Southwest Airlines customers could use some good news. The airline still faces negative public backlash from its holiday meltdown which not only stranded tens of thousands of passengers, it also exposed that the company had neglected its backend technology.
That will cost the company hundreds of millions over the next few years, but that's not the airline's only problem. The December collapse of its system also exposed that all was not well between Southwest Airlines (LUV) and its employees.
DON'T MISS: American, Delta, and United Airlines Customers Get Surprise Gift
The airline, which has been famous for treating its workers well, has a major rift with its pilots' union. That's partially over pay-related issues, but it also relates to the airline's investment in its infrastructure.
Southwest also faces a rift with its flight attendants and has been balancing a shortage of pilots with an upcoming shortage of planes as Boeing (BA) fails to meet its planned delivery schedule.
That has put the company in a difficult position and it's making a number of changes. Most of those changes are on the backend -- things customers don't see that are designed to prevent future breakdowns -- but it's also changing something that will be customer-facing.
Image source: Getty Images.
Southwest Changes Its Flight Schedule
Southwest Airlines has never sold "redeye" flights. Those are flights that leave at night and arrive in the morning when passengers don't have enough time to get a full night's sleep.
The airline has, however decided to start selling overnight connections for the first time.
"They won’t offer redeye flights, but will use their current schedule to sell itineraries that involve an overnight at six airports – Baltimore; Denver; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Chicago Midway; and Oakland," View From the Wing reported.
That was originally supposed to start on June 26, but the airline has delayed implementation, according to a statement from the airline.
“The work has been delayed and we do not have a sell date and we’re working on communicating this update to our employees this week,” the company shared with View From the Wing.
Southwest isn't adding any new flights. It's simply allowing people to buy new itineraries that will, in many cases, be fairly unattractive compared to existing options. Still, this will expand the available choices for Southwest's customers.
Southwest Has Other Problems
While this might be the first step toward Southwest offering redeye flights, that's not likely to happen anytime soon. That's because the airline faces a shortage of pilots at the moment and will be dealing with a shortage of planes for the next couple of years.
CEO Bob Jordan addressed the plane-related capacity constraints in its first-quarter earnings call.
"We are reducing our full-year 2023 growth plans due to a lower planning assumption for Boeing MAX deliveries this year," he said, "This relates to the recent news of further supply chain challenges at Boeing. The outcome is a reduction to our 2023 capacity and capex outlook, and we are currently reevaluating our hiring needs relative to our most recent expectation to hire more than 7,000 net new employees this year."
It's hard to picture the airline adding redeye flights when it's lowering its growth expectations for 2023.
Get exclusive access to portfolio managers and their proven investing strategies with Real Money Pro. Get started now.
