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Southwest Airlines pilot interview questions and selection process
How Southwest Airlines selects pilots: 6 selection stages and 4 interview questions from candidates' accounts. Use them to practise; they are examples, not official answers.
Selection stages
- Online application (turbine PIC required)
- Interview day at Dallas HQ/training centre: documents and logbooks collected (ATP, medical, radio permit)
- Campus tour and company presentation
- Panel interview (2-3: HR/recruiter, sometimes a line pilot), TMAAT-style
- Scenario-based questions (SBQ): brief then scenario discussion
- Logbook review: totals, summary form, 10-year history
By rank
- First officer: Direct-entry FO hiring.
Interview questions
Situational
- SBQ: DEN-LAX at FL400, ~90 min from LAX, dispatch reports possible fuel contamination - how do you handle it? (First officer)
Personal and CV
- Logbook: review your total hours and summary form (First officer)
- When was your first military flight, and your wings/commissioning dates? (First officer)
For practice only: general examples, not official answers. Pilot Jobs International accepts no responsibility for how they are used; prepare your own answers in your own words.
All 4 Southwest Airlines questions in Interview prep →
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