The Southwest Airlines Winter Meltdown Case studies on risk, technical debt, operations, passengers, regulators, revenue, and brand.

The winter storm of late 2022 caused difficulties for many US-based airlines, but none more so than Southwest Airlines. Like other airlines, Southwest canceled flights in the early stages of the storm. Their attempted recoveries failed due to procedural and technology issues. The airline was unable to cope with the magnitude of canceled flights, aircraft and crews in the wrong places, disrupted passenger plans, and luggage separated from its owners. Over the next several days, Southwest canceled tens of thousands of flights, called in thousands of additional staff to support manual operations, and flew a reduced schedule for a time before returning to normal operations. The case provides numerous scenarios for you to analyze and research, to strengthen your understanding of the underlying concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]