DALLAS — The U.S. Transportation Division claimed Wednesday it is investigating no matter if Southwest Airways deceived customers by knowingly scheduling a lot more flights in late December than it realistically could tackle.
The office mentioned that scheduling way too numerous flights would be regarded as an unfair and deceptive observe under federal law.
“DOT is in the original period of a arduous and detailed investigation into Southwest Airlines’ vacation debacle that stranded tens of millions,” the office stated in a assertion.
The Transportation Division included that it will maintain Southwest accountable if the airline fails to stick to federal guidelines about refunds and reimbursing clients for costs when flights are canceled. The company mentioned it will “leverage the comprehensive extent of its investigative and enforcement power” to shield shoppers.
Southwest explained its holiday getaway agenda “was thoughtfully designed” with “a solid prepare to function it, and with sufficient staffing.”
“Our programs and procedures turned stressed whilst operating to recuperate from many times of flight cancellations throughout 50 airports in the wake of an unparalleled storm,” Southwest claimed in a assertion. The airline pledged to cooperate with any authorities inquiries and is “focused on discovering from this event” and cutting down the chance of a repeat.
Southwest canceled about 16,700 flights more than the past 10 days of December. The meltdown began with a winter season storm, but Southwest ongoing to wrestle extensive right after most other airways had recovered, in portion because its crew-scheduling process grew to become overloaded. Union officials reported they experienced warned the airline for many years about the system, in particular following related but significantly less serious flight disruptions in Oct 2021.
Dallas-centered Southwest inevitably resorting to slicing its routine by about two-thirds to reset crews and planes, which it did productively.
The airline employed consulting company Oliver Wyman to review what went erroneous. CEO Robert Jordan has reported the firm could possibly velocity up spending on some know-how updates as a result of the disaster, but that he would like to total the assessment initially.
Southwest said this month that the cancellations will price it up to $825 million in dropped revenue and higher fees like high quality pay out for employees and reimbursing customers for motels and alternate flights. As a end result, the organization is envisioned to article a fourth-quarter decline when it studies final results on Thursday.
The airline is also dealing with damage to its track record for shopper services. Analysts imagine some consumers could keep away from Southwest for a quick time, even though airlines have commonly bounced back speedily from other assistance failures.
The chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has promised to keep hearings on disruptions like the a person at Southwest.