John and Lori Ingoldsby, who flew to Denver after the cancellation of the first leg of their flight on Southwest Airlines, wait for a flight to end their journey at Denver International Airport on December 28, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.
Michael Ciaglo | Getty Images
Southwest AirlinesChief Operating Officer, Andrew Watson, will face questions from a Senate panel next Thursday about the carrier holiday slump Due to which hundreds of passengers got trapped.
Southwest said the hearing date overlapped with a “previous commitment” to CEO Bob Jordan.
Jordan, who has been CEO for a YearIs Resolved to win the trust of passengers Following the debacle, which led to an $800 million pretax hit last quarter and pushed it into losses.
“Here’s how we’ve taken action to make things right for our customers since the disruption at Southwest in late December, as well as what we’re doing to reduce the risk of it happening again,” the airline said. , it’s Watson’s plan to use the opportunity to explain.” a statement.
The incident has sparked increased scrutiny from Washington and set off a one-year hiatus. air travel disruptiondue to inclement weather, staffing and technical issues.
Southwest canceled more than 16,700 flights between December 21 and December 31 because crew scheduling software was unable to keep up with the many flight changes in severe winter weather.
senate commerce committee hearing Testimony from Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Pilots’ labor union, will also be included; Sharon Pinkerton, senior vice president of legislative and regulatory policy at Airlines for America, an industry group representing the nation’s largest airlines; Paul Hudson, president of the consumer rights group Flyers Rights; and Clifford Winston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the committee chair, previously said she planned to hold hearings on flight disruptions after Southwest’s holiday travel chaos.