Additional Schedule Modifications through April 13, 2020



Recently, Southwest implemented a plan to reduce capacity by at least 20 percent for the time period from April 14 through June 5, 2020. That difficult decision was driven by the drop in travel demand in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

We’ve now made the difficult decision to further revise our schedule canceling approximately 1,000 of our almost 4,000 daily flights until March, 27, 2020. We’ll then cancel approximately 1,500 of our almost 4,000 daily flights until the previously revised scheduled begins on April 14, 2020. We sincerely regret any inconvenience to our Customers and our Employees.

During this unprecedented time, we will continually assess the real-time, market demand for flights with the goal of canceling flights that have an alternate flight or route options and that affect the fewest number of Customers. Additionally, we’ll implement the cancellations on a rolling, multiple-day basis to provide Customers with advance notice of changes and alternate flight options.

As a note, these cancellations also capture our decision to suspend service to all of our international destinations at the end of the operating day on Sunday, March 22, 2020. We’ve made this decision due to some governments restricting air travel across their borders as well as guidance from our own government, and we hope to restart service to our international cities on May 4, subject to change.

The entire Southwest Team appreciates the ongoing patience and understanding as we all adjust to these evolving challenges. We are working diligently to minimize disruptions to travel, and the well-being of our Customers and Employees remains our main priority.

Here are ways we are supporting our Customers:

  • The Southwest Team is targeting cancellations to routes that have multiple flights or options for alternate travel. Our primary goal is to keep our Customers and Crews moving safely to their destinations, as promised.
  • We’re also being strategic and matching the latest round of cancellations to flights with the least amount of bookings. In this way, we disrupt travel for the fewest Customers.
  • If a flight is canceled, Southwest will proactively notify affected Customers as soon as possible to alert them of the cancellation, so there is no need to contact Southwest.
  • Finally, we are enacting our flexible accommodation policies for all canceled flights to ease the inconvenience to our Customers. If a flight is canceled, we’ll offer these options to affected Customers:
  • If you would like to rebook, you may change your travel up to 60 days from your original flight date by visiting Southwest.com/rebook. Flights that have seats available will display as "Available." Doing this online is your best option as call volumes are likely to be very high to reach a Southwest® Representative.
  • If you are unsure of your future travel plans, you do not need to take any action. Rest assured, the funds used to pay for this trip will be available for the Customer named on the ticket to use through June 30, 2021 (an extension from our previous time limit of one year from date of purchase). Customers simply use their original confirmation number as the way to access these funds in the future—similar to "store credit" at most retail establishments.

Please know that our desire to deliver Southwest Hospitality is as strong as ever, and we look forward to welcoming you onboard again one day very soon!

 


ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   

Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world’s most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 117 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline1. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its more than 73,0002 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among more than 137 million Customers carried in 2023. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years3 of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world including harnessing the power of its People and Purpose to put communities at the Heart of its success. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship. As the airline with Heart, Southwest has set a goal to work toward achieving net zero carbon emissions by 20504. Southwest has also set near-term targets and a three-pillar strategy to achieve its environmental goals. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/planet.
  1. Based on U.S. Dept. of Transportation quarterly Airline Origin & Destination Survey since Q1 2021
  2. Fulltime-equivalent active Employees
  3. 1973-2019 annual profitability
  4. Our net zero by 2050 goal includes Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Category 3 emissions only and excludes any emissions associated with non-fuel products and services, such as inflight service items.
 
Media Contacts: 
Visit the Southwest Newsroom at swamedia.com for multimedia assets and other Company news.
# # #  
News Release Detail
News Release Detail