4sight Health March 2, 2023
Breaking Bad
Last December, winter storm Elliott wreaked havoc with holiday travel. While other major airlines major airlines were back up and running within days, Southwest Airlines cancelled over half its flights between December 21st and 29th. Southwest’s cancellations stranded customers, angered employees and dented its reputation. Financially, Southwest estimates its operational meltdown has cost the airline more than a $1 billion.
What went wrong? Southwest’s point-to-point operating model has less resilience than the hub-and-spoke models that other major airlines employ. Unlike point-to-point models, hub-and-spoke models concentrate employees and equipment in their hub locations. This built-in redundancy speeds system-wide recovery. Southwest’s dated technology platform and its inability to reconfigure flight schedules and crews compounded its logistical challenges.
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