Here’s The Long-Term Damage To Southwest Airlines From Holiday Meltdowns

by Gary Leff

Jan 02 2023

Southwest Airlines experienced an operational crisis greater than any in its history – and this is an airline that managed to operate a four aircraft schedule with just three planes, and developed the 10 minute turn – in order to survive.

It didn’t just cancel flights broadly across its system for the holidays, it kept doing it day after day, unable to recover effectively. That ruined the holidays for more and more people, compounding the issues – and hits to their business.

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Delta Offered Family $24,000 In Travel Vouchers, Then Reneged And Cancelled The Flight

by Gary Leff

Jan 01 2023

A family of three was traveling Delta from Oakland to Salt Lake City on an overbooked flight. The gate agent offered them $8,000 apiece – $24,000 in total – to take another flight. They felt like they’d won the lottery. But then Delta reneged on the offer. The family didn’t get the vouchers, and they didn’t get to take the flight.

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Now That The Meltdown Is Over, Here’s What Southwest’s Pilots Have To Say

by Gary Leff

Dec 31 2022

The Southwest Airlines pilot union sent its members a note in the aftermath of their airline’s meltdown, diagnosing the core issues and challenges at the company. It’s a mix of correct analysis and hobby horses.

Tom Nekouei, 2nd Vice President of SWAPA, mostly dumps on former CEO Gary Kelly, who retired early in 2022, and correctly flags that the company has deferred technology investment for decades.

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Spirit Airlines Gate Agents Lay Down The Law With Passengers When Cancelling Flight

by Gary Leff

Dec 31 2022

Spirit Airlines flight NK1095 from Philadelphia to Orlando on December 26 cancelled, after a delay of several hours. Passengers in the boarding area were not at all happy, and Spirit gate agents have… their own way of communicating with customers. They let everyone know there would be refunds, or rebookings, but passengers would have to wait several days if they wanted another flight from Philadelphia. And don’t expect Spirit to pay for hotels!

This video of the announcements is… really something.

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Report: Delta Now Investigating If Your Elite Status Is “Real” When You Request A Match

by Gary Leff

Dec 31 2022

Delta SkyMiles has been known to status match a ham sandwich. No matter what proof of your current status with another airline you’d send in, they’d approve temporary SkyMiles status and a challenge to keep that status. That’s part of how they work to poach the best customers of their competitors.

The easy matches may be tightening up a bit at Delta Boulevard. At least they may be working to make sure the status you’re offering with another airline to justify the match is at least real.

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