What is the retirement age for Southwest Airlines?

The FAA mandates retirement at 65 for the airlines as of now. There are other options to keep flying in the corporate and private sector.



At Southwest Airlines, as with all Part 121 commercial airlines in the United States, the mandatory retirement age for pilots is 65. This is a federal regulation set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rather than an internal company policy. While there have been ongoing legislative debates in 2025 and 2026 regarding raising this age to 67 to combat pilot shortages, the current "Age 65 Rule" remains the law. For flight attendants and ground crew, there is no mandatory retirement age; employees in these roles can continue to work as long as they meet the physical and safety requirements of the job. Southwest is known for its "Warrior Spirit" and high employee loyalty, often seeing crew members work well into their 70s in non-flight roles. Pilots reaching age 65 often transition into "Flight Instructor" or "Check Airman" roles at the Southwest Training Center in Dallas, where they can continue to contribute their vast experience to the company without being in command of an active commercial passenger flight.

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At 21 years old, you can apply to be a flight attendant with any airline. Minimum age requirements typically apply at the time of training completion, so candidates who will reach an airline's minimum age during training can apply for flight attendant roles. There is no upper age limit for flight attendants.

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Is Southwest Airlines a good company to work for? Southwest Airlines has an overall rating of 4.1 out of 5, based on over 4,543 reviews left anonymously by employees. 75% of employees would recommend working at Southwest Airlines to a friend and 67% have a positive outlook for the business.

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Non-revenue tickets are used by (retired) airline employees, travel industry employees, their family members or close friends (often called buddy passes). These tickets can be purchased at a fraction of the costs of a standard ticket, but are only granted if unsold seats are available.

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Pilots don't earn a flat annual salary like some professions. Instead, they're paid an hourly wage for each flight hour flown, along with per diem. Most airlines guarantee a minimum number of hours per month, so that pilots can count on at least a minimum amount of monthly income.

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For commercial operations (i.e., those conducted for renumeration or hire, including Part 135 flying), an aviator in a single-pilot operation may not be 60 years or older. In the case of commercial operations with more than one pilot, both pilots must be under 65 years of age.

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