Short answer
Southwest Airlines had 73,092 active full-time equivalent employees at September 30, 2026, according to its Form 10-Q filed October 22, 2026. Its 2025 Form 10-K reported 72,790 at December 31, 2025, not counting 4,607 employees on leave. Part-time staff count as half. About 84% are represented by unions. The workforce peaked at 74,806 at the end of 2023; in February 2025 Southwest cut about 1,750 corporate roles.
- 73,092 active full-time equivalents at September 30, 2026, up 1.2% from a year earlier.
- The 10-K figure leaves out employees on leave (4,607 at the end of 2025) and counts part-timers as 0.5.
- Air operations is the largest group (32,214), then ground operations (21,734) and noncontract staff (12,486).
- The February 2025 reduction removed about 1,750 roles, about 15% of corporate positions.
- Operating revenue per active full-time equivalent was about $386,000 in 2025 (our calculation).
On this page
This page is for sellers sizing Southwest as an account, aviation analysts, and anyone who needs a citable headcount. The year-end figures are from Southwest's annual reports on Form 10-K; the latest figure is from its quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which also reports active full-time equivalents.
Southwest Airlines employees by year
| As of | Active full-time equivalent employees | Not included: on leave | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 30, 2026 | 73,092 | not stated | 10-Q filed October 22, 2026 |
| December 31, 2025 | 72,790 | 4,607 | 10-K filed February 5, 2026 |
| December 31, 2024 | 72,450 | 4,546 | 10-K filed February 7, 2025 |
| December 31, 2023 | 74,806 | 3,954 | 10-K filed February 6, 2024 |
| December 31, 2022 | 66,656 | 4,060 | 10-K filed February 7, 2023 |
| December 31, 2021 | about 55,100 | not stated | 10-K filed February 7, 2022 |
| December 31, 2020 | about 56,500 (including 10,421 on Extended Emergency Time Off) | not stated | 10-K filed February 8, 2021 |
| December 31, 2019 | about 60,800 | not stated | 10-K filed February 4, 2020 |
| December 31, 2018 | about 58,800 | not stated | 10-K filed February 5, 2019 |
The 2020 figure is the odd one out: it includes 10,421 employees who were on voluntary extended leave at the time, so the number actually working was well below 56,500.
What the number includes
The 2025 10-K says: "As of December 31, 2025, the Company had 72,790 active full-time equivalent Employees." Southwest explains its method in the same section:
- On-leave employees are left out because Southwest uses active full-time equivalents "to determine various metrics that measure productivity and efficiency." Another 4,607 employees were on leave at December 31, 2025.
- Part-time employees count as 0.5, so the number of people on the payroll is higher than 72,790.
- For demographics it uses total headcount, active and on-leave, full-time and part-time, but it doesn't publish that total. Adding the 4,607 on leave to the active figure gives about 77,400 (our calculation, mixing a full-time-equivalent figure with a headcount).
Employees by work group
| Work group | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air operations (pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers and others) | 32,214 | 30,771 | 31,339 | 28,199 |
| Ground operations (ramp, operations, provisioning, freight and customer service agents) | 21,734 | 21,435 | 22,882 | 19,679 |
| Noncontract employees | 12,486 | 13,718 | 13,666 | 12,045 |
| Maintenance and engineering | 3,727 | 3,756 | 3,736 | 3,458 |
| Customer Representatives and Source of Support | 2,629 | 2,770 | 3,183 | 3,275 |
| Total active full-time equivalents | 72,790 | 72,450 | 74,806 | 66,656 |
Active full-time equivalents at December 31, from each year's 10-K, which labels the last group "noncontract" Employees: those outside the contract work groups listed above. The 2025 corporate cuts show up there.
About 84% of Southwest employees were represented by unions at the end of 2025. The largest groups are about 21,197 flight attendants (TWU Local 556) and 10,321 pilots (Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association).
What changed and why
- 2020 and 2021: voluntary exits and leave. More than 4,200 employees took Voluntary Separation Program 2020, and about 11,000 took Extended Emergency Time Off. About 11,400 came back during 2021, leaving fewer than 250 on that leave at the end of the year.
- 2022: hiring back. Southwest hired more than 11,500 employees, net of attrition, and "returned to overall pre-pandemic staffing levels in May 2022."
- 2023: the peak. It added about 8,100 employees, net of attrition, reaching 74,806.
- 2024: down 2,356 (3.1%), "in an effort to right-size staffing to current operations."
- 2025: corporate cuts, contract hiring. The February 2025 reduction in workforce removed about 1,750 roles, about 15% of corporate positions, "focused almost entirely on corporate overhead and leadership positions." Noncontract staff fell by 1,232. Total active full-time equivalents still rose 0.5%, "due in part to the hiring of full-time equivalent contract Employees." In November 2025 Southwest set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Hyderabad, India, as a Global Innovation Center to bring some business functions in-house from its international vendors.
- 2026: 73,092 at September 30, up 1.2% from 72,223 a year earlier (third-quarter 10-Q).
Revenue per employee
Southwest's total operating revenues were $28,063 million in 2025. Divided by 72,790 active full-time equivalents, that's about $385,500 per employee (our calculation).
| Year | Operating revenues | Active full-time equivalents | Revenue per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $28.06 billion | 72,790 | about $385,500 |
| 2024 | $27.48 billion | 72,450 | about $379,300 |
| 2023 | $26.09 billion | 74,806 | about $348,800 |
| 2022 | $23.81 billion | 66,656 | about $357,300 |
| 2019 | $22.43 billion | about 60,800 | about $369,000 |
Revenue per employee passed its 2019 level only in 2024, because the workforce grew faster than revenue in 2022 and 2023.
Selling to a company of Southwest's size
General guidance, not a description of Southwest's internal process.
- Operations is where the people are. Air and ground operations make up 74% of active full-time equivalents. Anything used by crews, ramp or airport staff is evaluated per station and per shift, and labor agreements shape how work changes.
- Corporate is leaner than it was. With noncontract staff down 9% in 2025, corporate buyers will look hard at cost and at tools that let fewer people do the work.
- Sourcing is moving. The new India Global Innovation Center is meant to take some work back from vendors, which matters if you are one, and creates new hiring, facilities and systems needs there.
- Expect safety and regulatory review for anything that touches the operation, and a pilot before any rollout.
For your research, see how to research an account. To compare carriers, see Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines.
Next step: see Southwest alongside the other US carriers on our list of the largest airlines.
Sources
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 22 October 2026
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 5 February 2026
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 7 February 2025
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 6 February 2024
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 7 February 2023
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 7 February 2022
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 8 February 2021
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 4 February 2020
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 5 February 2019
- Southwest Airlines Co. Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1 (reduction in workforce), Southwest Airlines Co., via SEC EDGAR, 18 February 2025
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many pilots does Southwest Airlines have?
Southwest's 2025 10-K lists about 10,321 full-time equivalent pilots represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association as of December 31, 2025. Pilots are part of the air operations group, which also includes flight attendants, dispatchers and training staff and totaled 32,214 active full-time equivalents.
How many flight attendants does Southwest have?
About 21,197 full-time equivalent flight attendants represented by TWU Local 556 as of December 31, 2025, according to Southwest's 2025 10-K. They are the largest single union group at the airline, which says about 84% of its employees are represented by unions.
Did Southwest Airlines lay off employees?
Yes, in February 2025. Southwest's 10-K says the reduction in workforce removed about 1,750 roles, about 15% of corporate positions, focused almost entirely on corporate overhead and leadership. Southwest's announcement, filed as an 8-K, called the decision "unprecedented in our 53-year history" and said it included 11 roles at vice president and above. Total active full-time equivalents still rose 0.5% in 2025.
Why does Southwest report full-time equivalents instead of headcount?
Southwest says it uses active full-time equivalents to measure productivity and efficiency, so it leaves out employees on leave (4,607 at the end of 2025) and counts each part-time employee as half. For workforce demographics it uses total headcount, including on-leave and part-time staff, but it doesn't publish that total in the 10-K.
How many employees does Southwest have now?
73,092 active full-time equivalent employees at September 30, 2026, according to Southwest's third-quarter 2026 10-Q, up 1.2% from 72,223 a year earlier. Southwest reports this figure every quarter, so it's the most current company-reported number. The fuller year-end breakdown by work group comes in each February's 10-K.