This year’s winter snowstorm swept the country, leaving many without water, power, and luggage. Holiday travelers this year found themselves in quite a predicament traveling to their destinations for the holidays, with southwest airlines canceling nearly ⅔ of their flights due to the winter storm. Still, after the storm, a new crisis emerged, the delay in their baggage claim system. Hundreds of travelers claim this is the worst they have ever seen in baggage claim systems.

On December 26, 2022, at 9:06 PM,; ‘TransportationGov’ posted to Twitter, “USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.” TransportationGov followed up its statement on Twitter by linking Southwest’s customer service plan for users to view.

With the ongoing concern of Southwest flight delays and lost luggage piling up concerts, the U.S. Department of Transportation stated on Monday, December 26, 2022, that they would be reviewing Southwest Airlines’ actions in accordance with the winter storm and decide whether the actions they took were sufficient enough in trying to prevent the gross number of flight cancellations.

After days of no comment from Southwest, CEO Bob Jordan issued a statement on Tuesday, December 27, 2022, in the late afternoon. Bob Jordan made the statement to the public, blaming most of the issue on the winter weather for delaying Southwest’s “complex” baggage claim system. Ceo Bob Jordan has also stated that his company plans to do “some real work to do in making this right” and to “double down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances so that we never again face what’s happening right now.”

CEO Bob Jordan also showed the public the new system they are implementing of a points travel system rather than a luggage hub, stating, “we build our flight schedule around communities, not hubs.” and that “We’re focused on safely getting all of the pieces back into position to end this rolling struggle.” With the promise of quicker luggage delivery speeds, it still seems as if the public is unhappy with the airline’s efforts.

While the CEO of Southwest pinned the majority of the blame on the winter storm, hitting their major hubs in Denver and Chicago, he also grazed over the main issue being their staffing and computer systems and focused primarily on the new systems they are trying to implement while still utilizing the same old systems that caused the problems.

• Outdated Phone Systems:
  “The phone system the company uses is just not working,” Lyn Montgomery, President of TWU Local 556. “They’re just not manned with enough manpower in order to give the scheduling changes to flight attendants, and that’s created a ripple effect that is creating chaos throughout the nation.”
• Unresponsive Technology:
  “The process of matching up those crew members with the aircraft could not be handled by our technology,” Watterson stated. Andrew Watterson, the Chief Operating Officer of Southwest, stated that their software operating systems are severely outdated and are proving to be the main culprit of their cancellations. Southwest is also responsible for keeping in line with the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates when flight crews can work. “The process of matching up those crew members with the aircraft could not be handled by our technology; as a result, we had to ask our crew schedulers to do this manually, and it’s extraordinarily difficult,” said Watterson to CNN reporters, “That [manually scheduling] is a tedious, long process.” In an overall consensus from CFO Wattson, Captain Casey Murray, the president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, and CEO Bobs Jordan’s own promises to invest in better systems; Southwest Airlines needs an overhaul in its IT department.
• History:
  This is not the first time Southwest has been faced with a whole system meltdown and has not made corrections. In October 2021, Southwest canceled nearly 2,000 flights in 4 days. This meltdown was partially due to Florida weather conditions, and on the back end of operations, primarily due to air traffic control and a lack of sufficient staffing. Although admittedly, it was caused by short staffing, they have still failed to update their technology and software systems since the 1990s.

In an effort to get your luggage out of baggage claim as soon as possible, passengers should have their check-in slip for their checked baggage, a photo and description of their luggage, and a valid ID. Having these items prepared for the airline will help streamline the process of retrieving your lost luggage in baggage claim. Another way to retrieve your luggage faster from airlines and to save you the time and headache of calling the airlines, driving to the airport, and waiting in line for your luggage is by calling a private luggage delivery service.

At Reliable couriers, we have worked with airlines and airports to pick up passengers’ lost luggage as quickly as possible. Our services give travelers peace of mind that their luggage is going to be returned directly to their doorstep without any hassle. When you call Reliable couriers, all our team needs from you to find your lost luggage and get it back to you is; your baggage claim or check number with a photo of the luggage tag, a description of the bag, where it is being picked up from, where it is being dropped off to, and a valid photo identification. With this, our couriers can properly locate your luggage and reunite you with it, all without you leaving the comfort of your home and having to deal with the busy airlines.