Southwest Airlines CEO Robert Jordan on Thursday apologized for the disruption and said the carrier was “extremely sorry” for the customer inconvenience.
Jordan said Southwest’s “point-to-point” business strategy, which allows passengers to travel directly between smaller markets, had been disrupted by the winter storm, leading to the cascade of cancellations.
Unlike its rivals, which operate with a “hub-and-spoke” model, Southwest prides itself with a “point-to-point” business strategy that allows passengers to travel directly between smaller markets. This strategy has been disrupted by the winter storm, leading to thousands of cancellations.
According to U.S. Captain Michael Santoro, vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, this strategy can be difficult to get back on track when disrupted. Southwest’s outdated scheduling software was unable to handle the flood of passenger flight cancellations, leading to the chaos.
Southwest’s CEO Robert Jordan apologized for the disruption and said the carrier was “extremely sorry” for the customer inconvenience. The airline has been working to return to a relatively normal flight schedule, reshuffling routes and sending planes, and crews, to where they needed to be. Passengers have reported relatively empty flights, some with one person to a row, as the carrier works to make amends.
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