Southwest Airlines travel tips

The deadly wildfires on the island of Maui are likely to affect visitor — and airline — demand to the island for the “foreseeable future,” analysts at T.D. Cowen said Friday.

United Airlines is taking a subtle dig at rival Southwest Airlines’ massive number of holiday season cancellations in an ad it’s airing during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Two months. That’s how long Southwest Airlines expects there to be an impact on bookings from its massive holiday meltdown that disrupted millions of travelers over Christmas and New Years.

Southwest Airlines has put an initial number to the losses incurred during its holiday meltdown: a $725-825 million hit to its pre-tax income in the fourth quarter. That number includes both $400-425 million in lost revenue and added costs, for example reimbursing people for alternative travel costs.

The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said it planned to seek higher penalties for airlines and others that broke consumer protection rules, saying they were necessary to deter future violations.

The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said late on Monday it would examine the large number of Southwest Airlines cancelled and delayed flights in recent days to determine if they were in the airline’s control, calling them “unacceptable.”

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian made a call to action for more funding and investment in the U.S. air traffic control system after an outage Wednesday disrupted more than 11,000 flights across the country.

Southwest Airlines will pay a dividend to its shareholders of record as of January 10, 2023. This may not seem like a notable move for a carrier that has paid dividends for most of 50-plus year existence but it is: Southwest will be the first U.S. airline to resume shareholder returns since the pandemic.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, December 8. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, January 3, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, December 30, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Southwest Airlines was up and running on a normal schedule on Friday after a massive winter storm crippled operations this week and exposed problems at the low-cost carrier.

Spain’s Iberia has been hit by a computer glitch, affecting its booking and boarding system.

Southwest Airlines capped off its 2022 with the unenviable distinction of cancelling more than 15,000 flights in total during the week of Christmas, the result of a system failure caused by several issues that were exacerbated by a nationwide winter storm.

Southwest’s Meltdown Should Be a Technology Warning for Airlines: Instead of heeding employee concerns, Southwest focused primarily on tech for customers, leading to a worst-case example of what can happen when modernizing operations is not a priority. May other airlines learn from Southwest’s mistake.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, January 4, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

U.S. Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell on Wednesday said the panel intended to hold hearings after Southwest Airlines’ recent meltdown that led to nearly 16,000 flight cancellations in the week ending Dec. 29.

U.S. airline profits are set to come under pressure in 2023 as they look to shell out more cash to retain pilots amid worries about the impact of a potential recession on travel demand.

A group of 15 U.S. senators on Friday demanded Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Bob Jordan answer questions about the low-cost carrier’s holiday meltdown that led to nearly 16,000 flight cancellations.

Shareholders filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines Co on Thursday, accusing the carrier of fraudulently concealing problems that led last month to an operational meltdown and more than 15,000 flight cancellations.