DOT sues Southwest Airlines over 'chronically delayed flights'
The Department of Transportation filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines on Wednesday, accusing the carrier of "illegally operating multiple chronically delayed flights."
The DOT said that it also fined Frontier Airlines up to $650,000 for similarly running several routes that are chronically delayed.
According to the lawsuit, Southwest allegedly ran two routes that were delayed a total of 180 times between April and August 2022, coming out to five straight months of chronic delays. The DOT said it defines a regular commercial flight as "chronically delayed" if it is scheduled to operate at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late at least half of the time.
Help! Here's what to do if your flight is canceled or delayed
"Airlines have a legal obligation to ensure that their flight schedules provide travelers with realistic departure and arrival times," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. "Today's action sends a message to all airlines that the Department is prepared to go to court in order to enforce passenger protections."
The routes cited in the lawsuit include one between Chicago's Midway International Airport (MDW) and Oakland International Airport (OAK) in California, and a flight between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE). The airline was responsible for more than 90% of the delays on the routes, the DOT said, rather than a cause outside of its control such as inclement weather.
In a statement, Southwest said it was disappointed that DOT chose to file the lawsuit over flights from more than two years ago, and noted that it had not been marked for any previous violations since 2009, when the DOT implemented its "chronically delayed flight" policy.
"Any claim that these two flights represent an unrealistic schedule is simply not credible when compared with our performance over the past 15 years," Southwest added in its statement. "In 2024, Southwest led the industry by completing more than 99% of its flights without cancellation."
Flight delayed or canceled? Here are the best credit cards with trip delay reimbursement
Frontier was fined for violating the policy, the DOT said, rather than sued. The airline will be required to pay $325,000 for the alleged violations, with an additional $325,000 that would be suspended if the airline does not operate any chronically delayed flights for the next three years.
Earlier this month, the DOT issued a $2 million fine to JetBlue over four chronically delayed flights. It was the first time the agency had fined an airline over the issue.
It's not clear why the DOT is suing Southwest while it fined JetBlue and Frontier. A spokesperson did not immediately reply to TPG's request for more information.
In an interview with TPG last year, Buttigieg said that the agency was pressuring airlines to "prove the realism of their schedules," noting that a carrier could publish scheduled departure and arrival times that it knows it can't actually meet "for reasons of gaining market share or other anti-competitive reasons."
"We have active investigations right now, and are calling on airlines to do the right thing in the first place and not allow there to be reason for suspicion that they are knowingly scheduling flights that they're not prepared to adequately serve," Buttigieg said at the time.
Related reading:
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month