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Four months before Southwest Airlines stranded tens of thousands of passengers at airports over the Christmas holiday, state attorneys general the nation over warned Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about airline delays.
New York attorney general Letitia James first wrote to the Transportation secretary on August 2 about an ‘escalating pattern of airlines delaying and canceling flights,’ noting that during the first half of 2022, 33 percent more flights had been canceled than during a comparable period in pre-pandemic 2019.
In July, Southwest had delayed 29 percent of its flights.
‘Airlines knowingly advertising and booking flights they do not have adequate staff to operate are flying in the face of the law,’ James said at a press conference.
Later that month a bipartisan group of 38 state attorneys wrote to leaders in Congress telling them that Buttigieg’s department had ‘failed to respond and to provide appropriate recourse’ for an increasing number of flight delays and cancelations where passengers were not compensated.
Four months before Southwest stranded tens of thousands of passengers at airports over the Christmas holiday, state attorneys general the nation over warned Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about airline delays
The letter said state attorneys general have little authority to hold airlines accountable so without adequate action from the Department of Transportation (DoT), major airlines have been able to ‘mistreat’ customers.
‘Americans are justifiably frustrated that federal government agencies charged with overseeing airline consumer protection are unable or unwilling to hold the airline industry accountable and to swiftly investigate complaints submitted to the Department of Transportation,’ the August letter states.
In her letter James makes a number of recommendations, including requiring airlines only sell and advertise flights they know they have adequate crew to staff, imposing stiff fines for domestic flight delays of more than two hours, and requiring airlines to offer full refunds and reimbursement for passengers whose flights are delayed and assume extra costs.
New York attorney general Letitia James first wrote to the the Transportation secretary on August 2 about an ‘escalating pattern of airlines delaying and canceling flights’
A young traveler wades through fields of unclaimed bags at the Southwest Airlines luggage carousels at Denver International Airport, Tuesday, Dec. 27
Stranded Southwest Airlines passengers looks for their luggage in the baggage claim area at Chicago Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, on December 28
People wait in long lines for the Southwest Airlines check-in counters at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport where flight delays and cancellations stranded passengers in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. December 26
On September 7 Buttigieg said on The Late Late Show with James Corden: ‘I think it’s going to get better by the holidays. We’re really pressing the airlines to deliver better service.’
Southwest canceled another 2,357 flights Thursday bringing the total number of cancelations over 12,000. All other airlines combined canceled less than 100 flights on Thursday, according to FlightAware.
Buttigieg said on Good Morning America that the ‘meltdown’ at Southwest could not be blamed on poor weather any longer.
‘We are past the point where they could say that this is a weather-driven issue,’ Buttigieg said. ‘What this indicates is a system failure, and they need to make sure that these stranded passengers get to where they need to go and that they are provided adequate compensation.’
In August, DoT announced a proposed rule that would strictly define ‘significant changes’ that required airlines to issue refunds – including delays of more than three hours for domestic, six hours for international flights, changes to the departure or arrival airport, increasing the number of connections or changing the type of aircraft so that it downgrades the flying experience.
The rule was never finalized, and customers now say that Southwest has been offering them credits instead of refunds for canceled flights and they have to spend thousands buying last-minute flights on other airlines or camp out in airports for days.
Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Pilot Association, said the airline ‘wasn’t prepared’ even ahead of the holiday season and said much of the blame could be attributed to ‘outdated technology.’
William McGee, a former aircraft dispatcher who is a senior fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project, told The Hill that Buttigieg had dragged his feet on responding to airline practices known to cause flight cancelations.
‘What’s happening this week is just the latest and perhaps the worst manifestation of problems that have been going on since Buttigieg took office,’ McGee said.
‘We had high hopes for him, and I think, quite frankly, he has been a tremendous disappointment. He could be doing much more, and for whatever reason he has chosen not to use the authority that he clearly has.’
The 40-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Ind. ran for president in 2020 and is widely seen as a future contender on the Democratic ticket. But some see the airline chaos and other domestic crises like supply chain logjams as a stain on his reputation.
Progressive Democrat Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and congressional candidate, suggested Buttigieg is not up to the job at hand because he has his sights set on the White House.
‘What’s happening with the railroads, airlines & the supply chain is a result of a small city mayor being made the Secretary of Transportation as a means to pad his resume for President,’ Turner tweeted.
‘Secretary Buttigieg is a prime example of failing up.’
House Judiciary Republicans also blamed Buttigieg, tweeting on December 28: ‘Where’s @SecretaryPete? #SouthwestAirlines.’
Buttigieg tweeted back: ‘Good morning! At the moment I’m on Capitol Hill, not far from your offices. We’ll keep getting results for passengers using our authorities & resources as an agency.
‘If you’re calling for policies that would deepen those resources, please be specific—I’d welcome the dialogue.’
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