Southwest cancels 43 flights Friday, after CEO pledges full schedule, 'great operation'
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Southwest Airlines has canceled 43 flights and delayed 266 others on Friday despite its CEO appearing on television and vowing a "great operation" and "full schedule."
That is 1% of its total flights canceled, but that is still more than its rivals.
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan made the remarks on ABC's "Good Morning America" as Southwest Airlines appears to be back on track following days when thousands of its flights were canceled in the aftermath of the Christmas weekend winter storm.
"We are off to a great start today. I am watching the stats, and we have launched the East Coast, and we have a great operation underway," Jordan said. "It’s our full schedule, 3,900-plus flights."
"We had a reduced schedule for about three days here prior as we reset the network," he continued. "That reduced schedule the last two days had been running great, over 90% on time, very few cancels. So I am very confident that we will operate a really tight operation today."
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A Southwest Airlines jet arrives at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Matt York / AP Newsroom)
As of around noon ET Friday, Southwest Airlines has canceled 43 flights, compared to the nearest domestic rival, United Airlines, with 18, according to FlightAware.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LUV | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. | 29.38 | +0.33 | +1.14% |
Jordan’s comments come hours after Fox News obtained a letter by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in which he criticized Southwest for the travel chaos and laid out four priorities he has for the airline.
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Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines, speaks during an interview in New York on Sept. 24, 2021. (Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The priorities included: "Getting stranded passengers to their destinations safely and quickly; providing or reimbursing passengers for meals, hotels and ground transportation to or from hotels; promptly refunding affected passengers for their canceled tickets should the passenger not accept alternative offers such as rebooking; and ensuring that passengers are quickly reunited with their baggage."
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Travelers wait at a Southwest Airlines baggage counter to retrieve their bags after canceled flights at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia / AP Newsroom)
Jordan said earlier in the week that Southwest was doing "everything we can to return to a normal operation."
The airline’s "highly complex" network was thrown off by the winter storm as dozens of aircraft and crews fell out of position, he explained.
FOX Business’ Aislinn Murphy and Paul Best contributed to this report.