Southwest's strong 2022 rebound soured by holiday debacle
Southwest Airlines is anticipating a money losing quarter after a holiday debacle led to nearly 17,000 canceled flights and thousands of people, traveling to see family and friends, being stranded DALLAS -- Southwest Airlines anticipates a money-losing fourth quarter after a winter storm and Technology meltdown led to nearly 17,000 canceled flights and stranded hundreds of thousands of holiday Travel ers. The cancellations will result in a pretax hit of $725 million to $825 million from lost revenue plus extra costs, including reimbursements for Travel ers and premium pay for employees, Southwest said Friday in a regulatory filing. The storm and slow recovery was a devastating turn financially and reputationally for the Dallas-based carrier, which led all U.S. airlines in profit during the first nine months of 2022, a year of recovery for the pandemic-battered airline industry. The massive disruptions started with a winter storm that hit much of the country before Christmas. They sno...