DALLAS — The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has imposed a US$140 million fine on Southwest Airlines (WN) for its operational failures during the Christmas and New Year period in 2022. This incident, known as the "holiday meltdown," resulted in the cancellation of 16,900 flights—15,200 flights between December 22 and 29—and left over two million passengers stranded.

The airline, founded in 1967, has grown to be one of the largest airlines in the world. What started as a low-cost airline operating three planes has turned into one of the largest carriers in the world, but WN was unable to keep pace with technological changes.

According to the union representing the carrier, workers have been raising concerns for years. These concerns have proven to be prescient, thus resulting in thousands of cancellations during one of the year's busiest travel periods.

As freezing temperatures and winter conditions spanned throughout many WN hubs, including Dallas Love Field, Chicago Midway, Denver, and others, the carrier's plan for disrupted operations created a crisis. This required the airline to redesign the carrier schedule, which required multiple departments to do so manually. According to WN, this manual process works the majority of the time. But not a year ago, resulting in what we now refer to as the "holiday meltdown."

Since most crew scheduling was not automated, crew members who could have been working were waiting for hotel arrangements from the airline to adhere to federal guidelines. The phone system was outworked, and WN did not have enough staff to give scheduling changes to pilots and flight attendants. This created a ripple effect and affected thousands of WN flights across North America.

The DOT investigation found that WN failed to provide adequate customer service assistance, prompt flight status notification, and refunds in a timely and proper manner. Further, the department stated that it issued the civil penalty due to numerous violations of consumer protection laws by the carrier during and after the operational failures.

An Unprecedented Industry Penalty

The penalty is 30 times larger than any previous penalty for consumer protection violations and serves as a warning to other airlines about the consequences of failing to protect consumers during disruptions.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized that this action sets a new precedent and sends a clear message that airlines will be held accountable if they fail their passengers. He stated that taking care of passengers is not only the right thing to do but also a requirement, and this penalty should ensure that such a meltdown never happens again.

According to a report by aerotime.aero, WN will establish a US$90 million compensation system as part of the settlement. This system will provide future passengers affected by significant delays and cancellations with a transferable US$75 voucher for future use on the airline. WN has already paid over US$600 million in refunds and reimbursements.

It is important to mention that the flight disruptions from last year's holiday meltdown were a result of a winter storm and exceptionally low temperatures across the US. However, unlike WN, other major US carriers, such as United Airlines (UA), Delta Air Lines (DL), and American Airlines (AA), were able to recover and manage the situation more effectively.

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Southwest's 2023 Holiday Season

In its Disruption Action Plan for Winter 2023–24, the airline says it has reinforced its airport infrastructure, increased available equipment, and "bolstered overall winter preparedness at key airports with the potential for severe winter weather."

First off, the carrier has increased the available equipment to manage the effects of winter weather. It has also added more deicing trucks, pads, and ground equipment and increased the storage capacity of deicing fluid at key airports.

Additionally, WN has obtained more engine inlet plugs and heaters to protect aircraft and ground equipment in very low temperatures and introduced the SureWx liquid water equivalent system to better gauge dynamic local weather conditions. The latter provides more precise information for pilots and dispatchers to know how much time an aircraft has to depart based on the efficacy of anti-icing fluids in winter conditions.

Finally, WN states it has increased staff at airports where extreme cold requires rotating employees working outside.

As for enhancing collaboration, streamlining communication, and improving decision-making for Winter 2023–24, the steps taken include:

1. Consolidation of Leadership: In early 2023, WN consolidated the leadership of its Network Planning Team, responsible for designing flight schedules, and Network Operations Control, which oversees the daily operations of the airline.
2. Enhanced Real-Time Dashboards: The airline has implemented enhanced real-time dashboards to monitor the health of its network. These dashboards provide increased visibility into important factors, such as impending close-in flight cancellations, allowing Southwest to escalate awareness of potential issues.
3. Seasonal Planning Forum: WN has developed a seasonal planning forum that brings together operational experts and leaders from various groups involved in the airline's operation. This forum aims to facilitate collaboration and ensure effective planning for the winter season.
4. Winter Operations Playbook: Specifically for the winter season, WN is formalizing a Winter Operations Playbook, which will be used to guide operational actions and decisions throughout the season.

The Dallas-based airline is set to operate almost 350,000 scheduled flights between December 2023 and February 2024, according to Cirium Diio data.

Featured image: Southwest Airlines takeoff. Photo: Michael Rodeback/Airways

https://airwaysmag.com/southwest-airlines-holiday-meltdown/