Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan speaks as he’s interviewed by CNBC outside the Latest York Stock Exchange on Dec. 9, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
With the height Christmas travel season just days away, Southwest Airlines‘ CEO vowed that the carrier won’t have a repeat of last 12 months’s meltdown that stranded 1000’s of shoppers and value the airline greater than $1 billion.
“It is going to never occur again,” Bob Jordan said at an event Thursday on the Wings Club in Latest York.
Last 12 months, Southwest canceled near 17,000 flights over the crucial Christmas and Latest 12 months’s holiday period because it didn’t get better from severe weather that gripped many of the country. Rival carriers were also affected but recovered more quickly.
Southwest struggled with staffing issues as storms left flight attendants and pilots out of position for his or her next flights, 1000’s of passenger bags piled up and planes were behind on de-icing.
The carrier has been stocking up in de-icing and other winter-weather equipment to organize for the season all year long. It has also upgraded technology.
“Winter won’t be perfect,” Jordan said. But he added that the airline is ready for the season, pointing to a fast recovery after heavy snowfall in October at its key airport in Denver.
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