The Dallas-based airline’s stock has taken a hit along with its reputation.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines canceled thousand more flights on Wednesday as other U.S. carriers rebounded much faster from recent winter weather.
It has experts questioning the future of the airline and how it will regain the trust of passengers.
Stranded luggage piled up at Dallas Love Field Wednesday. But one carousel delivered bags on schedule to passengers arriving from Denver.
“It was actually one of the easiest times I've had flying out of Denver in a long time, so I was pleased about that,” said passenger Peggy Bessellieu. “We were checking the flight hourly and I was thinking, 'do I go ahead and rebook on another airline in the future?'”
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
She knew she was lucky to have a smooth Southwest Airlines flight, unlike so many other passengers who have been disappointed in the holiday season.
“If your trip to see the grandkids gets canceled, that's devastating,” said Mike Davis, a business expert at Southern Methodist University.
He has followed hometown airline Southwest for years. Davis said trust earned over many years has been compromised.
“You felt as a passenger that everybody there was pulling for you. That they wanted to get you to where you wanted to go. And as we’ve all seen Southwest is completely overwhelmed by this mess they’ve got now,” Davis said. “Weather in December is not unexpected. What's really disappointing is Southwest seems to be caught flat-footed.”
Investors reacted with a reduction in Southwest stock price.
Dallas Aviation Attorney Kent Krause has also been watching Southwest Airlines for many years. He said this severe service interruption could change the company’s relationship with customers.
“It’s going to have a negative impact on that, I think substantially because it’s been happening too often. They’ve had problems this past year and again now,” Krause said.
Southwest Airlines began as a small carrier with direct service linking multiple cities so passengers did not have to change planes for through service. Stops were quick and planes could be back in the air fast.
The company has grown to be one of the largest airlines but kept the business model that links multiple cities on legs of a trip. Cancelations can cause greater disruption and make it more difficult to reassign crew members and equipment to restart service.
Other carriers with a hub-and-spoke model for service recovered from the weather sooner with far fewer cancellations.
Southwest crew scheduling technology and telephone call services are also blamed for falling short of the need in this weather event.
“At some point, both the public and investors at Southwest are going to demand they do what they need to do to make this work right,” Krause said.
Davis said the company’s core is strong and its fleet of 737 aircraft is well suited to the kind of routes it flies.
“They need to hire people but they also have a pretty big infrastructure, so they can. And I think they will fix this,” Davis said.
A public apology and promises for improvement from Southwest Chief Executive Officer Robert Jordan may help boost confidence.
“But clearly we need to double down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances,” Jordan said.
Customer Peggy Bessellieu said she has been a Southwest fan for many years. She appreciates easy flying from Dallas Love Field and the routes she flies are non-stop, so she does not plan to give up on Southwest.
“I hope that this brings changes, but I'm a loyal Southwest customer,” Bessellieu said.
“What Herb would probably be thinking about right now is, let’s get it right," said former airline spokesperson Ed Stewart.
Joining the company in 1990, Stewart was there in the years Herb Kelleher worked build the trust some now fear is lost.
“Southwest was never just trying to have customers. We were trying to have fans, and we had fans in the people who flew Southwest Airlines. But you’ll see now, how well does Southwest respond?” said Stewart.
Even in the wake of a complete meltdown, Stewart defended the airline's point-to-point flight design, saying it's integral to Southwest's identity and lower fares.
He believes both it, and Southwest's reputation will survive.
“The whole airline business is very mosaic. There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle, so it depends on how quickly we can put this puzzle back together. But rest assured, they’ll get the job done," he said.
The test going forward is how many customers remain loyal and whether the company follows through on promises for improvement.
The flight tracking website FlightAware.com reported nearly 16,000 Southwest Airlines cancelations since December 22 as of Wednesday afternoon, with more expected Thursday.
