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Southwest Airlines says normal operations will return Friday

by The AV Times Staff • December 29, 2022 17 Comments

On a day that another 2,300-plus Southwest Airlines flights nationwide  were canceled, the carrier promised that normal operations would return with “minimal disruptions” by Friday, Dec. 30.

“We are encouraged by the progress we’ve made to realign crew, their schedules and our fleet,” according to a statement from Southwest. “With another holiday weekend full of important connections for our valued customers and employees, we are eager to return to a state of normalcy. We know even our deepest apologies — to our customers, to our employees and to all affected through this disruption — only go so far.”

Southwest officials said the airline is currently operating roughly one-third of its schedule. In all, 2,360 Southwest flights were scrubbed on Thursday, Dec. 29 — about 58% of the carrier’s schedule. Another 167 were delayed. The airline has set up a page at Southwest.com/traveldisruption for customers to submit refund and reimbursement requests for meals, hotel and alternate transportation, as well as to connect customers to their baggage.

“We have much work ahead of us, including investing in new solutions to manage wide-scale disruptions,” airline officials said. “We aim to serve our customers and employees with our legendary levels of Southwest hospitality and reliability again very soon.”

Long lines greeted travelers at airports in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Riverside counties Thursday with anxious travelers looking for flights on other airlines. Several turned to rental car companies for transportation to their destinations. Some were left waiting on hold for hours waiting for assistance and were sleeping on the floor of airports. Meanwhile, thousands of passengers and their luggage remained in limbo in Southern California and across the nation as Southwest works to recover from a failure in its scheduling systems combined with a devastating winter storm.

A total of 100 inbound and outbound Southwest flights at Los Angeles International Airport were canceled by Wednesday afternoon, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Southwest accounted for the bulk of the 126 overall flight cancellations to and from the airport. Of all the canceled fights on Wednesday in the country, about 86% of them, or more than 2,500, were from Southwest Airlines, according to FlightAware. The airline has been working to reset its systems and reposition its aircraft and flight crews, many of which were left out of position as the weather and computer failures combined to devastate Southwest’s operations. That led to mass cancellations of flights in Southern California and beyond, leaving many passengers stranded, unable to reach their destinations and often unable to even locate their checked luggage.

The airline previously issued an apology to stranded holiday travelers, stating that its operational challenges stem from last week’s historic winter storm.

“With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our customers and employees in a significant way that is unacceptable,” according to the Southwest statement. “We’re working with safety at the forefront to urgently address wide-scale disruption by rebalancing the airline and repositioning crews and our fleet ultimately to best serve all who plan to travel with us.”

In a video posted online Tuesday afternoon, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said that cadence would continue through the week as it works to reposition its crews and airplanes. He blamed the “bitter cold” for the problems, but also acknowledged that the airline needs to make improvements in its scheduling systems “so that we never again face what’s happening right now.”

Officials with the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a statement calling the Southwest situation “unacceptable.”

“USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays and reports of lack of prompt customer service,” the department stated. “The department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”

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Filed Under: Business, Home, Los Angeles County

17 comments for "Southwest Airlines says normal operations will return Friday"

  1. Fortune Cookie says

    December 31, 2022 at 8:42 pm

    Here is a good quote we all can look to-

    “Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.”

    -Scooby Doo

    Reply
    • Sunshine says

      January 1, 2023 at 12:53 pm

      This quote is Wonderful, I am going to use it

      Reply
  2. A Boy Named Sue says

    December 30, 2022 at 8:34 pm

    Why fly? Take the Astor Martin down the 14 to the pad in Laguna, let the drinks flow, and f the AV. That’s how we roll.

    Reply
    • Johnny says

      December 31, 2022 at 8:34 pm

      Hahahahahaha way to ring in the new year with a good laugh by a boy named Sue lol

      Reply
      • A Boy Named Sue says

        January 1, 2023 at 9:10 am

        What a bash!!!!!!!!!! Bobby was out of control. We couldn’t pry the Vice from the buffet. Where’s my car? My head hurts. Who needs the BLVD?

        Reply
  3. Mayor of Stomptown says

    December 30, 2022 at 1:01 pm

    note to self: never fly during the holidays.

    and always keep remember; it’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, then in the air wishing you were on the ground.

    Reply
    • Tim Scott says

      December 30, 2022 at 3:26 pm

      My gf has flown at Thanksgiving or Christmas, sometimes both, just about every year of the twenty years I have known her, and every time before it has worked out fine. This year things went bad. Things always can go bad, but they very seldom actually do. Living life by “something in life might go bad so I’m gonna not live life at all” is a sad path.

      Reply
      • Tim’s mom says

        December 31, 2022 at 11:29 am

        Gf of 20 years, typical Lib

        Put a ring on it already loser.

        Reply
        • Tim Scott says

          December 31, 2022 at 11:57 am

          LOL…that’s the best you’ve got? My mom was a whole lot sharper than you, poser.

          The only benefit to inviting the government into your bedroom by applying for a marriage license is if you anticipate needing access to a divorce court to referee the eventual breakup.

          Reply
          • Tim’s mom says

            December 31, 2022 at 6:36 pm

            Ehhhh, typical lib response to the matter.

            Just pop the question, Will ain’t gonna reject you. He’s been waiting for this moment for 76 years.

            Stinger can be your best man.

          • Tim Scott says

            January 1, 2023 at 10:12 am

            Looks like I struck a nerve with Tweedledumb or Tweedledumber, whichever is posting as the spirit of my dead mother. Probably that part about the needing a referee. Seems like they both measure their self worth based on the success of the men they are leeched onto, and they are at that age where leech wives tend to get replaced with trophy wives. That might account for their being so hate filled.

          • The Owned Cow says

            January 2, 2023 at 10:58 am

            You know, I am here for you.

          • John Adams (Sr.) says

            January 2, 2023 at 11:06 am

            It’s funny.
            A guy I worked with once told me that some things were like teaching calculus to chimps.
            Explaining liberty to these cretins is like that.
            They want to bind you in ways you need not be bound, you know, because that’s the world they understand.

        • Tucker says

          December 31, 2022 at 2:41 pm

          Who are you? Mike Pence, hypocrite?

          Reply
        • Tim's Dad says

          January 2, 2023 at 11:09 am

          Way to go, son.
          Your grampa told me he never bought a pair of shoes without trying them on first.
          Your shoes have really lasted a long time.
          Wise decision.

          Reply
          • Tim Scott says

            January 2, 2023 at 4:54 pm

            Slow night at the bar Tweedledumb? Or are you Tweedledumber?

    • Sister Bertrille says

      December 30, 2022 at 5:26 pm

      Took the words out of my mouth. I never fly around holidays.

      Why do the TV news channels have to show us the lines and chaos at the airports? We’rre home.

      The people who might want to see that ARE at the airports already. Anyway, they could just show the clips from other years as they all look the same.

      Reply

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