Airlines/United States
Is Southwest Airlines safe?
One fatality in 2018 (engine failure, WN1380). Otherwise excellent safety record for a high-frequency operator.
A modelled estimate and protected opinion, not a factual safety verdict. Informational only, not safety or travel advice, provided as-is. See our terms & disclaimer.
Operator safety tier
Elite
Modelled fatal-accident risk on the order of 1 in 10 million flights.
A model estimate from validated signals (the dominant factor in a flight's safety), not a measurement of this airline's own flight history. IOSA-registered; last fatal accident 2018 (8y ago). Full methodology.
Safety signals
Fleet
The actual aircraft in Southwest Airlines's fleet
Individual airframes we hold for Southwest Airlines, with build years taken from public registries and sourced references. These are the specific aircraft you might be boarding, not an industry average. Where we cannot date enough of a subfleet we leave the age blank rather than estimate it.
| Aircraft | In our registry | Average age | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-700 | 319 | 20.7 yrs | 1997 to 2011 |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 295 | 3.3 yrs | 2015 to 2026 |
| Boeing 737-800 | 153 | 10.7 yrs | 2012 to 2018 |
| Boeing 737-300 | 7 | 34.6 yrs | 1987 to 1993 |
We can date 316 of the 319 Boeing 737-700 airframes we hold for Southwest Airlines. They average 20.7 years old, built between 1997 and 2011.