Southwest Airlines pledged Tuesday to enhance its winter operations and modernize its know-how following an enormous vacation meltdown that spurred the cancellation of almost 17,000 flights and stranded scores of flyers.
In explicit, the Dallas-based provider plans to buy extra de-icing vehicles, engine covers and heaters, in addition to rent extra winter employees.
Additionally, Southwest stated it will make investments extra in its know-how, budgeting $1.3 billion for upgrades, upkeep and different expenditures. The airline additionally pledged to improve crew scheduling programs and buyer telephone programs to deal with increased name volumes.
Winter Storm Elliott — which induced blisteringly chilly temperatures to comb components of the U.S. through the vacation journey season — created a cascade of issues for Southwest.
While most airways swiftly recovered their operations following the storm, Southwest confronted points corresponding to outdated know-how and issues managing out-of-place crews that paved the best way for widespread flight cancellations.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan stated at a JPMorgan buyers convention Tuesday that the storm hindered Southwest’s operations in two of its key airports: Denver International Airport (DEN) and Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW).
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“This ultimately strained our ability to keep up with the pace and the breadth of the disruptions,” Jordan defined.
Southwest continues to be reeling from its December debacle. For its 2023 first-quarter earnings, the airline forecasts a success to income of as much as $350 million, based on the provider’s newest submitting with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
That comes after the provider reported a internet lack of $220 million for the final quarter of 2022, because the meltdown value Southwest $800 million in pretax revenue.
Congress can also be investigating the meltdown. Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s govt vice chairman and chief industrial officer, testified earlier than the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in February.
Despite the losses incurred by the vacation calamity, Jordan stated the provider’s reserving traits for the second quarter “appear solid,” with demand for leisure journey now intently mirroring pre-pandemic ranges in 2019.