With the peak holiday travel season just days away, the CEO of Southwest Airlines has vowed there will be no repeat of last year’s meltdown that stranded thousands of customers and cost the airline more than $1 billion.
“It will never happen again,” Bob Jordan said at an event at the Wings Club in New York on Thursday.
Last year, Southwest cancelled nearly 17,000 flights over the crucial Christmas and New Year holiday period as it struggled to recover from the severe weather that gripped much of the country. Rival airlines were also affected, but recovered more quickly.
Southwest struggled with staffing issues as storms left flight attendants and pilots unable to make their next flights, thousands of passenger bags piled up and aircraft were delayed in de-icing.
The airline has been stockpiling de-icing and other winter weather equipment all year to prepare for the season. It has also upgraded its technology.
“Winter is not going to be perfect,” Jordan said. But he added that the airline was prepared for the season, pointing to a quick recovery after heavy snowfall in October at its main airport in Denver.
