Southwest Airlines Partners with AWS for AI Expansion by 2028

LUV Southwest Airlines has named AMZN Amazon Web Services as its preferred cloud provider and launched a sweeping technology modernization program targeting completion by 2028. The airline plans to migrate from largely on-premises legacy systems to a fully cloud-based, AI-enabled architecture, covering core operations including flight scheduling, customer booking, crew management, and maintenance coordination.

A notable element of the deal is Southwest's adoption of Kiro, AWS's agentic coding service, to modernize Southwest.com. More than 2,700 Southwest developers are now using Kiro to refactor legacy code, automate testing, and generate cloud infrastructure. The partnership also includes Amazon Q and AWS's AI-Driven Development Lifecycle toolset, extending AI assistance across the full software development cycle.

The move comes as Southwest faces mounting competitive pressure in the U.S. domestic market. Completing the cloud migration by 2028 could meaningfully lower operating costs and improve real-time responsiveness across scheduling and customer service systems. Investors will be watching execution closely: large-scale airline technology overhauls have historically run over budget and over schedule, and the vendor-concentration risk of an all-in AWS commitment remains a factor to monitor.