Southwest Airlines Reviews

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – Freedom to be myself and explore the best way to do my job. Flexible work schedule and casual environment. My boss trusts me to get my job done with no micro-management. It is an environment of trust and productivity. I have been here over a decade and I plan to retire here. I love this company and its people. Keep drinking the Kool-aid!

Cons – The fervor to accomplish the impossible can be tiring sometimes. We work hard, play harder, but sometimes you just run out of the juice. It's okay - cause you can get some time to recover :)

Advice to Senior Management – Listen, listen, listen, and don't try too hard to fix what isn't broken!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – SWA takes care of their employee's! SWA knows that the employee is just as important as the customer. SWA is upfront in its communications to the employee's and will tell it like it is either good or bad!

Cons – Really ... I cant think of any cons worth mentioning specifically. Like all jobs there are days that are trying but that is with any job.

Advice to Senior Management – Continue to listen to the employee's. Continue to seek our input like you have done in the past. Take our suggestion's, review them and put the good ones in place like you have in the past!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – Southwest Airlines is the best company that I have ever worked for. There truly is LUV flowing throughout this family of people that I have come to know. I have worked for the company now for several years and have made life long friends. The travel benefits could not be better. Our direct supervisors are great and truly encourage us to do our best.....It feels as if you want to make them proud! We truly are lucky to have the benefits that we do!

Cons – There is nobody here in this department. You come in and nobody is here anymore because they have been fired (NO LAY OFFS FOR SWA) :) We constantly are listening to our passengers tell us about how long they had to wait on hold and it makes for a long day. Our VP has talked a lot on AHT(Average Handling Time)-----Suddenly we have become another airline that I don't recognize.....Although my AHT is under my teams average......some of my friends are not. (We are becoming an airline that has AHT ....just like an airline that is named after this country!

Advice to Senior Management – Please post the following sign......

HELP WANTED.....APPLY WITHIN........HAHA

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – Way on top: JOB SECURITY.

When others are laying off, furloughed, SWA most drastic action in 2009 was a VOLUNTARY BUYOUT.

Good SENIOR management.

Cons – If you are on the front line, it is one of the toughest job anywhere. While senior management have a good track record, the middle managers, who you deal with everyday, have lots to be desired. For practical purposes "communication" are town-down, like the military. Once in a while one hear "solicit ideas from the bottom" but it's not serious.

It's an old company (by comparison) so I guess lots of old ideas/people are entrenched and new ideas from the bottom are usually not listened to.

If you are thinking of working here, CAREFUL with ruffing feathers. Lots of gate-keepers.

Advice to Senior Management – OK, so it has worked for 39 years, but surely there's room for improvement. UNLEASHED, seek (really, not just the ones who look good on paper) your employees to their full potential.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – Southwest Airlines is an amazing company to work for. All employees are offered completely free flight benefits, paid vacation, sick leave and a generous health insurance policy.

Cons – There aren't really any downsides of working at Southwest Airlines.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep up the good work!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Southwest Airlines

Pros – The respect that you receive at any rank within the company is not comparable with any other experience I have had to date.

Cons – The only reason this would be a bad place to work is if you 1) need fast career growth 2) need a high-salary pay check

Advice to Senior Management – not in a position to offer. anyone that can have the chance to observe a well run business like SWA definitely should!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – good firm and good people

Cons – No Downside. It is a good firm

Advice to Senior Management – Keep it going

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – This is a job where you can make the job anything you want; it can either be a career or a profitable stop off on the way to a career, OR a nice way to retire. One can eventually manage one's schedule into a more part-time arrangement (via computerized 'trip trading and/or 'shift' give away) or it can be more than full-time career (via computerized trip trading and/or pick up). Everyone creates their monthly schedules to their desired goal. This is not a perfect system of course as the industry is fickle and depending on the demands (or lack thereof) of flights to be covered AND one's seniority there is ultimately a limit to the flexibility.

There are individuals who make the absolute most of the opportunity and I think the general public would be a little surprised to learn just how much money some of my more industrious and clever (again, the computerized trip-trade/give-away system) co-workers are making; beautiful homes are bought, families are raised, nice cars and boats are purchased, vacations to Europe are taken ... it is definitely not just a 'silly' little job in terms of the money.

As for the more profound issue of 'job satisfaction' ... again, you make it as meaningful or as meaningless as you want ... working with people, even in this seemingly rather benign situation can be sometimes wonderful/heartbreaking/frightening and always interesting. Our use to people can be from the ridiculous to the sublime.

The company management has done and appears to be continuing to take into account 'quality of life' issues and does what it can to accommodate as many of these needs as is possible ... and still be viable.

Cons – For some of us who are not as clever with the computerized system and I, in particular, am not clever about my schedule AND I require a tremendous amount of sleep so I don't pick very productive trips and don't work a very strenuous schedule so ... My pay check reflects BOTH of these factors. Also, the major downside for me is that I have to commute across country to start my trips and this eats up 1/2 day or more sometimes (no pay) on either end of the trips I work. This leaves too little time at home to have a full home life. This is also workable for some however but is, with everyone, a common complaint to a certain degree.

I would say that the other down side is that 'the lifestyle' can be a trap ... very few people, once they are making decent money (3 years in) have a very hard time giving up the job...Not sure why this is.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep up the good work. Most of your employees respect and honor the good effort you put into everything and the absence of employee abuse or management arrogance.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – Southwest really tries to take care of their internal customers. The pay is the highest in it's industry. They have the best benefits plan. The flight benefits get better and better every year. Their 401K match is going up next year from their already generous contribution. They have never laid off an employee in their 38 year history. They encourage "thinking out of the box" ideas. A Flight Attendant's schedule is extremely flexible. I can choose to work as much or as little as I want to work from month to month. This is by far the best airline in the industry.

Cons – Our CEO, Gary Kelly does a fantastic job in showing that he cares for his employees. With the economy how it is any job in the airline industry is on shaky ground. For the first time in 38 years Southwest may need to slim down their amount of employees.
The inflight supervisors need better training in their field. I have personally had many problems with receiving incorrect information.

I can not think of any more downsides to working for this great company.

Advice to Senior Management – Train Supervisors.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Southwest Airlines

Pros – Excellent benefits, flexible schedule. Trade shifts to work as much or as little as you'd like. Working at the airport, wages start low, around $10.50 per hour, but top out is around $25.00 per hour after 10-11 years.

Cons – Working on holidays, week ends, nights, and a changing schedule. The Union also protects those who don't like to come to work.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep up the good work!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend