When Capt. Lou Freeman first interviewed for a job with Southwest Airlines in November 1980, he didn’t realize there were no other black pilots at the company.

“I didn’t think about it at all ... in my interview it wasn’t a big deal,” said Freeman, who grew up in Dallas. “It didn’t take long to figure out. We only had 187 pilots.”

On Thursday, Freeman wheeled his suitcase down a jet bridge at Love Field for the last time as a Southwest pilot, capping off a 36-year career that included being the first black chief pilot of any major U.S. airline, leading the crew that flew Rosa Parks’ remains around the country before her interment and serving as a lasting ambassador to future pilots of all races.

Wearing a white shirt, blue slacks and an American flag tie, Freeman seemed at ease in the hours before his 12:40 flight from Dallas to Chicago on Thursday, joking that he’d been “practicing his landings” in preparation for his final ride. He’ll turn 65 on Monday, the federally mandated retirement age for U.S. pilots.

“As long as I get us to the gate with no dings and no dents, I’ve done my job,” Freeman said. “I haven’t dinged an airplane yet and I don’t plan to start today.”

1 / 4Southwest Airlines' senior pilot Lou Freeman, the first African-American chief pilot of a major U.S. airline, chats on the phone before boarding his final flight at Dallas Love Field airport on Thursday. (Rose Baca / Staff Photographer) 2 / 4Southwest Airlines' senior pilot Lou Freeman, the first African-American chief pilot of a major U.S. airline, gets a hug from flight attendant Gisela Alvarez before boarding his final flight at Dallas Love Field airport on Thursday.(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer) 3 / 4Southwest Airlines' senior pilot Lou Freeman (right), the first African-American chief pilot of a major U.S. airline, shakes hands with flight attendant Jay Giacomi before boarding his final flight at Dallas Love Field airport on Thursday.(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer) 4 / 4Southwest Airlines' senior pilot Lou Freeman, the first African-American chief pilot of a major U.S. airline, boards his final flight at Dallas Love Field airport on Thursday. (Rose Baca / Staff Photographer)

A steady stream of Southwest employees stopped to hug Freeman, shake hands or pose for photos with him before the flight, while friends and family waited in the gate area to board the flight with him to Chicago, where a reception in his honor was held.

Freeman said it’s the people he’ll miss most when he’s retired, especially running into old friends at airports around the country.

“It’s bittersweet,” Freeman said of his retirement, “because I know I won’t get the chance to do it anymore. But I’m happy that I got a chance to do it. To be able to say I flew big jets.”

Breaking racial barriers

By the time he got to Southwest, Freeman was no stranger to breaking through racial barriers.

Born in Austin, he moved with his family to East Dallas when he was 10. He was part of the first class of students to integrate Woodrow Wilson High School, where he became the first black cadet corp commander of the school's ROTC program.

He continued on to the Air Force ROTC at East Texas State University, now Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he initially failed the pilot portion of the aptitude exam.

“I knew nothing about airplanes. ... I didn’t like the idea that I hadn’t succeeded in something,” he said.

He spent most of the next year studying aviation and aircraft before ultimately passing the test. Somewhere along the way he fell in love with flying, he said.

After six years serving with the Air Force, a 28-year-old Freeman returned to Dallas, where he got a job with the hometown airline. At the time, Southwest had only 20 planes and flew to only a few destinations outside Texas.

His first flight was from Dallas to Lubbock. Over the next three decades, Freeman saw the airline transform into the country’s largest domestic carrier with about 8,000 pilots and a significantly larger route network.

Freeman oversaw much of that growth in Chicago, where he was named chief pilot in 1992. He managed a crew base that started with about 150 pilots and had more than 1,000 by the time he left 15 years later.

He also spent much of his career trying to bring the joy of aviation to kids and expose them to potential careers, including as an inaugural member of Southwest’s Adopt-a-Pilot program targeted at elementary school students. Just 3 percent of U.S. aircraft pilots are black, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It’s anybody that’s interested. I don’t discriminate. ... I’m happy to help anybody I can,” he said. “I do go way out of my way to try to educate young African-Americans because we don’t typically see airlines and airplanes in our future just simply because we’re not exposed to it.”

Freeman said he plans to spend his retirement traveling and spending time with his family. He plans to have his son — a flight instructor and aspiring airline pilot — take him up for a ride on Monday for his birthday before heading to Seattle to see his daughter.

Even amid the hubbub of preparing for his final flight Thursday, Freeman made time to encourage a young boy to consider a career in aviation.

“Is this something you want to do?” Freeman asked as the boy approached to shake his hand.

“Maybe,” the boy replied.

“I tell you what, it’s a great job," Freeman said. "You have a lot of fun, meet a lot of people, go a lot of places.”