Southwest Airlines' Reputation Crumbles After Fallout From COVID Policies
Yesterday, mass chaos ensued for Southwest Airlines, with thousands of flights being canceled across the country. Passengers were left scrambling as refunds were denied and nonsensical excuses were presented.
The official story was that ATC “issues” and bad weather caused the meltdown, which hit Jacksonville, FL especially hard. That rippled through flights elsewhere as planes were not able to make their connecting legs.
One look at the radar and airport delays, though, shows there was absolutely nothing weather-related anywhere in the country (where Southwest Airlines operates) that caused this, much less in sunny Jacksonville. Rather, it was some mix of an air traffic controller and pilot shortage due to pointless vaccine mandates driving the cancellations. That’s made obvious by the fact that other major US airlines saw cancellation rates over 10x lower during the same period.
Further, it’s been confirmed now that the mass “sickout” was a result of the vaccine mandates.
For context, Southwest Airlines has been in a running battle with its pilots’ union over a coming vaccine mandate. A lawsuit has now been filed alleging it is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement. According to one passenger, and many other accounts floating around on social media, that’s behind the walkout that saw the cancellation of over 1000 flights on Saturday.
To be as accurate as possible, though, how much of what transpired came from the ATC side of things vs. the pilot side of things is unclear. Given Southwest’s reported problems with its pilot union over the vaccine mandate, if yesterday wasn’t largely due to a pilot shortage, that’s probably only a temporary reprieve. You can expect strikes to occur as the mandate goes into effect in the next few weeks.
Further, while the details here are still murky about who is specifically to blame (aside from vaccine mandates in general), what is clear is that people are furious with Southwest Airlines. By blaming non-existent weather problems, they were able to avoid giving refunds or paying for layover expenses for those left stranded, many sitting on planes for hours.
That decision to not just be honest with its customers about the cause of the cancellations has hampered the reputation of what was once seen as the “different” airline. Yet, they aren’t operating any differently than their typically more loathed counterparts in the industry. This was all completely avoidable by using some common sense.
Lastly, these mandates are just so pointless. Vaccine mandates are only logical if only the unvaccinated can spread COVID. But since everyone can spread COVID, including the vaccinated, mandates make no sense. Rather, they’ve become a political point and companies have stupidly decided that it’s better to signal virtue than take care of their customers. The backlash to that is only going to get worse.
Southwest Airlines Cancels Even More Flights
as 'Issues' Worsen
As we reported above, Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds of flights Saturday claiming, initially, that it was due to bad weather and that there were air traffic control issues.
But their issues continued, with another 1,000 flights canceled Sunday, as well — almost 28% of their total flights. This was the second straight day of significant issues.
As we noted earlier, the claim of “weather” didn’t match what was happening in the country, and it wasn’t hitting other carriers. So, that wasn’t the real story. Fox’s Leland Vittert indicated that there was a “mass sickout” in protest of vaccine mandates. That many scrapped flights is obviously an internal problem, not weather.
The FAA claimed that the problem wasn’t due to air traffic control issues, that there had been no staffing shortage reported since Friday. “Some airlines continue to experience scheduling challenges due to aircraft and crews being out of place. Please contact the airlines for details about current flight schedules,” they said.
Hardest hit by the cancellations were Denver, Baltimore, Dallas Love Field and Chicago Midway airports, and while they said things would get better on Sunday, they actually got worse.
While the Southwest Pilot’s Association said they weren’t participating in any official or unofficial job action, they decried Southwest’s “poor planning” and “operational challenges,” noting that the COVID vaccine mandate — on top of existing shortages and issues — was a further distraction.
“Make no mistake about it – due to months of staffing issues and inefficient scheduling practices we have been operating at a higher than normal operational risk,” the union’s safety committee told members in a post on Saturday.
It said reports of fatigue, which require pilots not to fly, are triple historic norms.
“All of these challenges have led to an added distraction in the cockpit,” it said. “This week’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate announcement by the Company only exacerbates the situation.”
On Friday, the labor union asked a federal court in Dallas to temporarily block the implementation of the vaccine mandate and other Covid-19 policies, arguing the company took unilateral decisions that require negotiations with the union.
Southwest may only be the tip of the iceberg. American Airlines may be next up on the list, with the union representing its pilots warning the company could face a staffing shortage if they implement a stringent vaccine mandate. So, things could get very interesting, right as we enter the holiday season.
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