Southwest Gives Disgruntled Customers Frequent Flyer Points In Aftermath Of Holiday Meltdown

Ben ZeisloftJanuary 3, 2023

Southwest Airlines Customers who were affected by rampant flight Cancellations during the recent holiday Season with frequent flyer point, a benefit that comes along reimbursements for canceled tickets

The company, which had announced plans to resume normal operations Starting on December 30, nearly two-thirds (or more) of the flights were canceled during the Christmas travel season. This was even after the severe winter weather conditions in the United States subsided and other carriers had stopped cancelling an unusual number of flights.

CNN’s Pete Muntean is a CNN correspondent. message Southwest announced that customers who had their flights cancelled or delayed more than 3 hours received 25,000 reward points. This is equivalent to about $300. “Southwest experienced a unique combination of events that started with severe weather at our busiest airports and transitioned into other operational challenges,” The message was understood. “This caused unprecedented wide-scale cancellations and ultimately impacted your trip.”

It wasn’t clear if every Southwest customer will receive exactly 25,000 reward point. The handouts were meant to accompany reimbursements, according to Southwest. “gesture of goodwill.” Points can be used for other purposes “any available seat” “never expire.”

Southwest also plans to refund flyers for hotel accommodation, meals, rental cars and tickets bought with other carriers. Shares dropped 3% Tuesday, as executives attempted to win back unhappy customers. The firm’s stock has plummeted more than 17% over the past month.

According to an article, Southwest uses a point to-point route model to offer faster flights to residents in smaller cities than the hub-model used by larger airlines. analysis The New York Times. The downside to the former model’s is the inability to find enough crew members in small cities. This causes disruptions to the network, causing delays when flights are canceled and fail to arrive on-time.

The company stated this Tuesday statement Officials “intend nearly all baggage delayed during the recent holiday travel week to be shipped or delivered by midweek.” The statement confirmed that customers affected would be eligible for rewards points. “In the new year, the urgent work continues on planned improvements to processes and systems that will bolster the ability of Southwest to recover effectively in large-scale disruptions of our operational plans.”

Capt. Casey Murray competed during an interview Fox Business could have prevented delays and cancellations. “Unfortunately, this has been a decade in the making. We have sounded alarm bells, we have tried to get them to change processes,” He made a comment. “It’s a combination of processes, outdated technology, and infrastructure.”

Pete Buttigieg, Transportation Secretary, called the “level of disruption” Customers have shared their experiences “unacceptable” In a letter Bob Jordan, Southwest CEO, said that his agency would use “the fullest extent of its investigative and enforcement powers” To guarantee reimbursements. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-VT), are two examples of lawmakers. criticized The official was criticized for not implementing reforms that they had previously recommended.

Sanders made the observation in a June letter The Lockdown-Induced Recession caused $54 Billion in Relief for the Airline Industry. Buttigieg requested that they make the airlines. “promptly refund passengers for flights that have been delayed over an hour,” You can also impose fines “flights that are delayed more than two hours” And for “scheduling flights that they are unable to properly staff.”