Southwest has long been viewed as the gold standard for airline customer service. But not this time. For the airline and millions of its passengers, 2022 ended in misery. Dallas-based Southwest canceled nearly 17,000 flights, part of an epic operational meltdown that might rank as the industry’s worst ever. It was surely the costliest ever, erasing an estimated $725-825 million (!) just during the fourth quarter. That includes lost revenue, customer reimbursements, and additional labor expenses. For context, Southwest, in 2019, earned about $3 billion in operating profits.
