The world’s fourth-biggest airline by market value, Southwest Airlines, is a major U.S. low-cost carrier headquartered in Dallas, Texas and serves more than 120 destinations across the U.S., Mexico, and Central America. Despite being headquartered in Dallas, Southwest Airlines’ largest hubs lie outside of its home state.
Southwest Airlines’ largest hubs are Denver International Airport and Las Vegas, with approximately 12.3 and 10.6 million Southwest passengers handled at the respective airports.
After the merger of Orlando-based AirTran Airways in late 2014 under the Southwest Airlines brand,
the company’s operating income almost doubled, from 2.2 billion U.S. dollars to 4.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. The merger also provided growth in the domestic passenger market. In 2015, Southwest Airlines became the leading carrier in terms of market share and surpassed its main competitors, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. The airline was not able to maintain its domestic supremacy but
remained the fourth largest airline in the domestic market in the United States in 2024.
Impact of COVID-19 on the airline's performance
The coronavirus pandemic heavily impacted the airline's performance; between 2019 and 2020,
the airline’s passenger numbers dropped by close to 60 percent and
the company registered a net loss of over three million dollars. Southwest Airlines finances began to recover in 2021, when the airline recorded a net income of 977 million U.S. dollars. Continued impacts of the COVID-pandemic, winter storms in late 2022, and pilot and stuff shortages led to further travel disruptions and impacted Southwest’s profitability. In 2024, the airline recorded a net income of 465 million U.S. dollars, which was smaller than 2021, and 2022 figures.
Customer satisfaction
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI),
the company scored 80 points in 2025, with 100 being the highest and best possible customer satisfaction score.
The airline has consistently performed above the airline average,and was at the top of the list in 2025. That year, the other main competitor of Southwest, Delta Air Lines, and JetBlue had an ACSI score of 77 points.
This text provides general information. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
