https://www.sikich.com

Lessons in Crisis Communications: What Went Right in the Southwest Christmas 2022 Travel Disaster

Kara Hamstra

Mar 30 2023

3 min read

An unfortunate combination of high passenger traffic, record-setting temperatures and wild winter storms left airlines scrambling to get customers to and from their destinations ahead of the 2022 Christmas holiday. While many airlines recovered in a day or two, Southwest Airlines canceled 63% of its flights, leading to chaos for millions left scrambling to reach their destinations.

For Southwest, this was an operational disaster. But, on the communications front, Southwest Air CEO Bob Jordan put several tried-and-true crisis communications tactics to use to make the best of a seemingly impossible situation. Here’s a short list.

Admit mistakes. Jordan quickly hit the news circuit on behalf of his organization to try and take control of the situation and disclose what was happening. Quite simply, he stated, “We messed up and caused problems and we need to fix our problems, but it did start with this historic storm.” Though the admission is perhaps too little, too late for some families that were stuck in limbo at the airport, it’s a critical first step in showing leadership during a time of crisis.
Make things right with customers. Per Jordan, “We had an instance where a couple bought a $500 used car to drive home. We covered it and bought them a car, so to speak.” Southwest also gave about 2 million folks an estimated $300 in the carrier’s reward points as a make good. While the amount may seem small, taking action along with an apology is a proven way to keep customers in good graces.
Make things right with employees. Without immediate action from its flight attendants and pilots, the airline likely would have been stuck in crisis mode for far longer. In appreciation, it compensated its staff with premium and “gratitude” pay. Rebuilding trust among staff is critical to move forward, especially if big changes are looming.
Commit to reviewing and fixing problems. A few weeks after the crisis, Southwest Airlines announced that it hired a consulting firm to analyze the meltdown. Jordan was quick to add that “we have work to do,” including an additional investment to upgrade technology and the creation of an operations review committee on the airline’s board. To fully move on from a crisis, it’s critical to show real action and change to repair damage and help ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Crises are an unfortunate but realistic part of any organization. By following many of these crisis communications strategies, our team at The Agency at Sikich has helped countless clients navigate a wide variety of rocky roads – from customer service emergencies, to data breaches, social media trolls to product recalls.

This publication contains general information only and Sikich is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should you use it as a basis for any decision, action or omission that may affect you or your business. Before making any decision, taking any action or omitting an action that may affect you or your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. In addition, this publication may contain certain content generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) language model. You acknowledge that Sikich shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by you or any person who relies on this publication.

About the Author

Kara Hamstra

Kara Hamstra is a director at The Agency at Sikich with 16 years of experience in business-to-consumer public relations. At Sikich, Kara leads the consumer product public relations division of the full-service marketing team for a wide variety of clients, including high-end juvenile products and health-related organizations. She also handles crisis communications work for The Agency, including client counsel, corporate communications and media relations for data breaches and other reputational issues. Prior to joining Sikich in 2013, Kara worked for two large, international PR firms working for the world’s leading CPG companies.