Feb 9, 2023 - Economy

Southwest Airlines exec to Senate: "We messed up"

A Southwest Airlines traveler looks for her baggage at Chicago Midway International Airport on Dec. 27.

A Southwest Airlines traveler looks for her baggage at Chicago Midway International Airport on Dec. 27. Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters

A top Southwest Airlines executive, appearing at a Senate hearing on Thursday, plans to deliver another apology for the company's disastrous holiday meltdown.

Driving the news: "Let me be clear: we messed up," Southwest Airlines COO Andrew Watterson will tell the Commerce Committee before being grilled. "In hindsight, we did not have enough winter operational resilience."

Why it matters: Southwest's problems in December set off an intense round of scrutiny from both fliers and the federal government.

  • More than 15,000 flight cancellations — sparked by severe weather, but exacerbated by the airline's business model and tech issues — left travelers stranded for days.

What went wrong: "[S]ub-zero temperatures, high winds, and frozen precipitation were worse than forecast, which had a wide-ranging impact ... especially at Denver and Chicago Midway," Watterson says in his testimony.

  • Communication challenges "created an unprecedented amount and frequency" of crew changes that overwhelmed the airline's scheduling process and technology.

What's next: Watterson says Southwest has $1.3 billion budgeted this year for upgrades and maintenance for its IT system.

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