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Southwest CEO maps out a recovery after holiday meltdown: ‘We have work to do’



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Passengers lined up by the Southwest Airlines counter at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, United States on December 26, 2022 as Southwest cancels more than 2,800 U.S. flights on Monday amid fierce winter storms.Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesSouthwest CEO Bob Jordan’s message, after a holiday meltdown derailed the travel plans of millions, is clear: “I can’t say it enough. We messed up.”His focus now is ensuring a similar crisis never happens again. The airline has hired consulting firm Oliver Wyman to review its processes, interview staff and union members, lay out what went wrong, and how to avoid it in the future. The low-cost airline is working with General Electric to improve the capabilities of software that helps Southwest work out crew reassignments. The airline’s board has created an operations review committee to help managers work through such events.The event was jarring for many travelers used to Southwest customer service, which includes policies like free checked bags, a rarity for domestic U.S. travel. Lawmakers and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said they want to look further into the disruptions.Less a year into the airline’s top job, in the aftermath of travel chaos he hadn’t seen in his more than three decades at Southwest, Jordan is now tasked with making things right with passengers and employees.”We took good will out of …

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