Southwest folds that work into the trip and the per diem instead, which is why a trip-based figure and a flight-hour figure should never be compared without converting them first.
New-hire pay across three major US carriers (2026)| Airline | New hire rate | Pay unit | Top of scale |
|---|
| Southwest | $32.62 | Per trip | About $82.14 per trip |
| Delta | $38.40 | Per flight hour | $86.32 per flight hour |
| United | $38.21 | Per flight hour | $100.13 per flight hour |
What benefits do Southwest flight attendants get from day one?
Health coverage starts on your first day, the 401(k) match is dollar for dollar, and travel privileges are unlimited. Southwest also pays a company contribution to the retirement plan for some roles on top of the match.
Profit sharing goes into the same Southwest Retirement Savings Plan and depends on how the company performs, so it is never guaranteed. The employee stock purchase plan gives a 10 percent discount after six months of continuous service (Southwest Benefits, 2026).
Beyond that, the package includes flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent childcare, a company-paid concierge service, supplemental hospital cover and optional pet, auto and home insurance.
Adoption assistance, paid adoption leave and parental leave for noncontract employees round out the family benefits, and every employee is covered by a company-paid short-term disability plan.
Southwest flight attendant benefits (Southwest Benefits, 2026)| Benefit | What it includes |
|---|
| Health insurance | Coverage from the first day, with 30 days to enrol and coverage backdated to day one |
| 401(k) match | Dollar-for-dollar company match plus a role-based company contribution |
| Profit sharing | Annual contribution to the retirement plan when Southwest profits |
| Stock purchase plan | 10 percent discount after six months of continuous service |
| Travel privileges | Free unlimited travel for you and eligible dependents, plus 20 percent off purchased flights |
| Life insurance | Basic term cover at no cost, with optional cover up to 10 times annual pay |
| Time off | Paid holidays, personal time and adoption assistance, with terms set by work group and service |
How many hours a week does a Southwest flight attendant actually work?
About 13 working days a month, with long duty periods that start before the first flight and end after the last one lands.
Per diem runs from required check-in until 30 minutes after the last trip in a sequence, so a duty day is far longer than the flying time inside it.
Reserve schedules are built around bidding for trips, and picking up extra work is a normal way to raise a first-year total. Holiday pay and incentive pay for international flying can add further amounts that never appear in the trip rate.
Commuting, vacation and unpaid time are not part of the trip guarantee, which is why two crew members on the same schedule can end up with different yearly totals.
The same split shows up inside a duty period. Time on the ground between a sequence of trips counts for per diem but not for trip pay, so a short turn with several flights can feel long while paying much less than a single long overnight.
What do flight attendants earn on average across the US?
The national median for flight attendants was $63,580 a year in May 2025, well above a first-year Southwest figure. That gap is mostly experience: the BLS number covers the whole occupation, including crew with decades of seniority.
The middle half of US flight attendants earned between $51,760 and $95,640 that year, and the top 10 percent reached $136,430 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
BLS annual pay for flight attendants, May 2025 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)| Percentile | Annual pay |
|---|
| 10th | $35,110 |
| 25th | $51,760 |
| Median | $63,580 |
| 75th | $95,640 |
| 90th | $136,430 |
BLS wage estimates exclude shift premiums and extras such as per diem, so the published figures understate what many crew members actually take home.
The occupation is not shrinking. BLS projects flight attendant employment to grow 9 percent to about 145,500 jobs by 2035, so openings should stay steady for candidates who meet the licensing and physical standards (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025).
How do you get hired as a Southwest flight attendant?
You need to be 20, legally able to work in the US, and hold a valid unexpired passport, then pass a physical and a two-stage interview. Southwest runs a virtual one-way interview first, then an in-person interview, and it never holds group interviews.
The physical list is specific.
You must lift 20 pounds into overhead bins without help, handle 100 pounds with assistance, squat to the ground, complete a water evacuation in a life vest, carry a full drink tray down the aisle, and fit through the overwing window exit and into a jumpseat harness without modification.
Training then runs four weeks. It is unpaid, but graduates receive a $1,200 stipend within five working days of finishing, and you are tested on airport city codes and public announcements in week one (Southwest Careers, 2026).
Two practical notes come with the airline's own guidance. Southwest asks you to memorise the airport city codes and the public announcements before class starts, and it never charges a fee for an application or for training.
You must also apply for a posted opening, because a general application is not considered for an interview.
How does Southwest flight attendant pay grow with seniority?
The trip scale has 13 steps, and the top step paid about $82.14 per trip in May 2026. That is roughly two and a half times the new hire rate, and it arrives through step increases rather than annual raises of a set percentage.
Seniority also decides where you fly. Southwest has 13 crew bases, and a base opening is awarded by seniority under the collective bargaining agreement, which means a new hire can wait years for a base closer to home.
Tenure also decides how fast you can build a stable schedule.
Bases are assigned during training based on company need and seniority, and an open base goes to the most senior crew member who bids for it, so waiting for a base closer to home is a normal part of the first years on the job.
Profit sharing and the 401(k) match add to the cash rate over a career, and both reward years of service, so the gap between a first-year trip rate and a top-step rate keeps widening.
Growing demand tends to show up first at the entry rate, because carriers compete hardest for people who can start immediately.
That makes the new-hire figure quoted in a posting a floor that moves, while the top of the scale and the benefit package decide the rest of the career. Check the live posting on the day you apply rather than trusting a number from an article.
Pay scales, per diem rates and benefit terms change often. Check the Southwest Careers page for flight attendants before you apply, and confirm the current trip rate, per diem and training stipend with the airline.
Next steps
Compare the trip rate with the whole package, and read the training details before you sign up for the process.
Photo: Surprising_Media, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/photos/stewardess-airplane-airplane-cabin-6724287/)
Fazlur Rahman
