DALLAS (AP) – Southwest Airlines will cut flights for the remainder of the year as it attempts to restore operations that stumbled over the summer and is now facing lower demand due to the surge in coronavirus cases.
Southwest announced Thursday that it will cut its flight schedule by 27 flights per day or less than 1% in September and cut 162 flights per day or 4.5% of the flight schedule from early October through November 5.
The Dallas-based airline expects similar flight schedule cuts in November and December, with the exception of public holidays.
Southwest had a high number of delayed and canceled flights throughout the summer.
“We are confident that these adjustments will create a more reliable travel experience,” said Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly in a statement released by the airline. He apologized to the airline to all customers “whose trip with us this summer fell short of their expectations”.
Southwest blamed bad weather, but the airline appeared to be short on staff. The pilots union said earlier this month that the airline’s operational problems would continue without any flight schedule cuts.
Southwest said Thursday that it is doing “aggressively”. The company recently started offering incentives for employees who recommend new employees.
The schedule cuts come two weeks after Southwest warned it likely won’t make a profit in the third quarter without considering federal aid for wages. The airline also lowered its revenue projections as ticket sales slowed and cancellations rose as the Delta variant caused a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Southwest has been more aggressive than its closest competitors in trying to capture larger market share as tourist traffic increased that year.
For October, Southwest planned to fly 92% of flights in the same month of 2019 before the pandemic, according to aviation data company Cirium. Delta, American and United plan to fly between 82% and 87% of their 2019 flights in October.
[ad_1]
