you work with are decent people who work hard, care about others, friendly, and know when to have a good time.
Excellent job for staying fit: You don't need to have a gym membership while working here. Unless your diet is a really bad one you will burn fat from you body.

Cons

Training: I accepted this job based on a statement from the company that as long as you have the right attitude for the job we'll train you for it. Well I wasn't trained very well at all and this in the long run affected my job performance. Training supervisor at my station had too many responsibilities to fully ensure that new hires were well trained for job. Most of the trainers have only been on the job six months or less which meant unless you already have previous experience as a ramp agent you weren't going to receive an adequate amount of training for the job.
Overtime: If you like to know when you go to work what time you start and leave then don't work here. Mandatory overtime is almost certain during your first six months on the job and it can affect how well you perform if given too much.
Diversity: I want to preface this by mentioning that this may not be an issue in cities that have a diverse workforce but at my station there were some small issues in terms of accepting diversity. While the company does a good job hiring people from diverse groups it needs to do a better job conveying interaction amongst the groups.

Advice to Senior Management

Southwest Airlines is a relatively great company to work for due to the fact they care for their employees but during my time working as a Ramp Agent I saw the issues of training and diversity as two key issues the company may need to work on.