December 28, 2022
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Thousands of Southwest Airlines customers have been left stranded over the last week by flight cancellations and severe disruptions to the carrier's operations.
Travelers who booked flights with Southwest Airlines will face another day of stress and uncertainty amid one of the worst airline meltdowns in decades.
All 23 of the Southwest Airlines flights that had been scheduled to depart from Philadelphia International Airport on Wednesday more have been canceled, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware. Nationwide, nearly 11,000 Southwest Airlines flights have been canceled since Thursday, when major winter storms and frigid temperatures in much of the United States began to disrupt air travel during the Christmas rush.
Southwest is operating about one-third of its flights as it struggles to recover from the impact that weather has had on its typical travel schedule. Unlike other airlines that use a "hub and spoke" model, returning planes to several large airports after hitting smaller destinations, Southwest operates using a consecutive, "point-to-point" flight route system.
Although this "point-to-point" model typically enables Southwest to book more flights in a 24-hour period, bad weather that shuts down multiple airports can lead to a chain reaction that requires significant cancelations. The airline canceled 34% of its flights on Friday, 39% on Saturday, 46% on Sunday, 74% on Monday and 64% on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, more than 2,500 flights — 62% of Southwest's planned routes — have been canceled. And although other airlines have canceled more flights than they typically would over the last several days, they have largely prevented full-blown crises like the one plaguing Southwest Airlines.
Southwest is the largest carrier in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the U.S. In Philadelphia, it's the fifth largest carrier.
"It's been catastrophic. It's been a failure at every level at Southwest," Capt. Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, told ABC News. "Our processes, our IT, our infrastructure just wasn't there to support the operation. And unfortunately, our customers are bearing the brunt of it."
In Philadelphia, PHL spokesperson Heather Redfern said the best thing stranded passengers can do is stay on top of the updates that their airlines provide.
"We remind all passengers to stay in touch with their airlines regarding flight status whenever they are flying — download the airlines' apps, sign up for text or email alerts," Redfern said. "The airlines provide the latest information on what to do in the event of a delay or cancellation."
Southwest Airlines has set up a website for travelers impacted by the current disruption. The page enables customers to check flight statuses, rebook flights and request refunds. There are also answers to frequently asked questions about reimbursement for related travel expenses, the whereabouts of checked luggage and troubleshooting issues with finding new flights.
The breakdown at Southwest Airlines has drawn federal scrutiny, including a pledge from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, to investigate the root causes of the problem. She said the issues go beyond weather.
"Many airlines fail to adequately communicate with consumers during flight cancellations," Cantwell said Tuesday. "Consumers deserve strong protections, including an updated consumer refund rule."
"We're doing everything we can to return to a normal operation," Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said in a video message to customers on Tuesday night.
Porter said Southwest has been in discussion with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about how the airline plans to rectify the situation with customers and adapt operations to prevent similar problems in the future.
"Our plan for the next few days is to fly a reduced schedule and reposition our people and planes," Porter said. "And we're making headway and we're optimistic to be back on track before next week."
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Transportation called the number of cancelations from Southwest "unacceptable" and said it will work to protect consumers.
USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.
— TransportationGov (@USDOT) December 27, 2022
The airline industry has been under mounting pressure from federal regulators since the travel demand rebounded from the collapse during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many airlines saw waves of retirements and offered buyouts that left them short-staffed when travelers returned in greater force in 2021.
But although Southwest Airlines was the first to turn a profit without federal aid in the aftermath of the pandemic lull, the company's structure and operations left it more vulnerable to a disaster than its competitors.
"This is the worst round of cancellations for any single airline I can recall in a career of more than 20 years as an industry analyst," Henry Harteveldt, a monitor for Atmosphere Research Group, told The New York Times.
