Both the pilots and flight attendant unions are in contract talks with the company. Southwest offered flight attendants working over the holiday extra pay. These are issues that you can't solve with holiday pay this is time and quality of life that we will never get back,' Lyn Montgomery, president of the Transport Workers Union of America Local 556, said in a statement. 'Our customers struggled with it just as our thousands of flight attendants did. Crews complained about being stranded and having to wait on hold with scheduling services. Some pilots and flight attendants were forced to sleep at airports because they were unable to find hotel rooms, their unions said. The agency said it will examine whether cancellations were controllable and whether Southwest is complying with its customer service plan and other federal regulations.ĭelta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Alaska Airlines were also affected by the weather, but had a smaller share of cancellations.

Department of Transportation had also said it is 'concerned by Southwest Airlines' disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays as well as the failure to properly support customers experiencing a cancellation or delay.' But the company can start by fairly compensating passengers whose flights were canceled, including not only rebooked tickets, ticket refunds, and hotel, meal, and transportation reimbursement, but significant monetary compensation for the disruption to their holiday plans,' they said in a statement.

'For those travelers whose holidays have been ruined, there is no real way for Southwest to make this right. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also called on the carrier to compensate travelers and noted that Southwest executives have acknowledged the mass cancellations were largely due to the failure of the airline's own internal systems. Consumers deserve strong protections, including an updated consumer refund rule,' said Sen. Many airlines fail to adequately communicate with consumers during flight cancellations. The Committee will be looking into the causes of these disruptions and its impact to consumers. 'The problems at Southwest Airlines over the last several days go beyond weather. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower The fine came on top of an estimated $600 million in refunds and reimbursements that Southwest customers impacted by flight issues were given, according to DOT.Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit

The incident that came amid a historic winter storm and cold snap resulted in 16,900 flight cancellations and left 2 million passengers stranded, the U.S. News of the agreement comes just one day after the Department of Transportation announced a $140 million fine for Southwest over its meltdown last holiday season-30 times larger than any penalty previously issued by DOT for consumer protection violations. During the more than three years of negotiations, Southwest pilots had been advocating for increased pay and benefits-pilots at United agreed to a contract this year that provided pay increases of up to 40% over four years-along with an improved method for management to schedule flights, as poor scheduling can lead to cancellations and long days for flight crews, increasing fatigue issues pilots already face. The airline and pilots have had tense negotiations, with pilots voting to authorize a strike earlier this year after negotiations had stalled. Word of the agreement in principle came just weeks after CNBC reported Southwest and the union were nearing a deal and had agreed on “pay, retirement and other items,” but were still working on a schedule for implementation. A spokesperson for SWAPA told Forbes that more information about the deal will be available if the board votes to move it to a tentative agreement. The union’s board of directors will evaluate the agreement tomorrow and, if they approve it, it will become a tentative agreement to be voted on by the union pilots, of which there are more than 11,000. Southwest told Forbes it was “pleased” to reach this agreement, calling it “a key milestone in the process.” What To Watch For

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