Southwest Airlines chief operating officer Andrew Watterson said an upgrade to its crew scheduling software will be ready to go Friday after two rounds of testing, which should help fix some of the problems that led to a cascade of cancellations over the winter holidays.
Watterson, who testified Thursday before the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transporation Committee, took a conciliatory tone as Democrats criticized the Dallas-based carrier for canceling 16,700 flights in late December in one of the largest airline industry meltdowns in recent history.
Following the message that he and other Southwest leaders have repeated over and over again since December, Watterson apologized and said: “We’ve been mindful that an apology alone, no matter how heartfelt or how often stated, would not suffice.”
