by Leonard Berberi
In a week, Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 13,000 flights: at least $350 million in damage. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s anger. Here’s what happens
Bad weather in North America disrupted the flight schedules of several US airlines, but one in particular – Southwest Airlines – was brought to its knees. The world’s largest low-cost airline has canceled 10,114 flights in six days – from December 22 to 27, Flightradar24 calculates, leaving 1.4 million people grounded, according to Corriere’s estimates based on average load factors for this period. On December 28, the company will cancel another 2,515 connections, more than 60% of the connections planned for the day. It doesn’t get any better the next day (2,455 flights already cancelled). Scenes at airports with thousands of stranded travelers prompted US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to subpoena Southwest CEO Bob Jordan for an official statement.
The network of connections
“What began on December 22 with major disruptions in Denver, the Southwest’s hub with the most scheduled takeoffs, escalated into a veritable avalanche of cancellations in the days that followed, with more than 60% of flights canceled for at least three days at a time became a series,” Edward Russell, air transport expert at the Skift specialty site, told Corriere. But why did this happen with the low costs? “For at least two reasons – Russell continues –. First, the way Southwest plans connections. The company operates point-to-point flights, with the aircraft and crew flying to multiple cities in one day, often without returning to the airport of departure.
“old technology”
According to the expert, the second reason for the collapse is “its outdated technology of flight organization platforms. As inclement weather disrupted travel, particularly in Denver — where there was also a surge in sickness — the airline literally lost track of where crews were and whether anyone was still licensed to fly, working, or resting strictly to comply with federal regulations to comply with . All of this has led to “this week’s southwest operations jumble”. A “mess” that could cost the carrier at least $350 million, according to Corriere’s calculations.
The next days
For Russell, “Unfortunately, it will likely be days before Southwest returns to its regular operations.” What doesn’t help is the holiday season: “With all airlines’ flights full for the holidays, there are few seats available to reaccommodate Southwest’s stranded passengers.” Several Southwest travelers took to social media to say they had also booked a flight on another airline for safety reasons, further driving up prices. Also for this reason, Transport Minister Buttigieg wrote on Twitter that all “companies should limit fares on these routes (from Southwest, ed.) to help people who have to go home”.
Following widespread disruption, we are working diligently to safely restore our operations and accommodate displaced customers and crew. We know this is unacceptable and we sincerely apologize. If your trip was affected, explore self-service options here: https://t.co/B6L8HR9Yqc pic.twitter.com/mLWndYMned
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) December 28, 2022
The reactions
After days of chaos, Southwest Jordan’s CEO emerged with recorded video. “We’re doing everything we can to restore operations and I’m really sorry about what’s happening,” said number one at Low Cost, who then thanked the workforce and explained the reason for the collapse. In a statement from the Department of Transport, Secretary Buttigieg threatened action against the company if it failed to take action to help and compensate customers.
December 28, 2022 (change December 28, 2022 | 11:53 am)
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