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Apply on Southwest Careers
About Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines is a low-cost airline from the United States. It flies under the IATA code WN and ICAO code SWA. The fleet includes the Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737 MAX 8. Linked to Southwest Airlines on this site: Southwest Airlines Destination 225 Cadet Pathway.
Its cadet route is the Destination 225 Cadet Pathway. Programme partner: CAE (Mesa), SkyWarrior (Pensacola), US Aviation (Denton). On 28 October 2026 the programme was listed as closed. There is also a direct-entry route for first officers. Pilot vacancies are published on a careers portal, linked in the profile on this page. This page sets out the selection in 3 stages.
The three phases
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Flight Hours grid
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Required documents
Where to train for Southwest Airlines
7 flight schools have a published link with this airline. Each entry says what the link is and who states it.
CAE Phoenix Aviation AcademyMesa, United States · via Destination 225° Cadet PathwayAirline cadet partnerNamed by the airline and the school
SkyWarrior Flight TrainingPensacola, United States · via Destination 225°Airline cadet partnerNamed by the airline and the school
US Aviation AcademyDenton, United States · via Destination 225°Airline cadet partnerNamed by the airline and the school
Bell Murray Aviation (BMA Aviation, part of Bell Murray Aerospace)Fort Worth, United States · via Destination 225° Military PathwayCadet programme partnerAccording to the school
MTSU Department of Aerospace (Middle Tennessee State University)Murfreesboro, United States · via Destination 225°Cadet programme partnerAccording to the school
UNO Aviation Institute (University of Nebraska at Omaha)Omaha, United States · via Destination 225°Cadet programme partnerAccording to the school
US Aviation AcademySan Marcos, United States · via Destination 225°Cadet programme partnerAccording to the school
Southwest Airlines at a glance
- IATA / ICAO
- WN / SWA1
- Country
- United States
- Fleet
- Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737-800, Boeing 737 MAX 82
- Cadet programme
- Destination 225 Cadet Pathway (closed as of 28 Oct 2026)4
- Direct entry
- First officers3
GROUP AIRLINES, ACADEMIES AND PROGRAMMESSouthwest Airlines Destination 225 Cadet Pathway · selection guide
SALARYFirst officer, first year: about USD 133.76 per hour (equivalent, 2024)First officer, top of scale: USD 255.17 per hour (equivalent, 2024)Captain, top of scale: USD 364.52 per hour (Southwest: USD 368.01) (equivalent, 2024)Southwest Airlines pilot salary
- 1Southwest Airlines (Wikipedia) · accessed 11 Oct 2026
- 2Southwest Airlines fleet (Wikipedia) · accessed 11 Oct 2026
- 3Pilot careers | Southwest Airlines · accessed 10 Oct 2026
- 4Destination 225 Cadet Pathway | Southwest Airlines Careers · accessed 10 Oct 2026
