Wed regularly book 40people on the busiest routes, and 16 would board. I dont like paying for checked bags when I didnt check any bags. They looked at me and said we didnt check bags either and then, with a figurative light bulb on their head, said hey, were subsidizing all those bag checkers! We all laughed, but it brings out a point about Southwests fares. COVID might not be a short, quick shock like 9/11, but a long-lasting plague that hammered commercial aviation harder than any other big business. Employees can enroll in long-term disability plans to protect them if they develop a disability and cant work for an extended period. While Southwest Airlines employees earn an average yearly salary of $41,081, different roles can command different wages. Community outreach For more than 50 years, Southwest has connected People and championed communities. The fired Google engineer who thought its A.I. Write by: . The Air Line Pilots Association . New research shows that each woman experiences the disparity of gender pay gap in different ways, depending on her position, age, race and education. We wanted to make our network more dense, to get more connectivity. In fact, it didnt do either one. Subscribe to Fortune Dailyto get essential business stories straight to your inbox each morning. We were flying around the country with four or five passengers on the737-700 and 800s that carry 143 and 175 passengers,White tellsFortune. Southwest Airlines' strategy emphasizes recruiting and retaining motivated employees. We had to keep flying to take passengers like that doctor, plus we were carrying medical supplies, he says. Southwest is the only large airline that can compete on price. They allow a customer to cancel a. Other roles at Southwest Airlines include manager, custom support and services and cashier. The union contracts required that Southwest provide advance notice of the cuts to come if the flight attendants, pilots, and other groups failed to present a plan to reach that 10% target. It also has a partnership with Chase Bank and offers customers a Southwest credit card. Southwest Airlines does not review past postings to determine whether they remain accurate, and information contained in such postings may have been superseded. Now for the first time, they can fly the largest low-cost carrier from nearby OHare. She is the CEO of Xaris Financial Enterprises and a course facilitator for Cornell University. Nevertheless, Southwest has managed to beat the odds, with a 96% retention rate, 44 straight years of profitability, and no layoffs in their history. The MAXs burn14%less jet fuel, and are40%quieter, than their Boeing predecessors. Of course, its biggest single cost by far is wages, salaries, and benefits,accounting in 2019 for 43% of operating costs, and for Southwest to survive, that huge nut had to shrink drastically. It was business travel that suffered most by far in the crisis, and it was clear to Kelly, as well as other industry leaders, that a rush of vacationers would lead the rebound, while it would take years for thebusiness crowd to return in their old numbers. Kelly tells Fortune that the most distressing part of the crisis was the prospect of punishing the workforce. What percentage of Southwest's workforce is unionized? Current Employee - Customer Service Representative, Great job if you are good at customer service. For several decades, Southwest Airlines was the envy of the airline industry because of multiple competitive advantages: a low-cost structure that stayed low due to fast growth, happy employees who liked their jobs and translated that to customers, loved by customers and the government for its low fares and creating strong competition, unique in its customer flexibility with no bag or change fees, and more. Glassdoor has millions of jobs plus salary information, company reviews, and interview questions from people on the inside making it easy to find a job thats right for you. While the Committee has the powers, authority, duties, and responsibilities set forth in this Charter, the role of the Committee is to assist the Board in its oversight responsibilities. Transform pay with our enterprise-grade comp platform, Automate compensation with our full-suite solution, Payscale's employer-reported salary data network, The world`s largest employee-submitted pay database, Annual survey salary data from HR industry publishers, The crowdsourced compensation data API for developers, 100% company submitted data from 2,000+ businesses, Schedule a personalized demo to feel the power of Payscale, Find salary information for similar job titles and locations, Comp Planning Business Case Pitch Deck By clicking Download Pitch Deck, you. One-third of Southwests 60,000 employees chose one of the programs. Southwest offers an excellent benefits package, including a generous dollar-for-dollar Company match in the 401 (k) Plan, subject to vesting requirements and certain compensation limits, as well as a ProfitSharing Plan. When business conditions decline, only the strong survive. Hence, Kelly predicted that for their size, those leisure destinations would generate far more new passengers than the business as a whole. Now Southwest is backing its growth plans with the most ambitious aircraft expansion program of any major. $53,200 per year. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Before you decide whether variable pay is right for your org, get a deeper understanding of the variable pay options and the cultural impact of pay choices. 2022 Southwest Airlines Co. All Rights Reserved. The Committee will determine the appropriate funding, which must be provided by the Company, for payment of reasonable compensation to any compensation consultant, independent legal counsel, or other adviser retained by the Committee. Many of the folks flying Southwest are regular customers from such hubs as New Yorks LaGuardia and Midway who vacation or do business in Miami, but couldnt fly there on their favorite carrier and didnt want to get stuck in traffic driving south on I-95 from Fort Lauderdale. In Chicago, Southwest had longbeen the dominant carrier in Midway. In Q2 of last year, Southwest suffered an 87% drop inpassenger revenues from $5.5 billion to $700 million, causing a staggering loss of$1.1 billion. Southwest matches Employee contributions dollar-for-dollar up to 9.3% of their eligible earnings. They now sit at the high-fare poker table with a suddenly weaker hand. Each member of the Committee will be entitled to rely, to the fullest extent permitted by law, upon the integrity of those persons or organizations within and outside the Company from whom it receives information and the accuracy of the information. In Miami, Southwest benefited from anotherbreakthroughcourtesy of the crisis. Southwest is a great airline and has been for many years. How do Southwest Employees wages, benefits, and work rules compare to other airlines in the U.S.? These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. [ 2] Here is an in-depth analysis of top Southwest's competitors and alternatives: 1. The Committee shall have the powers, authority, duties, and responsibilities to: The Committee shall be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of any compensation consultant, independent legal counsel, or other adviser retained by the Committee; provided that the Committee has taken into consideration all factors relevant to that persons independence from management, including any independence factors that may be specified from time to time by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange. It was a great way to help us offset big fixed costs thatare impossible to cut, says Kelly. All Employees receive basic term life insurance at no cost. If enrolled in a high deductible plan, a health savings account (HSA) is available for Employees to save for eligible healthcare expensesnow or in the future. Southwest coming to town is a big deal in those markets. Southwest Airlines pays an average salary of $41,081 per year, or $19.75 an hour. With net margin of 4.45 % company . One way of measuring strength is size. With our Employee Stock Purchase plan, Employees can purchase Southwest common stock at a 10% discount through payroll deductions after six months of continuous service. Thedeparturestotaled 4,500. But I wanted to do everything I could to keep people in place and the blood flowing, so that wed be staffed to zoom out into the recovery and create more jobs. Kellys first move was to hammer nonlabor costs. Qualitative analysis evaluates a company's unquantifiable aspects such as management style and worker loyalty. Still, Southwest was hemorrhaging so much cash, for so long, that it came darn close to breaking that hallowed tradition, just as the half-century mark approached. Employees earn excellent pay and can prepare for their future with our exceptional retirement programs. Privacy Policy. The numbers that the Southwest Airlines CEO surveyed in April of last year were unspeakably catastrophic, and he had no indicators to foresee if the pandemic signaled a brief nosedive or a slow-motion crash. Job Security/Advancement. But the City of Chicago controlled a number of gates at OHare and deemedthat if those gates went mainly unused, newcomers could step in. But when its rivals pulled back, precious landing slots opened, and Kelly pounced. In one of his 71 online broadcasts to employeesduring the crisis, Kelly on Oct. 15 declared, The Payroll Supportprogramallowed us to operate without pay cuts or furloughs through Sept. 30, but it didnt go far enough or long enoughNow its time to do what must be done to save Southwest.. The atmospherics were like something out of a disaster movie. I dont expect this to happen, but in the endless search for revenue to cover higher costs, nothing should be taken off the table. Employees who enroll in a BenefitsPlus program receive one times their annual base pay(minimum of $50,000, up to a maximum of $1 million) of basic term life insurance and may elect optional life insurance up to 10 times their salary, choosing from various levels of life insurance for their spouse/committed partner and their children. That change significantly lowers Southwests overall costs, shrinking the gap with Fort Lauderdale. The competitive advantages Southwest enjoys today center mostly around the features that let it win corporate travel business against the global networks of American, United and Delta. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, United States. Southwest Airlines Gratitude (SWAG) Points. Southwest has stringent hiring practices and policies to ensure the right mix of team members. Southwest Airlines scored higher in 9 areas: Overall Rating, Culture & Values, Work-life balance, Senior Management, Compensation & Benefits, Career Opportunities, CEO Approval, Recommend to a friend and Positive Business Outlook. In these prime vacation markets, the goal is to lure totally new customers. The finance organizational function also pays relatively high compared to other departments, where employees earn $77,729. If Southwest does lose some of its significant business base as a result of the change fee going away, baggage would be an obvious place for it to recover some of that lost revenue. Yes, the pay is good at Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines is more flexible than most other large airlines. Southwest Airlines Co employees with the job title Software Engineer make the most with an average. While Southwest Airlines' entire business model is important, arguably the most valuable competitive advantage has been its deep focus on hiring the right people. This time, Kelly, whose 17-year tenure makes him the longest-serving CEO for a major U.S. carrier, couldnt even guess at how long the mysterious virus would ground Americas travelers. There are no current listings of his current salary, but based on Mark King's salary as CEO, you can guess that it will be comparable. Learn more about each company and apply to jobs near you. Also, proxies must disclose specific detailed information regarding the pay practices for certain executives. Its unit costs are lower than the big three, but it also doesnt have the international network or fleet complexity. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Loved it! Southwest Airlines employees rate the overall compensation . Kelly took the idle planes off the tarmac andback to work, laying the groundwork for a fast ascentonce the crisis lifted. You get to bat in a crisis a couple of times in 50 years, and how you do proves what you stand for or disproves it, he said. Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Southwest Airlines, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Southwest Airlines. The airline couldn't managed to keep its . Put simply, Kelly grabbed plans off the shelf scheduled to take five years or more and exploited the pandemic to fast-track thecampaign. Miamis taking off like a rocket, he says. His base pay is $643,750 with $989,000 as bonuses. Baggage handler. Community Giving Boards comprised of local Employees decide how Southwest gives back to charities in their neighborhoods, tapping into the passion points of their community. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. He curbed such capital expenditures as tech investments and airport expansions. Southwest Airlines pays those in the bottom 10 percent $19,000 a year, and the top 10 percent over $87,000. Delta Air Lines 2. Corporate Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation & Corporate Policies, Direct Stock Purchase Plan & Dividend Reinvestment. The amount of time off varies depending on your workgroup and years of service. perform such additional functions as may from time to time be assigned to the Committee by the Board. Dr. JeFreda R. Brown is a financial consultant, Certified Financial Education Instructor, and researcher who has assisted thousands of clients over a more than two-decade career. Remarkably, Kelly tellsFortune that at least on a quarterly basis, he hasnt given up on achieving Southwests biggest revenues ever by sometime next year, a record no other major is likely to match, or would have the nerve to predict. I write about airlines and travel to explain this crazy industry. But the color that accompanied the report for the week of April 5, 2020, evoked the lowest of low-down blues. Pass benefits are difficult to use now because of overbooking permitted on all flights.. Current Employee - Customer Service Representative, Great job if you are good at customer service. On March 13, 2020 most Employees will receive 10 percent of eligible compensation as a contribution to the . Average Frozen Food Express Industries Salary, Working at Frozen Food Express Industries. Southwests not just thesolemajor to grow its footprint big-time in the pandemic; its also the only one not to impose huge layoffs and pay cuts. Employee Focus One of Southwest's competitive advantages is its focus on its employees. The first was called voluntary separation, or VSP. We almost lost a zero, says Bob Jordan,EVP of corporate services. Southwest Employees recieve access to unique, engaging, and modern development opportunities including in-person classes, online content, mentor programs, and more! Use of the Southwest websites and our Company Information constitutes acceptance of our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy. JetBlue Airways 5. By donating to organizations that support people and the communities we serve, we take pride knowing our donations of time, money, and resources create meaningful impact. Now, Southwest is offeringa total of20 nonstopflights a day to Dallas, Denver, Nashville, Phoenix, and Baltimore/Washingon. Even after the voluntary programs took effect, Southwest was still far overstaffed. Find information about retirement plans, insurance benefits, paid time off, reviews, and more. For contract, or union workers, the airline directed each group to reduce its 2019 costs by 10% in 2021. Here's more information on Southwest Airlines' competitors : #1. New research on who's asking for raises and who's getting them as well as advice on how to ensure you're getting the salary you deserve. That pullback allowed Southwest to realize what it had only dreamed ofgrabbing gates at the nations third-busiest airport. Now in its 50s, Southwest has lost some key competitive advantages but also gained some new ones. Flight attendant. A proxy statement (or "proxy") is a form that every publicly traded U.S. company is required to file with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) within 120 days after the end of its fiscal year. Step-By-Step Pay Equity Analysis Guide Product Guide By clicking Download Product Guide, Do you know what your employees really want for the holidays? Comparing the results to its competitors, Southwest Airlines Co reported Total Revenue increase in the 3 quarter 2022 by 32.93 % year on year. All proxy statements are public filings made available to the general public by the SEC. But United aimed right at this and said no more.. Delta. We thought getting into OHare would be impossible, says Watterson. most airlines' revenues. They can use the points to purchase future flights. It has pushed the industry in many positive trends, but this is an aggressive industry. Per its business model, Southwest hires employees who embody the company's brand messaging and who have a passion for helping customers. And, with pass agreements from other airlines and discounts with rental car companies, hotels, theme parks, and more, Employees can choose their own adventure. Find your market worth with a report tailored to you, No results found. Get in touch with us now. That works out to $19.75 per hour at Southwest Airlines, compared to $17.37 per hour at Delta Air Lines. Checked baggage is mostly a leisure traveler behavior. The FAA approved the737 MAX to fly again in December, and by March Southwests MAX fleet had returned to service. It is frequency, reliability and simplicity that form the core of Southwests competitive advantage today, and these are considerable and important. When were looking for leisure customers, the best places are those smaller locales, says Watterson. The lifeline saved Southwest from imposing the first layoffs and pay reductions in its history, six months before the 50-year mark. Total Cash Compensation information is comprised of yearly Base Pay and Bonuses. Southwest is the only large U.S. airline that is also a low-cost carrier. Low-cost carriers, such as Southwest, have several critical advantages over their competitors. Southwest Airlines employees earn an average salary of $41,081 in 2023, with a range from $19,000 to $87,000. "About This Company" data & logos provided by, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The proxy statement's main purpose is to alert shareholders to the annual meeting and provide them information about the issues that will be voted on during the annual meeting, including decisions such as electing directors, ratifying the selection of auditors, and other shareholder-related decisions, including shareholder-initiated initiatives. Many folks who live near OHare on the far north side didnt take Southwest before because they dreaded making the long drive south to Midway. One said to the other You know what I like about flying Southwest? That quietly went away as Southwest has taken the lead over the last number of years in raising fares, especially as they have become more dominant in their biggest operational geographies. Southwest Airlines' business model is based on extremely efficient operations, low-cost pricing, and innovative logistics solutions. What Benefits Does Southwest Airlines Offer? The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Southwest continues to improve its business model and practices. Southwest Airlines is strong from both a size and a cost perspective. Employees in the top 10 percent can make over $87,000 per year, while employees at the bottom 10 percent earn less than $19,000 per year. To stanch the bleeding,Kelly indeed slashed outlays. The salary of the CEO of Southwest Airlines, Mark King, is $5.7 million. Read more Southwest Airlines reviews (4167), Ramp Agent (Customer Service Agent) - JFK, Analytics Specialist, Data Translator, Storyteller, Neurodiversity Internship Program - Systems Engineer Intern Summer 2023 - Remote. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. As Americans line up once again at the ticket counters, its likely that Southwest will begin its second half-century in a much stronger position versus American, United, and Delta than before the pandemic. Total Equity aggregates grant date fair value of stock and option awards and long term incentives granted during the fiscal year. $18.45 per hour. Use our tool to get a personalized report on your market worth. He achieved that feat by deploying planes parked at desert airfields, and crews grounded by the pandemic, thatSouthwest still paid for, and dispatching them to thenew routes, a gambit that brought sorely needed revenue. American Airlines 3. 4.0. Employees can save money by making tax-free contributions to flexible spending accounts for health-care and dependent childcare. United Airlines. This report is not for commercial use. Southwest Airlines pays employees the most in San Jose, CA and Seattle, WA. Southwest Employees can visit almost any corner of the world with generous travel privileges and turn recognition into something meaningful with SWAG Points. Copyright 2008-2023, Glassdoor, Inc. "Glassdoor" and logo are registered trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc, Ask anonymous questions on Fishbowl and get real time answers from Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines employees and others in your industry. To the extent permitted by applicable law and regulations, the Committee may delegate its powers, authority, duties and responsibilities to subcommittees or individual members of the Committee, as it deems appropriate. Bigger doesn't always mean better, but it usually does mean safer when it comes to investing. There are many reasons that United, followed quickly by Delta and American, chose to cancel change fees for higher-fare paying customers. Kelly thought Miami was highly attractive but wasnt rushing to invade. Use of the Southwest websites and our Company Information Finally, none of this would be possible without a motivated team of employees. For the previous half-decade prior to COVID, Southwest, which had been a domestic-only carrier, made a major shift by focusing its growth almost exclusively on vacation locales in the Caribbean and Latin America, adding flights to 20 destinations such as Cancn, Mexico; San Jos, Costa Rica; and Nassau in the Bahamas. Timothy Li is a consultant, accountant, and finance manager with an MBA from USC and over 15 years of corporate finance experience. Both tied in 1 area: Diversity & Inclusion. On that date in 1971, Americas first low-cost airline flew between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio,followinga model that cofounder Rollin Kingillustrated for Kelleher in a hotel bar by drawing lines connecting those three cities on a napkin. 4.0. Recognition is a cornerstone of our Culture. Save for retirement through our 401(k) Plan with pre-tax or Roth after-tax contributions. On March 13, 2019, the FAA grounded the MAX following the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes that killed346passengers. White recalls a trip from San Diego to Baltimore with one passenger aboard, a physician going to the Washington, D.C., area to treat COVID patients. Boeing also has over 200 of the larger 737-800s, which are far younger and have years of service ahead. Plus, as competitors retreated, the top budget carrier had a chance to gain footholds in congested airports that it might never see again. At the time,it planned only one addition, Houston Intercontinental, for early 2021, as part of the fanfare for Southwests 50th anniversary, since it had flown there in the early days before moving to smaller William P. Hobby Airport. In addition, the Committee shall have the powers, authority, duties, and responsibilities described below. This cost pressure has caused Southwest to move into major airports like New Yorks LaGuardia and Reagan National in D.C. Theyve paid for slots to get into these airports, where the younger Southwest avoided airports like these both for cost reasons and operational efficiency. Southwests already seeing huge improvement in its fortunes: Its estimating that for June, operating revenues will be down just 20% from 2019versus three-fourths at this time last year, possibly bringing cash flow into balance and suggesting that it will make the turn to generating cashsoon. Southwest Airlines offers automated options to receive Investor Alerts. We had more customers than we could serve in Denver, Austin, Houston, Fort Lauderdale, Nashville, and more cities, says Kelly. Before the crisis, OHare wasnt even on Southwests wish list. Learn more about each company and apply to jobs near you. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or developments, except as required by federal securities laws. 4.0. Keeping customers engaged is a big competitive advantage for Southwest Airlines. In many markets where United overlaps with Southwest, United can match the flight frequency while offering the higher-cost things Southwest doesnt: assigned seats, business class optionality, airport lounges, frequent flier points that can get you anywhere in the world, and a set of worldwide airline partners. The members of the Committee shall be appointed, removed, or replaced by the Board, and any vacancies on the Committee shall be filled by the Board in accordance with any applicable requirements of the Companys Bylaws and taking into account recommendations from the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. It's no secret that workers earn different salaries in different parts of the country, since the cost of living can be much higher in certain areas. Southwest Airlines Employees in Seattle, WA don't earn quite as much. Pay, Whether you are hiring a single employee , or an entire department of, The labor market is a strange place right now. Any company operating in the airline industry must maintain and strengthen a set of competitive advantages that differentiate it from its competitors. This $667 million profitsharing award is equivalent to $1.8 million a day and is more than six weeks' pay for every eligible Employee. As part of those two deals, it secured an additional 187 options on MAX aircraft. After mostly losing its once significant cost advantage and low-fare pricing, Southwest now loses a feature that has been valued more by business travelers than leisure travelers. Average Southwest Airlines Salary $41,081 yearly $19.75 hourly Updated November 18, 2022 The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Southwest Airlines. They allow a customer to cancel a reservation up to 10 minutes before the flight's departure. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Southwest Airlines and its employees or that of Zippia. Its pricing strategy offers extremely low prices compared to other large airlines, such as Delta and American Airlines. frontier airlines ceo salary. WestJet Airlines 7. You may also find the annual proxy statement by going directly to the company's website. We came into 2019 with very strong growth opportunities, says CFO Tammy Romo. Southwest Airlines offers benefits to full-time employees including: Accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Southwest plans to hire 8,000 workers this year after hiring more than 5,000 at the end of 2020. Yet within months Southwest roared back to post steady profits. 9/11 was awful, but we recovered quickly, he observes. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO annual reports of executive compensation and pay are most commonly found in the Def 14a documents. Besides motivated employees and great customer service, Southwest Airlines offers one of the lowest-priced solutions for air travel. Then Kelly planned to launch a long-term offensive in the U.S. by flying to new places. Employees choose from medical coverage options ranging from preferred provider organizations (PPOs) to a high deductible health plan. Each week when the finance team sent me the figures for our operations, they would provide commentary that was typically upbeat, he toldFortune. Our growth plans were stymied by losing the MAX, saysAndrew Watterson,Southwests chief commercial officer. In addition, it is not the Committees responsibility to assure that the Company complies with specific legal requirements of the Companys policies. Can Southwest hold out even after other airlines have waived change fees. The Committee shall meet as often as the Committee, the Board, or the Chair of the Committee may deem necessary or appropriate for the Committee to fulfill its responsibilities. The third program allowed workers to take time off in short spurts, a few hours or a day, a week, or a month at a time, also at half-pay. The Southwest Airlines just like any other business has its share of the risks and uncertainties that it faces.