Southwest Airlines has reimbursed more than 273,406 passengers since its December meltdown that left millions of passengers stranded, more than 96% of all requests submitted so far.
“Anything that was well documented and under $4,000 our representative approved on the spot,” Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson told reporters Thursday before a U.S. Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., to talk about the airline’s holiday fiasco that led to 16,700 canceled flights. “We reimbursed tire chains, strollers, car seats, pet sitting, but things we didn’t reimburse were things like $7,000 shopping sprees at luxury stores or chartering a private jet.”
Anything above $4,000 was elevated to a supervisor for review, he said.
