Southwest is hiring even more employees than previously announcedto staff the growing airline as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.“We’re still emerging from the pandemic so it’s really basic stuff — get staffed and get stable,” Jordan said about the company’s 2022 goals. “Without appropriate staffing, we cannot operate the airline the way we would like to.
“We’re going to have 5,000 flights a day,” said Jordan, noting that the airline flies around 3,000 to 3,500 flights a day now. “We’re going to continue to grow to a thousand aircraft.”That would mean a lot more employees, including pilots, who are in hot supply as the industry faces a wave of retirements and other airlines are aggressively hiring to fill the void.“I fall asleep in about eight seconds as my wife Kelly will tell you,” Jordan said.
There is a lot to wear out Jordan these days to help him fall asleep fast. He said he’s got plans to visit 24 Southwest Airlines stations in the coming months after visiting dozens