Chip Bok for December 31, 2022

Yeah, and? Bok’s gotta draw something to anger his base, I guess. But: This is how things work in the real world. SWA has driven away a LOT of customers and will have to offer a lot of incentive to get enough back. (Isn’t it great that the airlines are still competing with each other, unlike much of the rest of our economy?). And yes, government agencies have to actually do the work of examining whether there were laws or regulations broken… and then decide on an appropriate response!

That’s how you do it. Without customers, no business.

This is beyond my wheelhouse, but isn’t there some kind of insurance that companies purchase that financially protects them from losses of this nature, while publically and loudly bemoaning their apologies for the management skills they’d learned from their graduate work at Gazpacho U.?

It rather reminds me of that scene in Casablanca:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=casablanca+i+am+shocked+gambling&atb=v259-1&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DSjbPi00k_ME

What exactly do you expect the government to do Bok ? More regulations ? Your guys love those right ?

One thing we Canadians and Americans have in common: Our airlines really, really hate their customers.

The logical conclusion of a “free” market, dividend driven, reactive vs. proactive mindset (I’ve read that their computer system was “ancient”). If SW lowers the prices for a bit, will the consumer return?

Great cartoon! While Mayor Petey and the DC Swamp will conduct numerous investigations and propose more regulations, after they get back from vacation, the market will react and choose more competently run airline companies. Most of the DC Swamp doesn’t have to fly airlines anyway.

I never fly SWA as I don’t like their cattle car boarding process. Delta is my preferred airline.

If we only had a Trump Airline. Wait we did never mind.

My 1st commercial flight: ORD to PIT, 1979. Weather layover in Chicago; passengers were put up overnight in a hotel and fed dinner. Flight out the next day @ 11:00 AM, they served lunch on board. This is fantastic. Never happened again. No wonder mayor pete goes w/ private jets?

Wonder how it is going to go down, Southwest has to pay up to $3800.00 per person, update their systems so this doesn’t happen again, plus fines. Wonder if Southwest will be around next year.

There are always more customers. The current batch had a bad experience but give it a couple of weeks and it will be all forgotten.

Well, congrats. I had previously thought that Mayor Pete was uncaricaturable.

@Purple Helmet (formerly Wasa)- I was involved in that fiasco at LaGuardia. Totally aggravating!!

@Purple Helmet (formerly Wasa)- Right. They should let people know upfront or eliminate the fees for bags and carry-on luggage altogether since passengers already pay enough in flight costs!

The only problem with customer threats is often, they are the only airline flying to the destination they want

So, let’s see… the fans of the “Party of Smaller Government”® SUDDENLY want the Government to get MORE involved with the day to day operations of a company that has suffered a massive breakdown in their internal systems. Seems to me that the free market will be the one that will have the MOST effect on the future of SWA. Yes, there DOES need to be a through investigation into what went wrong, but how is “The Government” supposed to do anything about it without becoming MORE involved, which goes AGAINST their desire for “Smaller and Less Intrusive Government”?

You can’t have it both ways, folks!!!

Two weeks from now, all will be forgiven and forgotten. Just like the Omnibus Bill. Still the cheapest airline to just about everywhere. Buying LUV on the dip.

Ironically next month my wife has tickets booked to fly with Southwest. She got them before the PR nightmare blew up. We’ll see if there are any snafus when she tries to board with them

Customers work better than government. As it’s been for centuries.

Both are valuable.

Non sequitur — government doesn’t have a role with customers in a capitalistic industry. Government has a role with the public. Therefore, its role stays with enforcing laws and regulations, and saving capitalism from the crony capitalists. That would include enforcing contracts. Justice moves slowly, as we’ve seen with Drumpf and his insurrectionists. So, yes, there are companies on my black list, two are permanent. It works without governmental intervention. Should Southwest not refund its broken contracts, then it’d be time to carry out the penalties, but let’s not be hasty and rather let Southwest fix the problem first.