Southwest Airlines CEO: ‘No way to apologize’

(CNN) — Southwest Airlines’ chief executive vowed the airline would resume normal service on Friday, pledging “congratulations” to passengers affected by the company’s devastating holiday cancellations.

“This has impacted a lot of people — a lot of customers — over the holidays,” CEO Bob Jordan said in an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America. “I’m so sorry about this. There’s no way I can apologize enough.”

Jordan said the passenger fee would cover travelers’ expenses, including “rental cars, hotel rooms, meals, booking customers on other airlines — all of that will be part of what we cover.”

“We’re offering refunds to cover costs – we’ll come back with more later,” he said. “In addition to security, there is no greater focus than taking care of our customers, connecting them to their wallets, getting refunds.”

The airline’s problems began with the massive, freezing winter storm, but have been delayed — and even worsened — as Southwest’s other major airlines recover. Nearly 15,800 Southwest flights have been canceled since Dec. 22 amid disruptions that have shaken the company to its core.

“This was an unprecedented storm for everybody — for all the airlines,” Jordan said. “The storm had an impact, but we had impacts beyond the storm that were obviously very different in the Southwest.”

I’m sure we’re going to have a very tight operation today.

It will surely be a relief for the passengers and the company if those planes are back in the air and the piles of overstuffed luggage are reduced. He has a mark on his back.

Top U.S. government officials are at a loss to explain how Southwest got to this point after a major winter storm that grounded other major U.S. airlines days earlier.

And they’re demanding Southwest fix things — or face financial repercussions.

What Southwest said about today

In a statement released Thursday — following another devastating day in which an additional 2,362 flights were canceled — Southwest hoped there would be minimal disruptions over the New Year’s weekend.

“We are encouraged by the progress we have made in realigning the crews, their schedules and our fleet,” he said. “We also know our deepest apologies to our customers, employees, and everyone affected by this disruption – all the way through now,” the statement read.

However, that still doesn’t discourage questions about how airline systems allow things to go wrong and prevent them from happening again. And the Department of Transportation (DOT) is still taking a hard line with Southwest.

DOT to Southwest: Do right by passengers

In a letter to Southwest CEO Jordan, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said officials will take action if the airline doesn’t follow through on promises to reimburse passengers for alternative transportation, as well as meals, hotels, refunds and baggage allowance.

The penalties include the ability to pay fines.

Buttigieg wrote that “not fulfilling this commitment to passengers is unfair and deceptive,” Buttigieg wrote, referring specifically to alternative travel reimbursements.

“The department will use its full investigative and enforcement powers to hold Southwest accountable if it fails to honor its promise to reimburse passengers for alternative transportation costs.”

Those penalties can be substantial.

“The airline told me they were going above and beyond what was required of them,” Buttigieg said in an interview with NBC News on Thursday. “I’m really looking to make sure they do that, and if they don’t, we’re in a situation where we’re going to end up with tens of thousands of dollars in fines per passenger per violation.”

Regrets and repairs

The airline’s chief commercial officer, Ryan Greene, addressed Thursday what he felt was a breakdown in service, vowing to rebuild its faltering customer relationship.

“My personal apology is the first step in making things right after so many plans have changed and practices have fallen short of our expectations,” Green said in a video.

“We will continue to work to make this happen for you, and you will continue to hear about it soon. But for now, we are focused on restoring the reliability and level of customer experience that we expect from ourselves, and you expect. Ours.”

His comments came as Buttigieg made a scathing assessment of his own problems in the Southwest, calling the situation “a complete meltdown.”

“There is a lot of cleanliness in this company,” he said.

Some passengers understand

Some passengers took it all in stride and showed some sympathy for Southwest.

Several people at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport spoke with CNN’s Nick Valencia on Thursday about their travel experiences with Southwest this holiday season.

“I’m just par for the course,” Roderick Hester told CNN.

Asked what he thought about the lack of lines at the Southwest counters at the airport, Hester said, “Maybe he talks about the improvements they’re trying to make, because there’s not long lines, people don’t complain here. So, you know, maybe the effort to redeem themselves is working.”

Winston Williams, standing near Hester, said he still intended to use the airline. “I love Southwest. I mean, the bags are free,” Williams said.

People want to know: What caused this?

Ask Southwest Airlines employees about their company’s technology. You won’t find many raffs.

As Southwest has grown its Texas-based discount airline to one of the nation’s largest with three planes, union officials representing Southwest workers say the company has not kept pace with technological changes. And they say they have been raising concerns for years.

“We’ve been singing them every year since 2015-ish,” Southwest Airlines Pilots Association captain and vice president Mike Santoro told CNN.

They and the airline itself have described an internal process that requires multiple departments to manually design the airline’s schedule — a system that “usually works,” the airline said in a statement.

If something goes wrong, Southwest’s software — including the Employee Scheduling System tool — leaves much of that difficult network rebuilding to be done manually.

Bad name

Elaine Chao, who served as transportation secretary during the Trump administration, described the Southwest Airlines crash as a “failure of unbelievable proportions.”

“It’s a perfect storm of everything that’s been going on with the company. It’s going to take a long time to rebuild trust with consumers,” she told CNN.

“Southwest Airlines is going to take a long time to regain the public’s trust. While the weather has hurt other airlines, Southwest has suffered a real setback at the worst possible time,” he said in an email to CNN Travel on Thursday.

“Many Americans only fly once a year, and they want a hassle-free experience. I believe many people will stop when they’re on their next flight and see Southwest Airlines as the cheapest option,” Dengler said.

“While the lower prices are attractive, this meltdown will lead many travelers to explore other lower-cost options.”

What should customers do?

Dengler cautions to proceed with caution regarding these refunds.

“Southwest says, ‘We will honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel and alternate transportation expenses,'” he said. “While it’s unclear how much Southwest will charge, I’d avoid expensive hotels or restaurants. Find hotels near the airport with Google Hotels.”

And he also warns against piling up a big tab.

“Do a few Google searches like ‘free things to do near me.’

CNN’s Andy Rose, Andi Babineau, Adrienne Broaddus, Dave Alsap, Nick Valencia, Devon Sayers, David Goldman, Leslie Perrot, Carlos Suarez, Karla Cripps and Ross Levitt contributed to this story.