The holiday canon is filled with people experiencing lousy Christmases. Ebenezer Scrooge. George Bailey. Clark Griswold. And now, Bob Jordan.
Unlike the others, Jordan is 1) a real person and 2) unlikely to have a happy ending to his story. He’s the CEO of Southwest Airlines, a carrier currently in the midst of a holiday meltdown.
While other carriers were hit with cancellations and delays thanks to a Christmas storm that blanketed the nation, Southwest recovered slower than most — and now, Jordan and his airline are going to get a visit from the Ghost of Department of Transportation Present.
As per CBS News: “By Wednesday evening, about 86 percent of all canceled flights in the U.S. were from Southwest, which scrubbed more than 2,500 flights Wednesday, according to tracking service Flight Aware. On Tuesday, a day after most U.S. airlines had recovered from the storm, Southwest had called off about 2,600 more flights. Those flights accounted for more than 80 percent of the 3,000 trips that got canceled nationwide Tuesday, according to FlightAware.”
What’s behind the issues? According to CNN, two of the hardest-hit areas — Chicago and Denver — are also major hubs for Southwest. Furthermore, CNN reported, this was all occurring “as the so-called tripledemic surged across America, leaving people and their families sick with Covid, the flu and RSV.”
“Many airlines still lack sufficient staff to recover when events like bad weather cause delays or flight crews max out the hours they’re allowed to work under federal safety regulations,” CNN noted. (Keep that bit in mind. It’ll come in handy later.)
Well, the Ghost of Department of Transportation Present — otherwise known as Pete Buttigieg, the man who was catapulted from the mayor of the 335th-most populous city in America to secretary of Transportation because apparently over-performing in a couple of presidential primaries makes you an expert on infrastructure — was Not Happy About This.
“USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan,” the Department of Transportation tweeted Monday.
USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.
— TransportationGov (@USDOT) December 27, 2022
Then, on Tuesday: “This afternoon, @SecretaryPete spoke with union leaders and the CEO of Southwest Airlines to convey the Department’s expectation that Southwest meet its obligations to passengers and workers and take steps to prevent a situation like this from happening again.”
This afternoon, @SecretaryPete spoke with union leaders and the CEO of Southwest Airlines to convey the Department’s expectation that Southwest meet its obligations to passengers and workers and take steps to prevent a situation like this from happening again.
— TransportationGov (@USDOT) December 27, 2022
“While we all understand that you can’t control the weather, this has clearly crossed the line from what is an uncontrollable weather situation to something that is the airline’s direct responsibility,” Buttigieg said, according to CBS News.
Hoo boy. If Mayor Pete ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Now, to be fair, there are a whole lot of moving pieces that caused the Southwest meltdown — a “tripledemic,” if you will, of employee absences, hubs getting hit hard by the storm, and a host of internal issues involving the airline’s scheduling system and quick turnaround times.
However, if you think the Wizard of South Bend is going to be the one to solve these problems, think again. As one Twitter user noted, Buttigieg hasn’t been busy solving the problem, he’s been busy being the problem.
John Hasson, a conservative Twitter personality, noted a slow-motion tragedy unfolding in three acts (or headlines) regarding Buttigieg’s priorities in re: the airline industry:
July 8: “Buttigieg pledges to diversify aviation workforce”
July 11: Buttigieg says pilots must retire at 65
Sept 13: “The Airline Pilot Shortage is Worse Than You Think” pic.twitter.com/PeeSaEjR3r
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) December 27, 2022
July 8, KABC-TV in Los Angeles: “Pete Buttigieg pledges to diversify aviation workforce during visit to Compton flying school.”
“We’re glad to see demand has come roaring back, but now airlines are struggling to keep up and meet that demand,” Buttigieg told the station during a visit to a Compton, California, flying school.
His answer: Diversity! Because, sure. Why not?
“Any time you have some Americans who have been excluded from opportunity, it’s important to make sure there is an inclusive future. It’s also important because the entire country is worse off, a field like aviation is worse off if you have people who could have been great pilots, could have been great aerospace engineers, but never even knew that was an option for them,” Buttigieg said.
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