'I'm deeply sorry': Highlights from Senate hearing over Southwest's holiday meltdown

Southwest Airlines chief operating officer Andrew Watterson and other officials testified before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Thursday, a little over a month after a meltdown that disrupted holiday air travel nationwide.

In the wake of extreme winter weather, Southwest canceled nearly 17,000 flights in the final 10 days of December. The cancellations left many passengers stranded and struggling to find luggage or reach customer service agents, while some had to improvise, forgo planned trips or opt to drive rather than fly.

Southwest reported a $220 million loss during its fourth-quarter earnings call last month, after it took an $800 million hit as a result of the cancellations. The debacle has also prompted the Department of Transportation to investigate whether the airline scheduled more flights than it could operate.

In opening statements, senators on the committee said they hoped the hearing would help prevent similar issues in the future, and also highlight the need to fund upgrades to the national aviation system when the Federal Aviation Administration comes up for reauthorization later this year.

What were some of the most interesting questions from senators?

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said she had received calls noting that reimbursements from Southwest for expenses incurred as a result of the disruption were being labeled settlements, and asked Watterson whether the airline expected passengers waive their rights to pursue legal action by submitting receipts.

Watterson said he was not aware of the use of that language, but assured Sinema that Southwest's only intention was to refund customers' money.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., asked Watterson whether the airline had returned baggage and items like wheelchairs and strollers.

Watterson said the airline had returned "every single bag" except for 200 that had no identifying information. He said Southwest would continue to hold those until they could find the owners.

Software upgrades are coming to Southwest

Watterson said the airline is pursuing additional technology improvements to make its systems more modernized and reliable.

"The overall flight scheduling system, we're looking to upgrade and replace that," he said. The airline will begin soliciting vendors for bids after its formal investigation of the December incident concludes. 

Southwest customer service may still be hard to reach

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., pressed Watterson on long customer service wait times passengers faced during the debacle, when some passengers struggled to reach a representative by phone.

The airline aims for an average answer speed of between three and nine minutes during a "normal disruption," but Watterson said no amount of staffing could have helped the airline meet that goal during the debacle.

He added that the airline could not staff high enough to do so in a similar situation in the future.

Pilots have been sounding the alarm on crew scheduling system

Casey A. Murray, president of Southwest's pilots' union, said pilots and other workers have been warning the airline for years that the crew scheduling system and others were overstretched.

"The pilots have been sounding the alarm bells for over a decade," Murray said. "We've watched this progress and seen these meltdowns occur with more frequency and more severity. ... We love our airline. They have to be better, and we are trying to partner with them."

He added that in the event of operational disruptions, Southwest often relies heavily on its frontline employees' ability and willingness to "cobble together" fixes on the fly.

"We've seen some minor touches and been included in two meetings," he said. "The frontline operators must be involved (in developing fixes in the future). That's something we’re insisting on."

A partial fix to Southwest's system is expected 'tomorrow'

Watterson said the airline is continuing to review its operational procedures but is planning to introduce a software update on Friday that would help prevent a similar scheduling issue in the future. 

"Tomorrow the fix will go in, it'll be live in our production system. It's already had two rounds in our test system," Watterson said. He added that the new technology would help prevent the same cascading problems in the future, but it's not the only fix the airline is exploring. 

"We believe our winter operations resiliency was the root cause, and that'll take longer to address, and so we will focus on that for the bulk of our time," he said.

'We messed up': Southwest COO apologizes

Southwest's COO admitted that the airline was at fault for how the delay cascaded through the company's network.

The disruption "overwhelmed our crew scheduling processes and technology," Watterson said in his opening. "We had upgraded this system earlier in the year, but we are taking a fresh look at it and other systems of how we should improve."

"On behalf of Southwest Airlines, I'm deeply sorry," he said.

Murray added this has been a known issue among the airline's employees.

"For years, our pilots have been sounding the alarm about Southwest's inadequate crew scheduling technology and outdated operational processes," he said. "Unfortunately, those warnings have been summarily ignored by Southwest leaders."

Why did Southwest cancel flights over the holidays?

Southwest cut back its scheduled flights so it could catch up after winter weather overloaded its technology. While other airlines with newer cloud-based technology were able to recover faster, the Dallas-based airline had to schedule crews manually.

Some had been flagging the outdated technology internally for years. Southwest president and CEO Bob Jordan said the fiasco would speed up "plans to enhance our processes and technology as we continue to focus on adding capabilities to bring rapid improvements for you, our valued customers" in a January note to the airline’s Rapid Rewards members.

In his opening statement, Paul Hudson from Flyers Rights, a passenger advocacy organization, said that the meltdown was "unprecedented, but not unexpected." He said airline systems and technologies are often overstretched and ill-equipped to deal with major disruptions. 

What did Southwest do after massive cancellations?

Southwest gave impacted travelers 25,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points as a "gesture of goodwill," Jordan said in an email to customers last month.

The airline also directed travelers to its website, where they can request a refund for unused tickets and reimbursement for "reasonable expenses incurred as a result of the disruptions including meals, hotel accommodations, and alternate transportation."

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at the time that the DOT would hold the airline accountable.