The recent Southwest Airlines disruption was immensely problematic for many customers. The services were primarily disrupted due to the weather. The overall weather conditions have been wreaking havoc for quite a while now leaving many people frustrated.
For Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan and other staff members, this has been a very significant crisis to reckon with. It is, after all, their responsibility to ensure a smooth flight experience for their customers. But the weather is under no one’s control. Hence it is leading to several issues to reckon with.
Our Employees are getting into the spirit of the season! Which decorations are your favorite? pic.twitter.com/303BfRzRCG
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) December 21, 2022
How many flights were canceled or delayed?
More than 3900 flights have been canceled till now. This data was obtained from Flight Aware site. Thus this is a significant number to reckon with. Quite naturally, many customers are frustrated. Some might have personal commitments, while some are worried about certain professional endeavors.
Cancellation is not the only issue in this case. What is even more problematic at large is the number of flights that have been delayed. The delay, in this case is not about a few hours but a much larger time frame. If we look at statistics, then over 8000 flights have been already delayed. More are in the process of being delayed. Hence this is a huge number to reckon with.
The majority of flights canceled or delayed belong under the purview of Southwest Airlines. Hence it is evident that the staff members are worried.
Southwest Airlines canceled 71 percent of its flights. Over Monday it canceled over 300 flights. The 300 cancelled flights happened in a span of half an hour. Thus the situation is very grave as is visible from the statistics.
There will be even further cancellations henceforth. This is because there is no recovery visible in the near schedule at large.
The message of the CEO
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan has been actively interacting with the stakeholders in such troubling times. According to him, it is all part of a larger operation now which is suffering from many issues to reckon with.
To quote him:
“Part of what we’re suffering is a lack of tools. We’ve talked an awful lot about modernizing the operation, and the need to do that.”
He said this to his employees. He further added that he wished to run on one-third of the capacity during this time to further streamline the transportation efforts. A reduced schedule is supposed to be the norm for now.
WSJ.com reported his quote:
“We had a tough day today. In all likelihood we’ll have another tough day tomorrow as we work our way out of this.”
How are passengers responding?
The frustration of passengers is very much expected. Hence the call centers are getting many calls from frustrated customers. Everyone wishes to know when things will eventually normalize with precision.
Many were not even capable of reaching customer service. countless calls jammed the line. The issues customers are facing are diverse as well. Some are worried about scheduling problems while some are concerned about their luggage while some are worried about the time when things will be the same again.
What the spokesperson had to say
The spokesperson of Southwest Airlines Jay McVay said “As the storm continued to sweep across the country, it continued to impact many of our larger stations and so the cancellations just compiled one after another to 100 to 150 to 1,000,”
Conclusion
The basic notion that is governing Southwest Airlines is the consistent focus on the safety of its passengers. It is doing everything it can in that direction.
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