Airline Ranking · As of July 16, 2026

Southwest Airlines

Ranked #20 of 32 carriers on what is already operationally available in 2026, not on a 2050 pledge.

Score out of 100

49.5

Below half marks · rank 20 of 32 · North America

Why Southwest Airlines lands here

Strong community impact, but weak current contrail and SAF depth.

0best in the world: 78.5100

That is 29.0 points behind the best-scoring carrier in the world, which itself only reaches 78.5. No carrier reaches 80, and 13 of 32 score below half marks.

What this score is built from

Eight decision areas, weighted by what moves emissions now

Each area is graded against what Southwest Airlines publishes, then scaled by how well that work is evidenced. Contrail avoidance carries the same weight as sustainable aviation fuel, because both are available today.

Where the points are

50.5 of the 100 points are still on the table for Southwest Airlines. The three largest sit here:

  • 23.8

    Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    1.2 of 25 earned

  • 10.5

    SAF deployment and market-building

    14.5 of 25 earned

  • 6.5

    Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    3.5 of 10 earned

  • SAF deployment and market-building

    SAF

    14.5 / 25

    rough grade 4.5 of 5Devidence ×0.6510.5 points still available

    There is meaningful SAF intent or activity, but scale and disclosed evidence are still moderate.

  • Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    Contrails

    1.2 / 25

    rough grade 0.5 of 5Eevidence ×0.3523.8 points still available

    Its low contrail score is a major reason it drops below much of the international field despite a familiar brand and large network.

  • Fleet efficiency and operational decarbonization

    Ops

    9.0 / 12

    rough grade 4 of 5Bevidence ×0.903.0 points still available

    Fleet renewal and operating-efficiency work are visible and material.

  • Climate governance and transparency

    Governance

    8.7 / 10

    rough grade 4.5 of 5Aevidence ×1.001.3 points still available

    Public reporting is strong enough to compare targets, governance structure, and climate claims across reporting cycles.

  • Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    Customer

    3.5 / 10

    rough grade 5 of 5Eevidence ×0.356.5 points still available

    Customer-facing climate participation is limited, hard to find, or not embedded in the booking path.

  • Ground operations, waste, and circularity

    Ground

    3.3 / 6

    rough grade 3 of 5Bevidence ×0.902.7 points still available

    There is some evidence of ground or waste action, but the public detail remains limited.

  • Community and nonprofit investment

    Community

    4.8 / 6

    rough grade 4 of 5Aevidence ×1.001.2 points still available

    Southwest remains stronger on community impact than on the high-weight climate levers in this version.

  • Climate advocacy and sector collaboration

    Advocacy

    4.5 / 6

    rough grade 4 of 5Bevidence ×0.901.5 points still available

    The airline is visibly engaged in sector collaboration, policy work, or broader climate signaling beyond internal operations.

Evidence codes

  • A×1.00Current quantified disclosure or clearly documented live program.
  • B×0.90Good disclosure with small limits.
  • C×0.80Older-cycle, group-level, proxy, or incomplete quantified evidence.
  • D×0.65Fragmented or partial proxy evidence.
  • E×0.35No credible public evidence; floor only.

Grades are recorded to the nearest half point, so the published pillar score is the authoritative figure and the grade is a rounded description of it. Evidence quality for Southwest Airlines overall is rated high.

How Southwest Airlines compares

Either side in the table

Japan Airlines Group is one place ahead at 52.3, and Korean Air one place behind at 47.3.

Within North America

Ranked 7 of 7 carriers scored in North America, behind American Airlines at 78.5.

Who already leads the areas Southwest Airlines is losing most

  • Contrail avoidance and non-CO₂ action

    American Airlines earns 25.0 of 25 here. Southwest Airlines earns 1.2.

  • SAF deployment and market-building

    Air France-KLM earns 23.0 of 25 here. Southwest Airlines earns 14.5.

  • Customer participation, checkout donation, and sustainability access

    IAG earns 9.4 of 10 here. Southwest Airlines earns 3.5.

The full methodology, with a worked example →Every source behind the ranking →

If you work at Southwest Airlines

We can tell you which points are cheapest to win

Two of the eight areas, booking-path participation and published uptake, are the ones our own real-money research speaks to directly: a redesigned donation step roughly doubled giving across three carriers, with no cost in brand favorability or booking intent.

Ask for your breakdownSee all 32 carriers

Think we have this wrong? If we have missed a published program, send it over and we will re-score and note the change.