Southwest Airlines blamed air traffic control and weather for cancelling a quarter of its flights over the weekend, while pilots were rumored to be calling in sick in heavy numbers to protest vaccine mandates. The cause of the cancellations was clearly only affecting weather and air traffic control surrounding Southwest planes because other airlines had no such problems, even at the same hubs.
The FAA, usually a staid agency, took to twitter to defend itself.
Some airlines continue to experience scheduling challenges due to aircraft and crews being out of place. (2/2)
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) October 10, 2021
Here’s the think, they kept subtweeting Southwest.
Air traffic control real-time status is always available for the public.
Look any time. Go to the source and check it out yourself: https://t.co/2JqKd70wIr
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) October 11, 2021
It’s very simple. Corporate communications isn’t under oath, but it doesn’t look good when the story unravels.
Worse is throwing your regulator under the bus. The FAA might not be so willing to certify aircraft for them during the next government shutdown and perhaps the next safety audit is even harsher.
It’s pretty clear that weather didn’t cause SW to cancel 1000 flights yesterday. But there apparently is no requirement for an airline to tell the truth. And I love reading how they are “working hard” to fix things. As opposed to what? Not working hard? Not working at all?
as Buffalo Springfield would sing…”there’s something happening here…what it is isn’t exactly clear.”
Count down to when the “weather” starts affecting AA ops as well….
Still believe that the original deregulations was a very big/bad mistake!
Southwest has long been the love child of regulators to whom WN has been able to sell its affordability and ability to stimulate traffic.
Now, basic operations are the issue and that didn’t just start this weekend nor will it end today.
Southwest’s very reputation and favor with the public and regulators is at stake.
I don’t know why it surprises anyone that Southwest would lie. That is their corporate culture. They cancelled one of my flights a few years back (the very last time I ever bought a ticket on WN), and refused me a refund (even though I had to spend more than 3x the price of their ticket to get a last second replacement flight for me an my partner). They refused my refund request, only offering me “store credit.” I didn’t want the credit as I had no plans to fly them again. I disputed the charge with Chase, and Southwest Liars sent a letter to Chase, on their letterhead, claiming that they did operate the flight. (They didn’t operate the flight and it made the news because of the number of honeymoons and destination weddings which were impacted.). They lied then, they are lying now, and if they unfortunately stay in business, they’ll lie in the future. They should hire KellyAnne Conway as their spokesperson. .
I was just rerunning air traffic control on Friday afternoon and there’s no apparent loss of air traffic in Florida. There might be a stopage offshore of Jacksonville, but that could be due to military exercises or problems in ATC, inshore traffic is definitely continuing.
Bottom line, there are planes in the air over Florida all day Friday.
The biggest laugh I’ve had this far is when reading the deflection comments being posted repeatedly on feeds across SM. The few accounts posting the same thing over and over are either, imho, Bots or SW Management created accounts.
They are repeatedly saying it has nothing to do with the walkout that many pax and staff report hearing SW talking openly about in the preceding days and trying to use a union communique saying there was no official union action as evidence that it didn’t happen. Now as the, at this point, ‘alleged action was unofficial and not planned or authorized by the Union it’s patently obvious they would say exactly that especially as saying they were even aware of it would be problematic as it would be deemed an “illegal walkout”.
Whilst I cannot say that the walkout / sickout whatever you want to call it as a result of staff taking direct action against jab mandates (( and I’d suggest for their own legal protection no SW staff do so in a way they could ever be identified)) the other FACTS speak for themselves that the reasons given are inaccurate.
NO other airline was affected.
FAA and other ATC sources have officially stated data and declared that what SW is suggesting never actually happened.
It WAS widely reported by SW staff and numerous, unrelated and independent of each other, members of the public in the days before, on the day and since that this action was likely to happen and the reasons for it.
All of these are verifiable facts via multiple, disperate, independent and non aligned sources. SW version nof events is the only one differing and contradictory.
I’d still rather fly Southwest than AA, or get vaginitis.
Southwest is turning into another American Airline
Shitty service nothing on time
Mean rude workers.
Now days it’s a crap shot flying any airline.
Throwing Twitter Shade? Was ViewFromTheWing hacked by 13 year old girls?
Remember
When you tweet you’re a twit
When you tweet multiple times your a twat
@P
Why would you want that or say that?
@Jill
Because @P is a vulgar, indecent, and inflammatory know-it-all . . . and most likely a guy. It is the nature of the crowd. Discussion threads on this and other sites degenerate very quickly. As this thread involves COVID, I’m surprised it hasn’t already moved into immigration policy or abortion policy. In another thread, even masturbation was brought up.
Good for the pilots for standing up for individual freedom! Be nice if the truckers and train ops did the same. Really send things to a screeching stop and send the dems reeling and screeching! Am I anti vax? Nope. But I do believe in individual freedom and I don’t believe in putting experimental drugs into MY body. If you want to potentially poison yourself, go at at!
Southwest is no longer what it used to be, I am ex SWA and still know lot of ppl who work there. Southwest has now just turned into another corp. Management no longer holds the core values of employees and Customer first.
Now they will lie and use the PR positioning to cover their mistakes.