Southwest to make improvements to winter equipment, staffing following holiday meltdown
Southwest Airlines pledged Tuesday to improve its winter operations and modernize its technology following a massive holiday meltdown that spurred the cancellation of nearly 17,000 flights and stranded scores of flyers.
In particular, the Dallas-based carrier plans to purchase more de-icing trucks, engine covers and heaters, as well as hire more winter staff.
Additionally, Southwest said it would invest more in its technology, budgeting $1.3 billion for upgrades, maintenance and other expenditures. The airline also pledged to upgrade crew scheduling systems and customer phone systems to handle higher call volumes.
Winter Storm Elliott — which caused blisteringly cold temperatures to sweep parts of the U.S. during the holiday travel season — created a cascade of problems for Southwest.
While most airlines swiftly recovered their operations following the storm, Southwest faced issues such as outdated technology and problems managing out-of-place crews that paved the way for widespread flight cancellations.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said at a JPMorgan investors conference Tuesday that the storm hindered Southwest's operations in two of its key airports: Denver International Airport (DEN) and Chicago's Midway International Airport (MDW).
"This ultimately strained our ability to keep up with the pace and the breadth of the disruptions," Jordan explained.
Southwest is still reeling from its December debacle. For its 2023 first-quarter earnings, the airline forecasts a hit to revenue of up to $350 million, according to the carrier's latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
That comes after the carrier reported a net loss of $220 million for the last quarter of 2022, as the meltdown cost Southwest $800 million in pretax income.
Congress is also investigating the meltdown. Andrew Watterson, Southwest's executive vice president and chief commercial officer, testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in February.
Despite the losses incurred by the holiday calamity, Jordan said the carrier's booking trends for the second quarter "appear solid," with demand for leisure travel now closely mirroring pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
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| 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
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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