Southwest Airlines Gives Perks to Travelers Stranded by Logistics Meltdown

Posted: January 6, 2023 1:34 pm

A perfect storm of inclement weather and other holiday travel overload instigated a massive failure on the part of Southwest Airlines over the last few weeks. Now the value-driven airline is offering a mea culpa to its customers in the form of additional frequent flyer miles. Here is what you need to know if you were impacted by the flight issues between the dates December 24 and January 2.

Southwest Airlines Apologizes With Miles

Southwest Airlines announced this week that it is offering frequent flier perks to its passengers who were stranded during the winter storm that left dozens of people dead and ruined the holiday plans of millions of Americans between the days leading up to Christmas and through New Year’s Day. The timing of the monster cross-country winter storm could not have been worse for those flying over the holidays. Now Southwest is doing something to make up for the lost time.

Southwest CEO Bob Jordan announced the plan in a letter sent to customers on Tuesday, offering 25,000 frequent flier points to travelers caught up in the mass havoc. Jordan referred to the points as a “gesture of goodwill” after offering his apology to those impacted by the failure. The miles are in addition to any further reimbursements or refunds offered earlier by the airline.

The discount carrier based in Dallas said that the 25,000 points are valued at about $300. The points will come with no blackout dates or expiration, providing maximum flexibility to customers looking to rebook. In order to be eligible for the points, passengers need to show that they had been booked on a flight that was either canceled completely or delayed for over three hours between December 24 and January 2.

Looking Back at the Impacts

It was a disastrous week for the airline industry after the snowstorm forced the cancellation of thousands of flights in the days leading up to Christmas weekend. While the other major airlines were able to recover when the weather cleared up, Southwest experienced a logistics failure that stranded thousands of travelers across the country.

For example, although most flights were back off the ground in the days after Christmas, Southwest was responsible for 86% of the domestic flight cancellations on December 27. This number continued to grow in the coming days as the ripple effects set in.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was forced to get involved, sending a letter to the airline on December 29 that called the delays and cancellations “unacceptable.” Buttigieg said that his department has received thousands of complaints about the failures, warning that the government can penalize Southwest if they do not take care of their passengers as required by industry regulations.

Lost Luggage Concerns

It has been nearly two weeks since the meltdown began and some travelers are reporting that they still have not seen baggage that was lost during the time frame. In Tuesday’s memo, Jordan said that the organization’s ground ops team is working overtime to sort and send the luggage to the appropriate locations. He also confirmed that Southwest is working with FedEx to expedite this process. Jordan is hopeful that all luggage will be returned to customers by the end of the week.

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