(ThePennyWatcher.com) – Southwest has been penalized heavily for their debacle in 2022 when they experienced a massive amount of flight cancellations. Close to 20,000 apparently, that caused issues for many across the United States.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is applying a $140 million penalty against the airline which is the largest and most significant in the departments history for violating consumer protections.
Southwest claims that the culprit was an initial storm that then affected a wide range of power outages across the US.
The airline must set aside millions to help future passengers affected that may be affected by delays and cancellations.
Customer Service Failure
During the 2022 cancellations, many customers complained of non-stop busy signals and hours-long waits on hold to connect with a customer service agent. It goes without sayinbg that Southwest’s call center was completely overwhelmed.
And in the initial investigation it was uncovered that even the basic text or email notification system was not correct. Many would be passengers received the wromg information, or nothing at all.
The airline has since made public some drastic changes to how their service centers now deals with these types of issues.
Good to see that Southwest righted the ship, but what a mess.
Consumer spending looks to remain at a high level with both the airlines and shoppers in general despite the Presidents low approval on the overall economy.
And even with all of this trouble, Southwest still continues to rank very high amongst the public. They maintain a 2 free checked bag policy that is popular among travelers, and many travel agencies still have very high marks for the airline.
Hoping 2024 is a bit better for them!
