Better Health for All

Southwest Airlines was fined $140 million by the DOT for consumer protection violations, including failing to provide prompt flight status notifications during the 2022 Christmas holiday.

This led to 16,900 flight cancellations, stranding over two million passengers and causing significant stress and inconvenience. The company is required to establish a $90 million compensation system for future passengers affected by significant delays. Conversely, Southwest's Medical Transportation Grant Program, active since 2007, has donated over $56.6 million in air transportation, including 13,000 round-trip tickets in 2024, to assist over 96,000 patients and caregivers needing specialized medical care. This program supported 79 healthcare organizations across 26 states and 40 cities in 2024. However, the program's funding represents less than 0.5% of the company's annual revenue. Southwest partners with organizations like the American Red Cross and Team Rubicon for disaster preparedness and response. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline enhanced health and safety protocols in collaboration with Stanford University School of Medicine. Additionally, starting December 2024, Southwest will implement a procedural change to prepare cabins for landing earlier to reduce turbulence-related injuries.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Southwest Airlines is a passenger airline, and its core business is scheduled air transportation.

The 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' value and its associated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are designed to assess financial institutions on activities such as lending, insuring, moving, or storing money, and their impact on financial inclusion and wealth building. As Southwest Airlines does not offer consumer lending, deposit, or other financial services, all KPIs are scored 0, aligning with the rubric's 'Not applicable' tiers for companies whose core business lies outside the financial services sector.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Southwest Airlines announced its first company-wide layoffs in its 54-year history in February 2025, cutting 1,750 corporate jobs, or 15% of its corporate workforce.

The company faced a $100 million class-action lawsuit in December 2024, alleging violation of New York labor law by paying baggage and cargo handlers bimonthly instead of weekly. In November 2024, it was fined over $400,000 by the Industrial Commission of Arizona for retaliating against aircraft mechanics who used sick time. In August 2023, Southwest settled to avoid over $1.3 million in fines for violating Colorado labor laws, specifically for refusing COVID-related time off and improperly penalizing employees. In April 2024, flight attendants approved a contract raising their pay by over 33% across four years, including an immediate raise of over 22%, 3% annual increases, industry-first paid maternity and parental leave, and $364 million in ratification bonuses. In January 2024, pilots ratified a new contract increasing their pay rates by nearly 50% by 2028, with an immediate 29.15% increase, and improvements in retirement, scheduling, and parental leave programs.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Southwest Airlines has demonstrated a commitment to ethical sourcing through several initiatives. The company entered a two-year agreement in October 2024 to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from waste-based feedstocks.

In the same month, it introduced new sustainable inflight service items, such as bamboo cups and wooden stir sticks, to reduce single-use plastics. The 'Repurpose with Purpose' program, expanded in October 2023, has repurposed 1.4 million pounds of leather from retired aircraft seats. The program collaborates with nonprofits like Wearsos and Rethreaded, the latter supporting human trafficking survivors and generating over $1 million in revenue. Southwest also emphasizes supplier diversity, partnering with MBEs, WBEs, and LGBTQ-owned businesses. Furthermore, the airline collaborates with EcoVadis to assess its suppliers' ESG performance, aiming to enhance supply chain transparency. However, the provided articles do not contain specific, quantifiable data points required by the rubric for any of the KPIs, such as percentages of certified spend, audit frequencies, incident counts, traceability coverage, remediation times, ethical clause coverage, high-risk material spend, or supplier diversity spend percentages.

Honest & Fair Business

Southwest Airlines was fined $35 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation in December 2022

. This was part of a $140 million settlement related to nearly 17,000 flight cancellations and a crew-rescheduling system failure , with the DOT also investigating potential deceptive scheduling practices . In May 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice dropped a lawsuit against the airline regarding chronically delayed flights . A former customer-service agent was indicted in June 2023 for a $1.9 million travel voucher fraud scheme . In January 2024, Southwest agreed to terminate its DEI quotas in hiring and promotions following a federal complaint . The company's 2022 One Report details corporate governance, focusing on its Safety and Compliance Oversight Committee and Corporate Governance Committee .

Kind to Animals

Southwest Airlines is a service-oriented company, and its core business model does not involve product manufacturing, animal testing, animal agriculture, or sourcing of animal-derived ingredients, rendering most animal welfare KPIs not applicable. The company accommodates small, vaccinated domestic cats and dogs in its pet travel program

. In August 2023, Southwest Airlines partnered with Greater Good Charities and Lucky Dog Animal Rescue to transport over 130 shelter pets from Maui . The company also revised its policies for emotional support and trained service animals in 2021 and 2018 , aligning with new DOT regulations and federal guidelines.

No War, No Weapons

Southwest Airlines is not directly involved in arms manufacturing or weapons contracting, focusing instead on civilian transportation. However, the company participates in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, providing aircraft to the U.S. Department of Defense during emergencies, which constitutes a minor defense-adjacent service.

Southwest also supports military personnel, employing over 10,200 military members and veterans, and offers programs like the Warrior Hire Program and the Destination 225° Military Pathway. Additionally, it partners with organizations such as the Honor Flight Network and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Planet-Friendly Business

Southwest Airlines has announced a "Nonstop to Net Zero" strategy, aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

This strategy includes initiatives such as electrifying 50% of its ground support equipment by 2030 and saving 50 million gallons of jet fuel by 2025. The company has also invested in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects, including SAFFiRE Renewables and USA BioEnergy, with plans to procure 680 million gallons of net-zero SAF over 20 years. However, there is no evidence that these targets or the overall net-zero strategy are validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Southwest Airlines has established over 400 formal partnerships with community organizations, including Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American & Pacific Islander, and LGBTQ+ groups, to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The company demonstrated respect for cultural heritage in 2016 by seeking the Zia Pueblo's blessing to use their sacred sun symbol on an airplane, participating in a traditional ceremony, and donating to the tribe's scholarship fund. There are no reported incidents of cultural appropriation. However, Southwest Airlines discontinued its ¡Lánzate! program in 2024 following a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination. The airline also faced accusations of Islamophobia in 2016 after a passenger speaking Arabic was removed from a flight, and an allegation of racial profiling in 2021 involving a mother and her biracial daughter, indicating reactive responses to cultural incidents.

Safe & Smart Tech

On April 30, 2023, a data breach at a third-party vendor exposed sensitive information, including names, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, dates of birth, and Airman Certificate numbers, for 3,009 Southwest pilot applicants

. The breach was discovered on May 3, 2023 , and Southwest responded by ceasing use of the vendor and transitioning to internal recruitment portals . In 2023, the company invested $67.3 million in cybersecurity . In 2024, Carrie Mills was promoted to VP & Chief Information Security Officer, overseeing incident response, threat intelligence, and vulnerability management . Southwest allows customers to opt-out of sharing their information with select partners . The CEO has emphasized a measured approach to AI integration, ensuring alignment with operational needs and ethical standards . In 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation began reviewing how major airlines, including Southwest, handle passenger data, focusing on collection, sharing, and breach prevention .

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Southwest Airlines has implemented several waste reduction initiatives. Its Repurpose with Purpose program, launched in 2014, has upcycled over 1.4 million pounds of aircraft seat leather from landfills

. In October 2024, the company introduced bamboo cups and birch wood stir sticks for inflight service, which are expected to eliminate over 1.5 million pounds of single-use plastics annually . Additionally, Southwest entered a two-year agreement in October 2024 to source up to 25 million gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from waste-based feedstocks . The company has also set a quantitative target to reduce single-use plastics by 50% by 2025 .