11/23/2023 0 Comments Southwest airlines customer service.Green said that decisions on what is reasonable compensation are often subjective, but that the customer service staff handling the refunds were told “to be generous in that regard and lean towards the customer.” That’s nearly half the estimated total $800 million in meltdown-related costs in just the fourth quarter - and that’s before counting any lost revenue going forward. Southwest estimates it is spending $390 million between the estimated cost of the frequent flier points it is offering and the cash reimbursements, not counting refunded fares for the canceled flights. That compensation covers not only the cost of travel on other airlines but also car rentals, hotels and meals. There are several reasons why the Southwest passengers may have been relatively forgiving.įirst, the airline has done a fairly good job reaching out to refund fares on canceled flights, awarding bonus frequent flier points and compensating flyers for their out-of-pocket expenses. “We did everything that we could to make it right, and that one quarter of them already have future travel booked on Southwest.” They understand that we messed up there,” said Ryan Green, the airline’s chief commercial officer. “I take that as a sign of confidence that customers understand. Southwest posts quarterly loss and warns more losses are ahead after service meltdownĪnd last week, when reporting a fourth quarter loss and warning of another loss in the current period, the company disclosed that 25% of customers who had been given 25,000 frequent flier points as compensation for the meltdown had already booked flights for future travel on Southwest, using either the points or paying cash. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images) Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images Southwest Airlines planes are seen at the AustinBergstrom International Airport (AUS) in Austin, Texas on January 22, 2023. While bookings in January and February - typically the slowest travel months of the year - are down, bookings from March forward are strong, they say. ![]() Southwest executives say that there already are signs that customers are staying loyal. “But I think by the middle of the year it’ll be a single digits percentage of people who won’t be willing to fly.” ![]() ![]() “Right now there are millions of people sitting there saying, ‘I was abused, no information and abandoned at Midway Airport,’” said Boyd. But they were the airline Grinch that stole Christmas,” said airline consultant Michael Boyd.Ĭomplicating Southwest’s recovery effort: Winter weather continues to batter the United States, and the airline (and its competitors) repeatedly canceled hundreds of flights a day last month.Įven so, Boyd, Keyes and other experts expect Southwest will recover the overwhelming majority of its customer base, despite the aftereffects of the meltdown and flyers’ lingering anger. “If it had happened in July, it’d be one thing. “It’s difficult to overstate how sour a taste this left in the hundreds of thousands of people at one of the most emotionally charged periods of the year,” said Scott Keyes, founder and chief flight expert for, a discount flight web site. No wonder: the holidays are perhaps the worst time of the year to strand customers. Southwest said that it lost about $350 million in ticket sales for January and February because people have avoided bookings on the airline. The airline is paying the price for canceling about half of its schedule between December 20 and December 29 – more than 16,700 flights during the busy holiday season – because of a combination of bad weather and an antiquated crew scheduling system. But fliers may forgive the company sooner than you think. ![]() Southwest Airlines’ customers are furious about the company’s Christmas week service meltdown.
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