Simone Del Rosario Business Correspondent

Is Southwest Airlines nosediving from best to worst?

Oct 22, 2021

Simone Del Rosario Business Correspondent

By Simone Del Rosario (Business Correspondent)

After canceling more than 2,000 flights and stranding thousands of passengers in mid-October, Southwest Airlines took on the reputation of being “Southworst”. It’s not the first time the airline’s passengers have been subjected to widespread cancellations this year. In June, Southwest canceled nearly 2,700 flights, averaging about 90 cancellations per day.

In fairness, all airlines have cascading flight cancellations from time to time.

“It goes in cycles and right now, it’s Southwest’s turn to be in the spotlight, so to speak,” said Ted Bradpiece, owner of the travel agency Explorer Travel Services.

Its current reputation is a bit of a head scratcher when you consider Southwest has actually been a favorite among flyers for quite some time, known for its friendly, funny flight crews and most importantly, low fares.

In fact, Southwest is consistently ranked one of the top airlines in the country and nabbed the top spot on multiple lists just this last year.

“The bottom line is, you knew what you were getting on Southwest, that’s part of the charm,” said Peter Greenberg, a prominent travel news journalist. “You weren’t sitting there because you were going to get first class, you weren’t sitting there because of the rich Corinthian leather…You were sitting there because the fares are great, they weren’t nickel-and-diming you on checked bag fees and you got where you wanted to go with a pretty good on-time performance.”

So how did the airline morph from “Southbest” to “Southworst”?

To start, Greenberg said it took on more than it could handle this year. The airline added dozens of new routes this year to reach new vacation hot spots made popular during the pandemic.

“All of a sudden, here’s Southwest Airlines flying to Bozeman, Montana,” Greenberg said. “They never flew to Bozeman, Montana, before, but they’re going to all these other destinations. And that sounds great, unless you can’t actually support the schedule, and what we saw happening this weekend is pretty good indication that they couldn’t.”

Not only is staffing still an issue as furloughed employees slowly return, but Southwest’s low-cost business model just runs different from the major carriers. Southwest flies more point-to-point instead of relying on major hubs; so when something goes wrong on one flight, that delay or cancellation impacts that Southwest aircraft’s flights for the rest of the day, if not longer. Southwest also doesn’t have interline agreements, so if Southwest strands a passenger, it can’t book the passenger on a partner airline.

It’s a trade-off. Forgoing things like expensive interline agreements allows for cheaper fares, and that’s what keeps customers coming back, even ones they’ve stranded.

“I’m willing to not judge them for one error,” said Southwest passenger Kathy Gesch after her flight home was canceled at Reagan National Airport. “So going forward, I think we’ll still be loyal Southwest customers, but this was frustrating.”

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: FROM DENVER TO BOSTON TO DALLAS, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CANCELED MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND FLIGHTS THE WEEKEND OF OCTOBER 8TH.

DANA LISSON: THIS IS PROBABLY THE FOURTH TIME IT’S HAPPENED TO ME WITHIN LIKE, THE LAST FEW MONTHS.

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: SHE’S RIGHT. IT’S FAR FROM THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR SOUTHWEST FLAKED ON FLIGHTS.

IN JUNE, THE AIRLINE CANCELED NEARLY 2,700 FLIGHTS, AVERAGING ABOUT 90 CANCELLATIONS PER DAY.

IN FAIRNESS, ALL AIRLINES HAVE CASCADING FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS FROM TIME TO TIME.

BUT SOUTHWEST HAS NOW TAKEN ON THE REPUTATION OF BEING SOUTHWORST. WHAT HAPPENED?

HERE’S TRAVEL AGENT TED BRADPIECE.

TED BRADPIECE: IT GOES IN CYCLES AND RIGHT NOW, IT’S SOUTHWEST’S TURN TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT, SO TO SPEAK.

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: DESPITE ITS CURRENT REPUTATION, SOUTHWEST HAS ACTUALLY BEEN A FAVORITE AMONG FLYERS FOR QUITE SOME TIME, KNOWN FOR ITS FRIENDLY AND FUNNY FLIGHT CREWS AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, LOW FARES.

SOUTHWEST IS CONSISTENTLY RANKED ONE OF THE TOP AIRLINES IN THE COUNTRY, NABBING THE TOP SPOT ON SEVERAL LISTS JUST LAST YEAR.

PETER GREENBERG IS A PROMINENT TRAVEL NEWS JOURNALIST.

PETER GREENBERG: THE BOTTOM LINE IS, YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE GETTING ON SOUTHWEST. THAT’S PART OF THEIR CHARM. YOU WEREN’T SITTING THERE BECAUSE YOU WERE GOING TO GET FIRST CLASS. YOU WEREN’T SITTING THERE BECAUSE OF THE RICH CORINTHIAN LEATHER. YOU WERE SITTING THERE BECAUSE THE FARES ARE GREAT. THEY WEREN’T NICKEL AND DIMING YOU ON CHECKED BAG FEES, AND YOU GOT TO WHERE YOU WANTED TO GO WITH A PRETTY GOOD ON-TIME PERFORMANCE.

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: SO HOW DID THE AIRLINE MORPH FROM SOUTHBEST TO SOUTHWORST?

TO START, GREENBERG SAYS THEY TOOK ON MORE THAN THEY COULD HANDLE.

THE AIRLINE ADDED DOZENS OF NEW ROUTES THIS YEAR TO REACH NEW VACATION HOT SPOTS MADE POPULAR DURING THE PANDEMIC.

PETER GREENBERG: ALL OF A SUDDEN, HERE’S SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FLYING TO BOZEMAN, MONTANA. THEY NEVER FLEW TO BOZEMAN, MONTANA, BEFORE, BUT THEY’RE GOING TO ALL THESE OTHER DESTINATIONS. AND THAT SOUNDS GREAT, UNLESS YOU CAN’T ACTUALLY SUPPORT THE SCHEDULE. AND WHAT WE SAW HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND IS PRETTY GOOD INDICATION THAT THEY COULDN’T.

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: NOT ONLY IS STAFFING STILL AN ISSUE AS FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES SLOWLY RETURN, BUT SOUTHWEST’S LOW-COST BUSINESS MODEL JUST RUNS DIFFERENT FROM THE MAJOR CARRIERS.

THEY FLY MORE POINT TO POINT INSTEAD OF RELYING ON MAJOR HUBS, SO WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG ON ONE FLIGHT, IT’S A DOMINO EFFECT AT LEAST THE REST OF THE DAY.

AND THEY DON’T HAVE WHAT YOU CALL INTERLINE AGREEMENTS. IF SOUTHWEST STRANDS YOU, THEY CAN’T BOOK YOU ON A PARTNER AIRLINE.

IT’S A TRADE OFF. FORGOING THINGS LIKE INTERLINE AGREEMENTS ALLOWS FOR CHEAPER FARES. AND THAT’S WHAT KEEPS CUSTOMERS COMING BACK – EVEN ONES THEY’VE STRANDED.

KATHY GESCH: I’M WILLING TO NOT JUDGE THEM FOR ONE ERROR. SO GOING FORWARD, I THINK WE’LL STILL BE LOYAL SOUTHWEST CUSTOMERS, BUT THIS WAS FRUSTRATING.

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: FOR BETTER OR WORSE, SOUTHWEST CONTINUES TO DANCE TO ITS OWN BEAT

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT FLYING SOUTHWEST?

LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.