After a historic meltdown that forced Southwest Airlines to cancel more than 50% of its flights over the last eight days, the carrier appeared to be running smoothly Friday, reporting minimal cancellations and delays.
Less than 1% of Southwest flights were canceled across the U.S. on Friday morning, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware, marking a significant improvement from earlier in the week when the carrier was operating at one-third its typical operations.
The tracker’s prediction for Saturday shows no disruptions to Southwest flights.
It’s a welcome change that arrived just in time for the next wave of New Year’s travelers.
A severe winter storm that pounded the nation kick-started the airport mayhem just before Christmas, challenging all airlines’ operations across the industry. But as other carriers recovered, Southwest struggled to bounce back.
Airline industry experts and union leaders said the storm exposed the company’s outdated technology and vulnerable operations that stymied the carrier’s ability to nimbly shift its services.
“We know even our deepest apologies — to our customers, to our employees, and to all affected through this disruption — only go so far,” the company said in a statement Thursday. “We have much work ahead of us, including investing in new solutions to manage wide-scale disruptions.”
Though regular service appeared restored Friday morning, the airline is still staring down serious challenges, including repairing its now tarnished reputation and dealing with the thousands of passengers who had holiday travel disruptions and took on additional costs for alternative travel or are still searching for their luggage.
The airline set up a new webpage for customers to submit refund and reimbursement requests for meals, hotels and alternate transportation, and to connect with baggage. The carrier is promising to honor “reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation” because of problems from Dec. 24 through Jan. 2 on a case-by-case basis.
The airline had canceled more than 15,000 flights from Dec. 22 through Thursday, according to FlightAware.
But the Southwest Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport seemed to be operating as normal Friday morning, with dozens of people waiting in line to check in for their flights and a steady stream of travelers moving about the airport. The departure and arrival boards were mostly on time, with a few exceptions.
Across the nation, Southwest reported about 300 delayed flights, or 7% of its operations Friday, according to FlightAware.
Claudia Pineda’s 5 a.m. Southwest flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was delayed because of mechanical issues — one of the 55 delayed flights arriving at LAX on Friday, per FlightAware.
Passengers on Pineda’s flight had to change planes and didn’t leave until after 7 a.m., she said, adding to concerns that the flight might not make it to L.A.
“We kept seeing all the flights getting canceled. We didn’t know what to expect,” Pineda said. “But aside from the delay, it was a smooth experience.”
A routine Southwest flier, Arianna Brooks was dreading the same 5 a.m. flight from Austin after a week’s worth of Southwest cancellations flooded the news.
“This was my first experience where we were delayed like this,” Brooks said after arriving in Los Angeles for the holiday weekend. “My outlook for Southwest has been good, but they really need to get their act together.”
Venetia Robinson from Oakland arrived at LAX shortly before 9 a.m. for a trip to visit family in Southern California for the holiday weekend.
She called Southwest before her flight was set to leave, unsure if the plane would be delayed or canceled.
“I was surprised I got a hold of an agent,” Robinson said. She looked into renting a car and driving down to Los Angeles, but she said couldn’t find any available in her area.
So she took the chance, and found it to be an easy trip, she said.
“On the flight you could hear it in the employees’ voices,” Robinson said. “They explained everything and were very accommodating.”
