How Southwest Airlines Leverages AI to Automate Endpoint Management

From Paper to Pixels: Southwest’s Digital Transformation

In an era where every minute counts, Southwest Airlines has embarked on a decade-long journey to replace paper-based workflows with digital tools. The airline now equips its 72,000 employees—two-thirds of whom work on the front lines—with mobile devices and cloud applications for maintenance, flight operations, gate services, and cabin crews. This shift has eliminated printed manuals for pilots and ground teams, but it has also placed unprecedented demands on the IT department.

Supporting a fleet of 50,000 smartphones and tablets, 20,000 laptops, and 15,000 PCs, the end-user computing team must ensure these devices run flawlessly. A single hardware or software failure can ripple outward, delaying aircraft turnaround for Southwest’s 800 Boeing 737s and frustrating passengers. “You’ve seen it—or experienced it,” says Derek Whisenhunt, head of end-user computing. “If a gate agent is on the phone with IT while a line grows, that’s a direct hit to both employee and customer experience—and our ability to turn aircraft.”

A Strategic Shift: From Reactive to Proactive

Rather than waiting for issues to surface, Southwest’s IT team now uses AI and automation to anticipate and resolve endpoint problems before they affect operations. “We focus our team’s time on proactive and preventative work and increasing the digital employee experience,” notes Whisenhunt. This approach transforms the IT role from a reactive fixer to a strategic partner.

The key enabler is a digital employee experience (DEX) application from Nexthink, deployed several years ago. DEX software monitors device performance, application reliability, and IT support interactions, providing a real-time view of how employees interact with workplace technology. Over time, Southwest has deepened its use of the tool, splitting its 14-person endpoint management team into two groups:

• DEX Operations Team – handles day-to-day monitoring and rapid response
• DEX Engineering Team – a 12-member forward-looking unit that deploys new products and manages automations

This structure allows the airline to remotely address issues without dispatching technicians, keeping devices and employees productive.

Remote Actions and Automated Fixes

One of the most powerful capabilities is the ability to perform remote actions—such as clearing caches, restarting services, or updating configurations—on any device across the network. When a pattern of slowdowns is detected, automation scripts can be triggered instantly, often resolving the problem before users even notice. This reduces the volume of help desk tickets and allows the IT team to focus on higher-value improvements.

The DEX platform also provides predictive analytics, flagging devices that are likely to fail based on usage patterns and performance metrics. For example, if a tablet used by a gate agent shows early signs of battery degradation, the system can automatically schedule a replacement before it dies mid-shift. Whisenhunt emphasizes that this shift “drastically impacts our ability to turn aircraft” in a positive way—fewer delays mean happier customers and more efficient operations.

Improving the Digital Employee Experience

Beyond fixing problems, the DEX tools help Southwest understand how frontline workers interact with their devices. By analyzing which applications are used most and where friction occurs, IT can prioritize upgrades and training. For instance, if cabin crews report that a mobile app frequently freezes during boarding, the engineering team can work with developers to patch it quickly.

The result is a continuous improvement loop: data-driven insights lead to better device choices, optimized configurations, and fewer disruptions. Employees spend less time wrestling with technology and more time serving customers. Whisenhunt sums it up: “We’re impacting the employees’ experience, and that directly trickles down to our customers’ satisfaction.”

Scaling Automation for a Growing Fleet

As Southwest continues to expand, the endpoint management strategy must scale. The airline now handles over 50,000 mobile devices, a number that grows with each new hire and route. Automation scripts that once applied to a few hundred devices now run across thousands, with AI continuously learning from new data to refine responses.

The next frontier involves integrating DEX data with other operational systems—such as flight scheduling and maintenance tracking—to create a unified view of how device health impacts overall airline performance. Whisenhunt sees this as the natural evolution: “We’re putting endpoint operations on autopilot, so our team can focus on what really matters—innovation and employee empowerment.”

Conclusion

Southwest Airlines’ transition from reactive IT to a proactive, AI-driven model demonstrates how a strategic approach to endpoint management can deliver tangible business results. By leveraging Nexthink’s DEX platform and a dedicated automation team, the airline keeps its 72,000 employees connected and productive—while ensuring that the 800 Boeing 737s take off on time, every time. For other large enterprises facing similar digital transformation challenges, Southwest’s journey offers a blueprint: invest in visibility, embrace automation, and always keep the employee experience at the center.