Today, we’ll peek behind the scenes at the Airline Industry, and at five companies – American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwestern, and United Airlines – to see how healthy and modern the cultures are at each company. Using Comparably’s wealth of employee-submitted reviews and grades, we’ll paint a picture of how it is to work in an industry that has lost no small amount of glamour since its 1960s heydey thanks to calamities both internal and external.
OVERALL CULTURE
Southwest takes the first of today’s little gold trophies in the Overall Culture category, which measures how a company’s employees feel about its culture. Delta was just two points behind internally beloved Southwest. Our other three airlines didn’t fare as well, with American and United both clocking scores at or below average, and troubled JetBlue earning a rare F grade.
American Airlines: “Extremely clique-ish and unyielding. Definitely NOT the place if you like innovation or creative problem solving.
Delta Air Lines: “A good idea, regardless of origin, is never rejected out-of-hand just because it comes from outside someone’s scope.”
JetBlue: “There is nothing to be excited about. Management with no vision. Middle managers with no experience. A system set up to pit work groups against each other. I really could not imagine any other ‘major’ airline operating in such a fashion.”
Southwest Airlines: “It’s wonderful. I absolutely love working at Southwest. I love the company culture and how they value diversity and inclusion and how they see us as people and the pay scale and the benefits are great.”
United Airlines: “I work at Willis Tower in Chicago. It is a loud cubicle environment with bad lighting. There is no innovation and poor team leadership.”
CEO & LEADERSHIP
Southwest’s CEO Gary Kelly takes another win, beating Delta’s Ed Bastian by just one percentage point. United’s Oscar Munoz and American’s Doug Parker both saw reasonable scores, but JetBlue’s Robin Hayes has been saddled with much of his employees’ grievances towards that airline.
American Airlines: “The leadership picks favorites. If you are included, you’re set. If not, you have no hope of progression.”
Delta Air Lines: “Absolutely the best leadership team I’ve ever been a part of. Truely want the best for their employees.”
JetBlue: “The CEO is generally disliked and credited with the downturn of employee morale. His sole focus is saving money.”
Southwest Airlines: “9-11 changed the way we all live/work in the United States forever–especially in the Airline industry. However, as a 27 year Southwest Airlines Employee, I have to say that our Leaders have done a remarkable job at overcoming many obstacles resulting in record breaking profits and profit sharing!”
United Airlines: “A lot of people like him and think he’s genuinely a warm and honest guy. There’s also a b opinion the leaders under him are not, that there is a disconnect.”
COMPENSATION
Another win for Southwest (that heart logo says it all), with an A+ for Compensation. Delta again nailed a high score to come in second, six percentage points behind Southwest. Average-and-below scores again for American and United, and another F for poor JetBlue.
American Airlines: “Flight attendants should be paid from sign in to block in. When you add up boarding, delays etc we’re working hours and hours for free.”
Delta Air Lines: “The profit sharing creates ownership of the operation at every level.”
JetBlue:“Worst paid in the airline industry. Worst medical and retirement benefits. Zero stock options!”
Southwest Airlines: “Pay is excellent and as good or better than the industrystandard.”
United Airlines: “Pay is significantly lower than other airlines despite being in high cost Chicago.”
PERKS & BENEFITS
Another A+ and another gold trophy for Southwest, for a Perks & Benefits score that left all of our four other comers in the dust. Second-place Delta had to settle for a score fourteen percentage points behind Southwest. American did better than it has been so far, earning a B. Another C- for United in this category. And JetBlue managed to avoid an F for the first time today.
American Airlines: “Medical, dental, free flights for you, your significant other, and dependents, paid time off, sick time, 100% matching 401k up to 5.5%.”
Delta Air Lines: “Great health benefits, vacation time, personal time off, holidays, overtime, 401k matching, insurance, and flight benefits.”
JetBlue: “After crummy pay, crummy insurance, at least you can fly for free (if there is a seat) but NEVER in First Class.:
Southwest Airlines: “The 401k match, profit sharing, free days every month, the stock discount option to purchase and more.”
United Airlines: “Insurance and flight benefits. Also, it’s very flexible.”
DIVERSITY
The Airline Industry seems to be taking strides to diversify their workforces. Both winner Delta and runner-up Southwest scored in the A range, and American scored another solid B. There’s room for improvement, however, for both JetBlue and United.
American Airlines: “An average level of diversity”
Delta Air Lines: “Very diverse.”
JetBlue:“Lots of diversity. The LGBTQ community is well represented.”
Southwest Airlines: “It’s a diverse culture and everyone is positive.”
OUTLOOK
American Airlines: “The entire company needs a new leadership and to head to a new direction altogether. The company is penny pinching and does not understand how to run a large operation without literally abusing the employees and taking advantage of the customers.”
Delta Air Lines: “Very innovative, bleeding edge, latest and greatest in design, development and technologies used to be successful.”
JetBlue: “We are all praying that we are bought so that we can get away from incompetent management.”
Southwest Airlines: “I feel valued and appreciated everyday. I feel secure in my job. The company provides me with different opportunities to advance and learn. We are also trained on a regular basis to keep up with constant change.”
United Airlines: “Bad managers have been retaliating against those trying to make the company great for years and it is time to reward these individuals and remove the retaliating managers.”
Though both Delta and Southwest scored excellent A+ ratings, the latter company saw a higher overall percentage and therefore Southwest is our winner today. Based on today’s investigation into the airlines culture, we can recommend that those interested in becoming part of that industry should take a look at options at Southwest and Delta first and foremost before considering our other three competitiors, which still seem entrenched in more outdated and/or unpopular business practices.
