From left, Ghizlane Badawi, CEO of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax host a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Jordan announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday announced the state will invest $14 million to support Southwest Airlines’ plan to establish a new Austin crew base and flight attendant training facility, an expansion expected to create more than 2,000 high-paying jobs in the city over the next five years. The announcement came a day after the city authorized its own incentive package for the Dallas-based carrier worth $5.5 million.
At a news conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Abbott said the state’s contribution will come from the Texas Enterprise Fund and will require Southwest to devote $375,000 toward hiring military veterans.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott, right, shakes hands with Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., left, at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Jordan announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., is applauded while speaking at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
From left, Ghizlane Badawi, CEO of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax host a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Jordan announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., speaks to Texas Governor Greg Abbott after a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Jordan announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., right, speaks to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson ahead of a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Jordan announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., left, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, right, speak at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Jordan announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks to Southwest Airlines Co. staff ahead of a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Ghizlane Badawi, CEO of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, talks to Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
“Southwest Airlines is a core element of the growing Texas economy,” Abbott said. “Now with this boost of 2,000 more jobs, it will just extend Texas’ lead as the number one state in America for jobs.”
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said the airline would launch its new crew base in March. The staffing hub could help increase the peak-day number of flights departing Austin to more than 200 from roughly 130, he said.
Jordan said Austin was already under consideration for the new crew base, but the two incentive packages solidified the company’s decision.
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“Austin, given its size and growth, has been a critical consideration for quite a while,” Jordan said. “But I can absolutely tell you, this economic partnership made this decision easy.”
Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., speaks at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Jordan announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Southwest spokesman Lynn Lunsford told the American-Statesman the combined $19.5 million in incentives would cover most of the airline’s planned operational expansion in Austin. Most employees at the new crew base will be pilots and flight attendants, he said.
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The economic partnership will also help fund a new flight attendant training facility at Austin-Bergstrom, though Lunsford said most of the public investment will support new personnel. City documents indicate the new roles would pay an average salary of about $180,000.
Lunsford said the Austin crew base will allow more Southwest employees to live and work in the city. Currently, employees who live in Austin must travel to Dallas to start their shifts, he said.
About 335 pilots and 650 flight attendants will begin working out of the new Austin base in March, according to a Southwest news release. The airline expects the base to reach about 2,000 employees by mid-2027.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the performance-based agreement with Southwest as one of the largest employee expansion efforts in the city’s recent history.
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“We’re putting Austinites into Austin jobs,” Watson said.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., announced plans to open a Southwest Airlines Co. crew base in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Under the agreement, the city will pay Southwest about $2,750 per Austin-based hire, provided those employees live within city limits and the airline meets job-creation and performance requirements.
Southwest also must return 10% of its award to the city’s newly launched Childcare Assistance Reserve Fund. Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, who represents the Southeast Austin district where the airport is located, said the city is still developing plans for how the fund will be used.
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The payments to Southwest will be funded through the city’s general fund, Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax said. The agreement is expected to generate about $19.8 million in new local tax revenue, with $11.85 million going directly to the city.
In an interview with the Statesman, Watson said that pursuing similar incentive agreements could play a key role in how the city addresses future budget deficits. In November, Austin voters rejected Proposition Q, a 20% tax hike backed by the City Council that would have helped close a projected shortfall.
“We have to grow our tax base,” Watson said.
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Agreements that incentivize business growth help achieve that goal, he said, by generating additional sales and property tax revenue. Watson said the city is pursuing other economic development agreements with businesses but declined to discuss details of ongoing negotiations.
“We’ll be purposefully looking for the right kind of partners who can provide the right kind of jobs for Austin,” he said.