Story from Southwest Airlines, image from wikipedia
Southwest Airlines announced today that a new Crew Base for Pilots and Flight Attendants will open in March 2026 in Austin, Texas, creating more than 2,000 new jobs based at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and positioning the airline for continued growth in Central Texas.
Most Employees at the new Base will be Captains, First Officers, and Flight Attendants, supported by new Base Leadership and supporting staff. Southwest is also planning to add a recurring training facility for Flight Attendants as part of its ongoing business transformation.
Southwest is Austin’s largest air carrier with more than 130 peak-day departures that served approximately 6.7 million Customers in 20241. Next March, new service begins to popular leisure destinations, including Fort Myers, Florida, Palm Springs, California, and Steamboat Springs (Hayden), Colorado, bringing the total of nonstop destinations from Austin to 53.
Southwest also will begin daily service between Austin and Cincinnati, Ohio, next June, and has increased seasonal service in markets such as Pensacola, Florida.
Southwest expects to open the new base in early March, starting with approximately 335 Pilots and 650 Flight Attendants. By mid-2027, the base will reach its expected size of 2,000 total Employees.