![]() Leadership released a collective sigh of relief, then it turned its attention to the host of logistical and financial dangers lurking on the horizon. It was a countdown like no other in the Company’s history-190 airplanes, 170, 100, 50, 20-until only one plane remained unaccounted for.Īfter a nail-biting stretch of silence, Greg finally received word that the final plane had been safely rerouted to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Juggling every phone he could find, as then-Vice President of Safety, Security & Flight Dispatch Greg Wells provided a running tally of how many Southwest planes had landed. The immediate goal was to confirm all planes and Customers were safely on the ground. If it could keep its extended Family safe-Employees and Customers alike-Southwest could see its way through the crisis. 2 pencil, everyone felt an unshakable confidence that Southwest had been built to not only survive but prevail during such a moment. And with Founder Herb Kelleher by their side, scrawling notes on his trademark notepad with a simple No. But within Southwest, everyone knew their responsibilities and how to perform them. The fact that Southwest had just completed a major Leadership transition months earlier-elevating Jim Parker to CEO, Colleen Barrett to President, and Gary Kelly to Executive Vice President-might have crippled a lesser organization. The room was a rampart of mutual trust and quiet resolve. Beyond the immediate security issues, the unprecedented grounding raised a question no one had ever needed to pose: How long would it take for air travel to return to the United States?ĭespite the chaos and harrowing images flickering on TVs across the nation, neither fear nor panic crossed the threshold into the Southwest boardroom. In response, the FAA ordered an immediate grounding of all 4,546 civilian aircraft in U.S. ![]() Capitol, was overtaken by onboard passengers who thwarted the intended attack and crash-landed the plane in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.Īll passengers aboard these planes were killed, as were a then-unknown number of people in the World Trade Towers. And a fourth, which was intended to strike the U.S. One plane struck The Pentagon, another two were intentionally flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. This is a pragmatic view, a pragmatic move,” said Harteveldt.Earlier that morning, terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. “Anyone who’s sat in an economy class seat knows airlines are not customer-centric. Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group, says these changes offer passengers flexibility, but there’s a lot in it for the industry too. Other carriers did so earlier in the pandemic after United started canceling change fees, a policy Southwest has had for years. ![]() Some analysts expect other airlines will follow. In an email, Southwest calls this a concerted move aimed at their customers. “I mean, I’m rebooking flights and cruises and tours and vacations for people every day, who are sick, and having to cancel,” she said. Now, she says, COVID has left a lot of people with those credits. Hoehn also says Southwest’s policy is a departure from how things have worked in her 35-year career, when a one-year expiration on travel credits was pretty standard across the industry. “The minute it was announced, we sent out notices to all of our advisors, as well as to many of our corporate accounts that rely on Southwest for travel,” said Hoehn. Heidi Hoehn, general manager of the Pasadena, California branch of the TravelStore agency, says it’s a big deal. The department’s move makes permanent a policy many airlines, including Southwest, adopted temporarily because of the pandemic. The announcement follows another from Southwest Airlines last week, which said it was getting rid of its one-year expiration date on flight credits. The department said since the start of the pandemic, it’s been flooded with complaints from consumers with non-refundable tickets who couldn’t travel because of flight cancellations or personal health concerns. ![]() Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it is taking public comments on a proposal aimed at boosting protections for airline passengers seeking refunds for tickets. ![]()
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