Southwest Corporate Fact Sheet

Executive Leadership Headquarters About the Company History Daily Departures Employees Stock Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial and Operating Statistics Safety & Security Commitment

Fleet Cities Served Customer Support & Services Center southwest.com Distinctions Recognitions

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Executive Leadership:

Bob Jordan, President & Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Watterson, Chief Operating Officer
Ryan Green, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer
Tammy Romo, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Linda Rutherford, Chief Administration & Communications Officer
Mark Shaw, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer

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Headquarters:

P.O. Box 36611
2702 Love Field Drive
Dallas, TX 75235

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About the Company:

Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world’s most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline4. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its more than 66,0005 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among as many as 130 million Customers carried a year. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years6 of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world including harnessing the power of its People and Purpose to put communities at the Heart of its success. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship. Southwest is also continuing to develop tangible steps toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, including offering Customers an opportunity to help the airline offset its carbon emissions. To be part of the solution, visit Southwest.com/wannaoffsetcarbon.

^{1) U.S. Dept. of Transportation most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded 
2) fulltime-equivalent active Employees  
3) 1973-2019 annual profitability}

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History:

Southwest Airlines was incorporated in Texas and commenced Customer Service on June 18, 1971, with three Boeing 737 aircraft serving three Texas cities—Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio—and grew to become a major airline in 1989 when it exceeded the billion-dollar revenue mark. In 1994, Southwest became the first major airline to offer ticketless travel. In 1996, Southwest became the first major airline to post a website with the launch of our "Home Gate." Southwest topped the monthly domestic originating passenger rankings for the first time in May 2003. In 2013, Southwest started its Southwest service to a destination outside the 48 contiguous states with service to Puerto Rico. In July 2014, Southwest became an international airline with its first flights to Nassau, Bahamas; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Aruba, and continues to expand. In March 2019, Southwest began serving the Hawaiian Islands.

Read more about Southwest's Company History.

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Daily Departures:

Southwest Airlines operated more than 4,000 flights a day during peak travel seasons in 2019.

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Employees:

In 2019, more than 60,000 People worked to deliver exemplary Customer Service throughout the Southwest system.

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Stock:

Common stock is traded under the symbol "LUV" on the NYSE. Southwest paid its first quarterly dividend in fourth quarter 1976. In 2019, the Company returned approximately $2.4 billion to Shareholders through a combination of $2.0 billion in share repurchases and $372 million in dividends.

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ANNUAL 2019 FINANCIAL AND OPERATING STATISTICS:

• Net income: $2.3 billion
• Revenue passengers carried: 134.1 million  
• RPMs: 131.3 billion
• Load factor: 83.5%
• Annual record total operating revenues: $22.4 billion

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Fleet:

As of December 31, 2019, Southwest had 747 Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet:

Type	Number	Seats
737-700	506	143
737-800	207	175
737 Max 8	34(a)	175

 

(a) All 34 of the Company's MAX 8 aircraft were grounded as of March 13, 2019, to comply with an FAA emergency order issued for all U.S. airlines to ground all MAX aircraft.

• On October 1, 2017, Southwest's first 737 MAX 8 began scheduled service.
• The Company's fleet has an average age of approximately 11 years.
• In 2019, the Company's average aircraft trip length was 749 miles with an average duration of two hours and four minutes.
• In 2019, Southwest aircraft flew an average of over five flights or just above 11 hours per day
• Southwest was the launch customer for the Boeing 737-700 in 1997. Southwest also was a launch customer for the Boeing 737-500 and 737-300 series aircraft. And, in December 2011, Southwest announced it would be the launch customer for the Boeing 737 MAX.
• Southwest's 737-800 aircraft also feature Boeing's Sky Interior. The Boeing Sky Interior offers a quieter, more comfortable environment for Customers, with taller ceilings and more overhead bin space, improved operational security features, and ambient LED reading and ceiling lighting, which is more effective as well as energy efficient and adaptable to the mood onboard the aircraft.
• Most of Southwest's 737-800s are equipped with Split Scimitar Winglets, and the Company is currently replacing the Blended Winglets with Split Scimitar Winglets on some of its 737-700s. The Split Scimitar Winglet adds new strengthened stringers at the wing, aerodynamic scimitar tips, and a large ventral strake to the existing Blended Winglet while also providing additional incremental fuel savings beyond the approximate 3.5 percent per aircraft from Blended Winglets. In 2017, Southwest introduced the Boeing 737 MAX 8 into its fleet featuring the Advance Technology Winglet. In total, the Company's winglet program saved more than 82 million gallons of fuel in 2018.
• In 2013, Southwest became the first carrier to offer gate-to-gate connectivity. Customers may use small portable electronic devices (PEDs) in "airplane mode" from gate-to-gate on WiFi-enabled aircraft.
• On WiFi-enabled aircraft, Customers are able to enjoy free movies¹*, free messaging²*, free music³* and free Live TV³* on a mobile device, tablet or laptop. Customers do not need to purchase $8 WiFi⁴* in order to access entertainment selections within the portal. Customers can access inflight WiFi for $8 a day per device on WiFi-enabled aircraft.

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CITIES SERVED AS OF March 7, 2020

Southwest serves 103 destinations across the United States and 10 additional countries.

Download the current System Map.
Download City Fact Sheets.

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Customer Support and Services Centers:

• Southwest currently operates eight Customer Support and Services Centers: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and San Antonio and our Source of Support (SOS) Center based in Dallas.
• Southwest Airlines Customer Representatives handle, on average, 80,000 calls daily; 562,000 calls weekly; and 2.4 million calls monthly. Approximately 29.2 million calls were handled by Southwest Airlines Customer Representatives in 2019.

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IN 2019, SOUTHWEST:

• Carried more than 134 million revenue Customers which is an average of more than 11 million Customers per month.
• Received 356,014 applications and hired 6,756 Employees.
• Served an estimated 90 million bags of pretzels.
• Moved more than 158 million pounds of cargo.

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Southwest.com, mobile web, iOS and Android apps:

• More than 18 million people subscribe to Southwest's weekly Click ‘N Save emails.
• Southwest was the first airline to establish a home page on the Internet. Initially, five Employees comprised Southwest's web site development Team, and the site took about nine months to create.
• The "Low Fare Calendar" feature on Southwest.com is the first online tool that helps Customers find the lowest fare based on availability across an entire month.
• In 2018, a new site search tool was added to Southwest.com to help Customers find the right content as well as better highlight Customer generated content from the Southwest Community and social media. Rapid Rewards Enrollment forms were updated with a modern look and feel to ease the enrollment process.
• Southwest launched new versions of both the Southwest iOS and Android and Southwest mobile web site in 2016. In October of 2018, Southwest released its first iPad app. 2018 was a year filled with enhancements, which included the addition of international booking, checkin and change, an improved multi-passenger boarding experience, more intuitive trip cards, Google Pay enabled mobile boarding passes for Android users, a mobile standby list, and ride-sharing with a partnership with Lyft. Customer are also now able to sign up for the Rapid Rewards Credit card in mobile while making a booking.
• In addition to being able to book and manage domestic and international flights, Customers are able to make hotel, and complete vacation package reservations on Southwest.com, and make car reservations on Southwest.com, mobile web, iOS and Android apps.

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Distinctions:

• Southwest was the first in the industry to offer a ProfitSharing Plan.
• Southwest has an industry-leading balance sheet and have investment grade ratings from all three credit rating agencies.
• Southwest has the largest Boeing fleet in the world.  
• For more than 30 years, Southwest Airlines has been the launch customer for each new generation of Boeing's 737-series aircraft, including the MAX.
• Based on the latest data available from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Southwest is America's largest domestic airline in terms of domestic originating passengers with 23 percent market share.
• Southwest is the only domestic airline with a decades-long history of returning capital to Shareholders. 
• Southwest is the only domestic airline with 47 consecutive years of profitability.

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Recognitions:

• Named to FORTUNE's list of World's Most Admired Companies; Southwest was ranked #11 (and named to the 2020 list as #11 again)
• #1 Marketing Carrier in Customer Satisfaction per the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) data5
• Highest ranking Low-Cost Carrier for Customer satisfaction for the third year in a row in the J.D. Power 2019 North America Satisfaction StudySM
• Ranked #1 by J.D. Power for Customer Satisfaction with Airline Travel Websites
• Ranked #2 by The Points Guy as a Best Airlines for Family
• Named Program of the Year for Rapid Rewards Program and recognized for providing the Best Loyalty Credit Card, the Best Airline Redemption Ability, and the Best Customer Service by the Freddie Awards
• Ranked among the Best Airline Rewards Programs by U.S. News & World Report
• Recognized by Airlines Reporting Corp. as 2019 Airline of the Year
• Named one of Military Times Best for Vets: Employers 2019
• Recognized as a Best Employer in Forbes' 2019 list

^{1 To view movies and select on-demand TV content, download the Southwest app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store before your flight.
2 Messaging service only allows access to iMessage and WhatsApp (must be downloaded before the flight).
3 Due to licensing restrictions, iHeartRadio may not be available on certain WiFi-enabled domestic flights, and on WiFi-enabled international flights, Free Live TV and iHeartRadio may not be available for the full duration of flight.
4 Price is subject to change. May not be available full duration of flight. In order to provide a top-notch WiFi experience, we prohibit access to certain high-bandwidth applications and websites, including Netflix, HBO GO® and VoIP. We also prohibit access to certain obscene or offensive content.
5 5Source: Air Travel Consumer Reports. Rankings based on the most recent complaints filed with the Department of Transportation (DOT) per 100,000 passengers served for January through November 2019. Southwest was 1st place in the DOT’s Year-to-Date (YTD) Customer Service ranking among Operating and Marketing Carriers. An Operating Carrier can be an airline that only operates flights on behalf of another/larger carrier (i.e. Branded Codeshare Partner) or any airline that sells and flies under its own brand (a.k.a. Marketing Carrier).*Available only on WiFi-enabled aircraft. Limited-time offer. Where available.}

 

 

 

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