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The Dallas-based carrier has blamed the hour-long outage on a vendor-supplied network firewall failure, causing a temporary loss of connection to key systems. Southwest told Reuters on Wednesday it opted to halt flights out of caution, adding there were no indications of a cyber attack. It declined to identify the vendor and did not address why this failure was not part of the company's planning. While the exact cause is not clear, some industry experts questioned why Southwest systems did not include more redundancy. Southwest was able to manually launch flights while SWIFT was down but decided to suspend departures at 8:27 a.m. CST.

REUTERS/Jim VondruskaApril 18 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co's (LUV.N) said a technology failure caused a one-hour nationwide stoppage of its flights on Tuesday, another snafu for the carrier after a software problem over the Christmas holiday stranded thousands. The Dallas-based carrier's flights resumed after a vendor-supplied computer network firewall went down Tuesday morning and connection to some operational data was "unexpectedly" lost. Data from flight tracker FlightAware showed 47% of Southwest's flights were delayed as of late afternoon on Tuesday. "This is another demonstration that Southwest Airlines needs to upgrade their systems and stop the negative impacts to individual travelers,” said Senator Maria Cantwell in a statement. The FAA had to halt flights nationwide in January due to a systems outage.

☆ Southwest Airlines Resumes Flights After Ground Stop Tuesday Morning
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Alison Sider | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Southwest Airlines Co. said it resumed flights after a nationwide pause that resulted in widespread flight delays Tuesday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration said it had canceled Southwest’s pause in departures, which the airline had requested due to an internal technical issue at Southwest.

☆ American Airlines profit forecast disappoints; shares tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Aishwarya Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 12 (Reuters) - American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) on Wednesday forecast first-quarter profit below market expectations, joining rival United Airlines (UAL.O) in signaling a hit from persistently high labor and fuel costs. "We had expected American to come in towards the better end in a similar manner as JetBlue's guidance update provided in mid-March," Syth added. Airlines' shares in 2023The airline industry has been able to survive the broader economic slowdown in the United States, thanks also to tight airline capacity due to shortages of aircraft and spare parts. On an adjusted basis, it forecast a quarterly per-share profit of between 1 cent and 5 cents, compared with its previous forecast of a near break-even. Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) closed down 1.4%, United was down 6.5% and Delta was down 2.4%.

☆ Southwest Airlines CEO receives higher bonus despite holiday meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Rajesh Kumar Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

In February, the company said executive bonuses would be cut as a result of the meltdown. Jordan received $195,720 in bonus payout, up 89% from a year ago, according to a regulatory filing. The Dallas-based carrier also paid a higher bonus to Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson. Jordan served as executive vice president until Feb 1, 2022, when he became the company's CEO. Watterson served as chief commercial officer through last September.

☆ US lawmakers make new push to bar convicted violent passengers from flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Wednesday will make a new push for legislation to bar passengers fined or convicted of serious physical violence from commercial flights after a series of recent high-profile incidents. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union opposed creating a no-fly list for unruly passengers, saying the U.S. government "has a terrible record of treating people fairly with regard to the existing no-fly list and other watch lists that are aimed at alleged terrorists." Despite the end of the airplane mask mandate in April 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated 831 unruly passenger incidents in 2022, up from 146 in 2019, but down from 1,099 in 2021, the lawmakers noted. The FAA received 2,456 unruly passenger reports in 2022 and proposed $8.4 million in fines, down from 5,981 reports in 2021, which included 4,290 mask-related incidents. In February 2022, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) CEO Ed Bastian urged the U.S. government to place passengers convicted of on-board disruptions on a national no-fly list that would bar them from future travel on any commercial airline.

☆ Southwest Airlines Outlines Plan to Handle Severe Weather Problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Alison Sider | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Southwest plane in Salt Lake City underwent deicing last month during a storm that affected much of the northern U.S.Southwest Airlines Co. said it has identified several solutions to manage the kind of severe winter-weather disruptions that caught it off guard late last year, resulting in thousands of flight cancellations. Chief Executive Bob Jordan said the company understood what caused the holiday disruption. “We expect to mitigate the risk of an event of this magnitude ever happening again,” he said Tuesday.

☆ Southwest to upgrade crew-scheduling software, hire more staff during winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) said on Tuesday it would upgrade its crew scheduling software and hire more staff in the winter, as the airline attempts to address problems that had led to large-scale cancellations during the holiday season. The Dallas-based carrier has come under fire ever since bad weather during the Christmas holidays left staff stranded across the country, which overwhelmed its crew scheduling software, disrupting travel plans for two million customers. The three-part plan was developed by the airline with inputs from aviation consultancy Oliver Wyman, which was hired to investigate the disruption. The plan looks at bolstering operations during the winter season, when chances of weather-related disruptions to travel-related services are high. "Work is well underway in implementing action items to prepare for next winter - with some items already completed," Jordan said.

JetBlue will face "an uphill battle" as it fights the government," said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute. "If I'm JetBlue, that's where I focus right now, developing that divestiture offer and lining up a buyer to 'litigate the fix,'" said Dryden. Whatever arguments JetBlue uses, a court fight could last six to eight months and cost tens of millions of dollars in attorney fees, legal experts said. Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division under former President Barack Obama, said the government's complaint "shows that there is meaningful competition between Spirit and JetBlue." "JetBlue brags about the 'JetBlue effect,' where they enter a market and fares tend to go down," he said.

☆ Airlines cancel over 1,300 U.S. flights as winter storm grips states
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Airlines canceled more than 1,300 flights in the United States on Wednesday as a strong winter storm makes its way through the western and central states. A total of 1,327 flights within, into and out of the United States were canceled by 12:30 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware, which also showed 2,030 flights were delayed. Regional carrier SkyWest Inc (SKYW.O) led the cancellations with 312 flights, followed by low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Co's (LUV.N) 248 and Delta Air Lines' (DAL.N) 246 flight cancellations. Southwest and Delta said they are monitoring the storm, while SkyWest did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

☆ Airlines cancel over 1,000 U.S. flights as winter storm grips states
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights in the United States on Wednesday as a strong winter storm makes its way through the western and central states. A total of 1,035 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled by 0915 am ET, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware, which showed 932 flights were delayed. Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) led the cancellations with 235 flights, followed by Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) that canceled 197 flights. Southwest and Delta did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Frontier Airlines introduces new family seating policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. budget carrier Frontier Airlines said on Tuesday it has introduced measures under which at least one parent will automatically be seated with any children within their family group who are under the age of 14, at no additional cost. This comes after President Joe Biden, earlier this month, harshly criticized U.S. airlines saying they were charging families unfair fees and vowing to implement new consumer protections. This also prompted United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL.O) to announce on Monday "an improved family seating policy" that will make it easier for children under 12 years to sit next to an adult in their party for free. The complete policy change will go into effect in early March. Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Southwest Executive Vows Airline Will Overhaul Systems That Failed in Meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Alison Sider | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A top Southwest Airlines Co. executive told lawmakers Thursday that the airline is working to shore up operations and revamp technology in the wake of its December meltdown. Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said the airline is working to fix its operation, including implementing a software patch that is set to go into effect Friday, he said. Cash bonuses to executives will be reduced as a result of the upheaval, he said.

☆ Southwest Airlines Executive to Tell Congress ‘We Messed Up’ in Holiday Meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Alison Sider | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Southwest Airlines Co.’s chief operating officer on Thursday is expected to face questions from lawmakers over the airline’s December meltdown, while reiterating confidence in efforts to improve its operations. After a winter storm threw its operation into disarray, Southwest canceled over 16,700 flights over a roughly 10-day period at the end of last year in one of the worst airline disruptions in recent years, a debacle that the company says could end up costing it over $1 billion.

☆ Southwest faces Senate hearing over holiday travel chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Passengers check in for a Southwest Airlines Co. flight inside Terminal 1 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, on August 10, 2022. Southwest Airlines ' chief operations officer is scheduled to face questions from a Senate panel on Thursday over the carrier's December meltdown that stranded thousands of passengers over the holidays. Andrew Watterson plans to apologize for the travel chaos before the Senate Commerce Committee. The president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, Casey Murray, will tell the panel that the carrier ignored warning signs about its operation, according to written testimony reviewed by CNBC. Core values were forgotten," Casey Murray said in written testimony ahead of Thursday's hearing.

☆ Southwest CEO Jordan finds himself in eye of storm after airline's holiday debacle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Rajesh Kumar Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

CHICAGO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines Co's (LUV.N) CEO, faces the biggest challenge yet in his 35-year career at the airline that has built a customer-friendly reputation. Southwest's struggles reached a notable low on Jan. 28 when comedy sketch TV show "Saturday Night Live" lampooned the Dallas-based airline's technology and service. The carrier will now answer to U.S. Congress on Thursday when Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee. In October, Jordan, who started his career at Southwest in 1988 as a computer programmer, put Watterson in charge of the airline's operations. Last week, Jordan also named a chief information officer who will help manage the airline's technology investments, upgrades and system maintenance.

☆ Southwest, FedEx Planes Came Within a Thousand Feet in Austin on Saturday
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Micah Maidenberg | Alison Sider | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Concerns have been raised about the potential for collisions on runways and taxiways in recent years. Southwest Airlines Co. and FedEx Corp. planes came within a thousand feet of each other Saturday morning near a runway at the Austin, Texas, airport, a close call that air-safety officials are investigating. Around 6:40 a.m. CT, a FedEx Boeing Co. 767 cargo plane was cleared to land on one of the runways at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said, citing preliminary information.

☆ Southwest Airlines to Reduce Minimum Requirements for Aspiring Pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Alison Sider | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Southwest Airlines Co. is reducing the number of hours prospective pilots must have spent flying jets and other turbine-powered aircraft, as the carrier looks to increase hiring. Southwest had required applicants to have spent at least 1,000 hours flying such aircraft. It will now consider pilots with less of that type of experience, and said it would list 500 hours of “turbine time” as a preferred qualification. The change is set to go into effect Feb. 7, according to a message the airline sent to pilots this week.

☆ Air-Safety Officials Investigate Close Call Between FedEx and Southwest Planes in Austin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Micah Maidenberg | Alison Sider | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened probes into the incident, which occurred at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. U.S. aviation-safety agencies said they are investigating an incident Saturday at the airport in Austin, Texas, where planes operated by Southwest Airlines Co. and FedEx Corp. could have collided. Around 6:40 a.m. CT, a FedEx cargo plane was cleared to land on one of the runways at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said, citing preliminary information. Shortly before that aircraft was set to land, an air-traffic controller cleared a Southwest flight to depart from the same runway, he said.

☆ Before Sending a Child on a Flight Alone, Read the Fine Print
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Dawn Gilbertson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nina Simon’s 9-year-old daughter spent five extra days with her grandparents in Washington state. Annalee Hickman Pierson’s 7-year-old daughter missed her first Christmas with her baby sister in Utah, where matching pajamas and velvet dresses awaited. The children were flying solo as part of Southwest Airlines Co.’s service for unaccompanied minors. They were among the youngest travelers caught in the carrier’s holiday meltdown.

☆ Airlines cancel over 1,400 U.S. flights as ice storm hits multiple states
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Airlines canceled over 1,400 flights in the United States on Wednesday, after an ice storm hit states from Texas to West Virginia. A total of 1,467 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled, while 527 flights were delayed as of 6.48 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday warned in a tweet that travelers could expect to see some snowy conditions in certain areas including Dallas, Fort Worth and Memphis, which could delay certain flights. loadingAirlines canceled nearly 1,400 flights in the United States on Wednesday, after a severe winter storm hit their operations in certain regions. Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) led cancellations with 487 flights, while Fort Worth, Texas-based peer American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) closely followed, canceling nearly 480 flights.

☆ U.S. airlines cancel over 1,000 flights over winter storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 30 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 Monday flights into or out of the United States have been canceled due to a severe winter storm, with about half of those coming from Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N). A total of 1,019 flights were canceled as of 6:00 pm ET, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. The company has scrapped about 12% of its Monday schedule, while American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) has canceled 6%, or 200 flights. For Tuesday so far, 797 flights are scheduled to be canceled into or out of the United States. Southwest Airlines and other major U.S. airlines have issued winter weather waivers.

☆ Wall Street closes green as GDP data eases recession worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] People stand by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 26, 2023. Fourth-quarter earnings season has hit full stride, with more than one fourth of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Analysts now see aggregate fourth quarter earnings falling 2.7%, worse than the 1.6% year-on-year decline seen on Jan. 1, but an improvement over the 3% annual decline as of Wednesday, per Refinitiv. Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, all but consumer staples (.SPLRCS) advanced. The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 111 new highs and 32 new lows.

☆ Wall Street gains as solid GDP data offsets signs of economic weakness
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] People stand by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 26, 2023. Fourth-quarter earnings season has hit full stride, with more than one fourth of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Analysts now see aggregate fourth quarter earnings falling 2.7%, worse than the 1.6% year-on-year decline seen on Jan. 1, but an improvement over the 3% annual decline as of Wednesday, per Refinitiv. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, energy (.SPNY) led the percentage gainers, boosted by rising crude prices due to signs of increasing demand from China. Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) provided the most upside muscle to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, its shares jumping 9.4% in the wake of its earnings report.

Southwest, which also reported a loss in the fourth quarter, estimates a revenue hit of between $300 million and $350 million in the first quarter. A Southwest Airlines jetliner departs from Chicago Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., December 27, 2022. He said while a recessionary economic environment tends to make companies de-prioritize spending on technology, Southwest cannot afford to do that. The meltdown led to an adjusted loss of $226 million, or 38 cents a share, in the quarter through December, robbing it of the gains from booming holiday travel demand. Rival carriers United Airlines (UAL.O) and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) American Airlines (AAL.O) have all reported higher-than-expected earnings for the quarter.

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