Southwest Airlines issued a second apology Wednesday night as customers across the country continue to experience significant travel disruptions due to the airline’s response to last week’s winter storm leading up to New Year’s weekend. .
In a video posted to Twitter, Southwest Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Green announced new resources for customers facing flight cancellations with no opportunity to rebook for those waiting for lost baggage.
“You know that all the flexibility and planning that we put in place to weather the storm just wasn’t enough,” Green said.
Directing customers to the “Travel Interruption” web page, Green began by saying that all customers affected by the cancellations will be able to rebook in the original class of service or standby travel without paying any additional fees until January 2.
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It then announced that affected customers can also request a refund for their canceled flight(s) and/or a refund of most travel expenses accrued while experiencing a flight cancellation or significant delay.
On the website, the company said it will “honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel and alternative transportation” between December 24, 2022 and January 2, 2023. To use the service, customers must submit receipts via email to Southwest Airlines for consideration.
Green also said that customers separated from their luggage who have not yet been contacted can fill out a form on the website to help expedite the reunification process.
Long lines at McCarran International Airport in Nevada after Southwest Airlines grounded its fleet of planes.
(@bookofvegas/Twitter)
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On Tuesday, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan apologized for the chaos and explained how the airline operates and why it had thousands more cancellations than any other airline.
“We are focused on putting all the pieces back in place to end this ongoing fight,” Jordan said.
The major disruption caught the attention of the US Department of Transportation and the Biden administration on Tuesday, both of whom asserted that airlines will be held liable if customer service plans are not followed during cancellations and delays.
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Southwest said more resources will be announced “soon” but for now, the airline is focusing on restoring its “reliability and level of customer experience.”
As of Thursday morning, Southwest accounts for 58% of the world’s canceled flights with 2,356 cancellations, according to FlightAware.
