- Title: Southwest Airlines failed customers, will be held accountable: White House
- Date: 3rd January 2023
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JANUARY 3, 2023) (REUTERS) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY, KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WALKING TOWARDS LECTERN WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY, KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, SAYING: "Southwest Airlines failed its customers, point blank. The Department of Transportation will hold them accountable to their commitments to make their customers whole. While every major airline faced challenges from a pre-Christmas storm that wreaked havoc on the aviation system, all major airlines except for one which is Southwest clearly, were able to recover quickly." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY, KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, SAYING: "So, Southwest Airlines acknowledged that all cancelations starting December 24 were controllable, in other words, not weather-related. So, that means the airline assumes responsibility." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY, KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, SAYING: "The Transportation Department is watching, they're monitoring this very very closely to ensure that this all happens (eds note: refers to refunds for customers), and we'll seek fines from Southwest if it doesn't cover costs." WHITE FLASH JEAN-PIERRE ENDING BRIEFING
- Embargoed: 17th January 2023 20:52
- Keywords: Southwest Airlines U.S. Department of Transportation White House blizzard flight cancelation weather winter storm
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA001021003012023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS WHITE FLASHES
The U.S. government will hold Southwest Airlines accountable for failing their customers during the historic winter storm which struck the country on Christmas, the White House said on Tuesday (January 3).
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a news conference the Department of Transportation is watching and monitoring that the low-cost carrier covers the costs of massive flight cancelations and delays.
On December 30, Southwest Airlines was sued by a passenger who said it failed to provide refunds to passengers left stranded when an operational meltdown led the carrier to cancel more than 15,000 flights late last month.
In a statement on Tuesday, Southwest had no comment on the lawsuit, but said it had "several high priority efforts underway to do right by our customers, including processing refunds from canceled flights, and reimbursing customers for expenses incurred as a result of the irregular operations."
Southwest has said it would reimburse affected passengers for reasonable expenses such as last-minute hotel, rental car and dining costs, but it might take several weeks.
The carrier largely restored normal operations on Dec. 30, several days after other airlines had recovered from the storm.
In a Dec. 29 letter to Southwest Chief Executive Bob Jordan, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the disruptions "unacceptable" and said the law requires refunds when carriers cancel flights unless passengers accept rebooking.
(Production: Andrea Rodriguez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None