December’s cancellation chaos has cost Southwest Airlines another $325 million — raising the toll to more than $1.1 billion — as customers continue to avoid the airline after it canceled a slew of flights during the holidays in late 2022.
Southwest Airlines had been hit with an $800 million revenue loss in the last ten days of 2022 alone and then suffered another $159 million loss in the first quarter because of travelers avoiding booking with the airline and canceling their return flights from the holidays.
Now, travelers appear to continue avoiding Southwest, as the airline’s loss in revenue has gone up another $325 million, bringing its financial toll to more than $1.1 billion, according to a report by the Dallas Morning News.
“The majority of this impact was driven by a negative revenue impact of approximately $325 million, as a result of cancellations of holiday return travel and a deceleration in bookings for January and February,” CEO Bob Jordan said.
“Despite that, travel demand and revenue trends in March were strong and resulted in solid profitability for the month and record first quarter revenues,” Jordan added.
In December, Southwest Airlines canceled a staggering 16,700 flights during the last ten days of December after a winter storm hit its hubs in Chicago and Denver. The move caused chaos and widespread meltdowns during the holiday season.
At the time of the cancellations, Jordan and other Southwest executives apologized for the chaos, saying the airline is determined to upgrade its systems “for these extreme circumstances so that we never again face what’s happening right now.”
RELATED — Southwest CEO: “I’m Truly Sorry”
Video Source: Southwest Airlines via Storyful
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reacted by launching an investigation to see if “unrealistic scheduling” contributed to Southwest’s holiday travel issues.
This past week, it was revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice is joining in on the federal investigation into the airline’s treatment of customers after the December cancellations.
RELATED: Southwest Apology Flight! Airline CEO Passes Out Snacks on Plane After Winter Fiasco
Video Source: Amanda House / Breitbart News
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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