Southwest Airlines scrubs 160 flights after resuming "normal" schedule
Embattled air carrier Southwest Airlines again canceled dozens of flights after returning to a more regular flying schedule following a winter storm-related meltdown last week.
Southwest as of Monday afternoon had canceled 160, or 3%, of its flights, the most of any American airline, according to tracking site FlightAware. Another 422, or 10% of its scheduled flights were delayed. The majority of disrupted flights were scheduled to fly in or out of Denver International Airport.
Last week, the Dallas-based carrier canceled thousands of flights every day, disrupting passengers' holiday travel plans. Although the airline blamed winter weather for the flight disruptions, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg insisted "the thousands of cancellations by Southwest in recent days have not been because of the weather."
"Other airlines that experienced weather-related cancellations and delays due to the winter storm recovered relatively quickly, unlike Southwest," he wrote in a letter to Southwest CEO Robert Jordan.
Southwest scrapped fewer than 50 flights Friday as it rebounded from one of the most severe aviation industry breakdowns in recent years. But with a jump in the number of trips scuttled on Monday, passengers continued to gripe on Twitter.
"@SouthwestAir can you provide a transparent update on your luggage reuniting efforts? Over a week now with no updates. The form is gaslighting and an extremely dishonest attempt to appease," one frustrated customer tweeted.
In a tweet responding to a customer inquiring about missing luggage, Southwest said Monday it remains "inundated with baggage to reunite with their owners." A spokesperson for Southwest said the airline is "operating a normal schedule" Monday and that it's "pleased" with its performance over the past few days.
The spokesperson attributed the "minimal cancelations," out of 4,000 scheduled flights, to "weather in several areas, including fog earlier this morning in Chicago, and heavy snow in Denver."
A fierce winter storm bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain has triggered National Weather Service warnings from the Rockies into the upper Mississippi Valley.
Do you all remember air travel before COVID or maybe even before 9/11/2001. Arrive 15 min before takeoff, 2 suitcases and a csrry on no charge, in flight meals, no runarounds to airport hubs, one 10 minute stop in San Fran to change planess and in Honolulu before the sun went down for $600, rarely was luggage lost in my experience.
You''re certainly talking pre 9/11, and 15 minutes before takeoff would have been cutting it pretty close even then. Airlines started to hub years before that. In the 1980s, United used Chicago and maybe Denver as a hub. Delta used Atlanta. In fact, part of Southwest's problem was that it didn't use hubs. Hubs make it much easier for airlines to adjust to changes, as the equipment and personnel are concentrated in one or two airports. When Southwest's scheduling program went down, it's personnel and equipment were spread out across its entire service area. And I call BS on the idea of a 10-minute window for plane changes -- when I flew fairly often for work in the 1980s, 30 minute was pretty standard. I tried a 20 minute window between Seattle and Tucson, and my luggage was a day late both ways.
Use a little introductory microeconomics and you'll easily understand why the quality of the flying experience has steadily deteriorated over time.
he/him we all just have to live through it,
holding each other’s hands.
Southwest Airlines scrubs 160 flights after resuming "normal" schedule
Embattled air carrier Southwest Airlines again canceled dozens of flights after returning to a more regular flying schedule following a winter storm-related meltdown last week.
Southwest as of Monday afternoon had canceled 160, or 3%, of its flights, the most of any American airline, according to tracking site FlightAware. Another 422, or 10% of its scheduled flights were delayed. The majority of disrupted flights were scheduled to fly in or out of Denver International Airport.
Last week, the Dallas-based carrier canceled thousands of flights every day, disrupting passengers' holiday travel plans. Although the airline blamed winter weather for the flight disruptions, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg insisted "the thousands of cancellations by Southwest in recent days have not been because of the weather."
"Other airlines that experienced weather-related cancellations and delays due to the winter storm recovered relatively quickly, unlike Southwest," he wrote in a letter to Southwest CEO Robert Jordan.
Southwest scrapped fewer than 50 flights Friday as it rebounded from one of the most severe aviation industry breakdowns in recent years. But with a jump in the number of trips scuttled on Monday, passengers continued to gripe on Twitter.
"@SouthwestAir can you provide a transparent update on your luggage reuniting efforts? Over a week now with no updates. The form is gaslighting and an extremely dishonest attempt to appease," one frustrated customer tweeted.
In a tweet responding to a customer inquiring about missing luggage, Southwest said Monday it remains "inundated with baggage to reunite with their owners." A spokesperson for Southwest said the airline is "operating a normal schedule" Monday and that it's "pleased" with its performance over the past few days.
The spokesperson attributed the "minimal cancelations," out of 4,000 scheduled flights, to "weather in several areas, including fog earlier this morning in Chicago, and heavy snow in Denver."
A fierce winter storm bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain has triggered National Weather Service warnings from the Rockies into the upper Mississippi Valley.
Southwest's problems were a couple of decades in the making. Too bad the failure occurred on the watch of a CEO with the right approach. They need to update 20 year old software, and that is going to take time. So is finding all the bags.
he/him we all just have to live through it,
holding each other’s hands.
Do you all remember air travel before COVID or maybe even before 9/11/2001. Arrive 15 min before takeoff, 2 suitcases and a csrry on no charge, in flight meals, no runarounds to airport hubs, one 10 minute stop in San Fran to change planess and in Honolulu before the sun went down for $600, rarely was luggage lost in my experience.
You''re certainly talking pre 9/11, and 15 minutes before takeoff would have been cutting it pretty close even then. Airlines started to hub years before that. In the 1980s, United used Chicago and maybe Denver as a hub. Delta used Atlanta. In fact, part of Southwest's problem was that it didn't use hubs. Hubs make it much easier for airlines to adjust to changes, as the equipment and personnel are concentrated in one or two airports. When Southwest's scheduling program went down, it's personnel and equipment were spread out across its entire service area. And I call BS on the idea of a 10-minute window for plane changes -- when I flew fairly often for work in the 1980s, 30 minute was pretty standard. I tried a 20 minute window between Seattle and Tucson, and my luggage was a day late both ways.
Use a little introductory microeconomics and you'll easily understand why the quality of the flying experience has steadily deteriorated over time.
Maybe 15 min was pushing it on prearrival but it was much better than after 2001. And it was just 10 min to change planes after going coast to coast nonstopp. We didn't have to shuttle across the airport. Granted I didn't fly much in the early 90s. The expense was out of my league and family was still close. I don't remember airports being as crowded then either.
And when the Confederates saw Jackson standing fearless like a stonewall, the army of Northern Virginia took courage and drove the federal army off their land.
You''re certainly talking pre 9/11, and 15 minutes before takeoff would have been cutting it pretty close even then. Airlines started to hub years before that. In the 1980s, United used Chicago and maybe Denver as a hub. Delta used Atlanta. In fact, part of Southwest's problem was that it didn't use hubs. Hubs make it much easier for airlines to adjust to changes, as the equipment and personnel are concentrated in one or two airports. When Southwest's scheduling program went down, it's personnel and equipment were spread out across its entire service area. And I call BS on the idea of a 10-minute window for plane changes -- when I flew fairly often for work in the 1980s, 30 minute was pretty standard. I tried a 20 minute window between Seattle and Tucson, and my luggage was a day late both ways.
Use a little introductory microeconomics and you'll easily understand why the quality of the flying experience has steadily deteriorated over time.
Maybe 15 min was pushing it on prearrival but it was much better than after 2001. And it was just 10 min to change planes after going coast to coast nonstopp. We didn't have to shuttle across the airport. Granted I didn't fly much in the early 90s. The expense was out of my league and family was still close. I don't remember airports being as crowded then either.
The airport crowding is another efficiency change over time, I think. An airline will try to schedule its flights to arrive and depart together in time windows. So the airport will tend to be crowded in the part of the airport that a traveler accesses to board or deplane.
he/him we all just have to live through it,
holding each other’s hands.
Two suitcases, both alike in dignity, traveling together and through no fault of their own, having spent one week staycaying in Denver, boarded a plane to the East Coast without their people, then transported by Fed Ex, have now arrived home with all their contents intact and only a crack as a remembrance of their journey.
LIGHT HAS A NAME
We only get stronger when we are lifting something that is heavier than what we are used to. ~ KF
Two suitcases, both alike in dignity, traveling together and through no fault of their own, having spent one week staycaying in Denver, boarded a plane to the East Coast without their people, then transported by Fed Ex, have now arrived home with all their contents intact and only a crack as a remembrance of their journey.
I hesitate to ask exactly what (or possibly whom?) cracked….
