Southwest Airlines said customers are booking away from the carrier after the December meltdown that resulted in 16,700 cancellations and disrupted holiday travel for millions of travelers.
After taking an $800 million pre-tax loss on the December fiasco, Southwest said it now expects to take a first-quarter loss as well due to lower bookings for January and February travel, which will cost it another $300 to $350 million in the quarter.
“Thus far in January 2023, the company has experienced an increase in flight cancellations and a deceleration in bookings, primarily for January and February 2023 travel, which are assumed to be associated with the operational disruptions in December 2022,” Southwest Airlines said Thursday.
