Southwest pilots are paid per flight segment. A standard segment is 243 miles, and pilots make 10 percent more for every 40 miles additional they fly. The monthly reserve guarantee is 89.0 flight segments per 31-day bid or 87.0 per 30-day bid.

This is why to obtain an accurate hourly pay comparison; one must multiply the published rate by 1.149 to truly make an accurate comparison to another airlines' pay rate.