EPISODE 5: Nothing to Declare - Airline(s) Meltdown - Southwest, Westjet, and Sunwing Holiday Failures The Crisis Beat

In this Episode, Mark and Brady explore the Holiday Airline mayhem that gripped North America.
Discount Canadian Airlines Sunwing and Westjet stranded passengers and lost baggage. In the US, Southwest - an airline renowned for customer service, culture, and profitable performance - cancelled an enormous level of flights, and ultimately revealed major failings of underinvesting in communication technology.
In all cases these airlines failed on the front of following crisis communications best practices, with spotty and slow responses. The Southwest failure resonated so deeply that it featured in a lead sketch in a Saturday Night Live Sketch.
Tune in to hear what went wrong (and right) in terms of these corporate communications. Will these brands ever recover? How?
Also, check out these supporting articles if you want to dig a bit deeper:
SUNWING
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sunwing-cancun-mexico-flights-1.6697993#:~:text=228-,Hundreds%20of%20Canadians%20stranded%20in%20Cancun%2C%20Mexico%2C%20after%20their%20Sunwing,in%20sight%20to%20their%20ordeal.
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/inhumane-sunwing-passenger-recounts-scene-at-mexico-airport-after-being-stranded-on-christmas-eve-1.6209223
WEST JET
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/passenger-told-to-find-own-flight-after-westjet-cancellation-leaving-her-stuck-in-calgary-1.6206608
SOUTHWEST
https://www.yahoo.com/news/southwest-airlines-ceo-described-mondays-111751666.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADMZn8eQaR4R1SWRvNJj62r5EGYan6rbvMv01J_V7nj9O6_snYu_sm5Qz5reR0xmkwnjuOOrRxAj9j9t3CMFXpjr_DgfpJGQC5fAhGvJIFLeIjH8A1dkVTSp5Su-SCN4QYxyvVbHytone4WPN1BZ74YKqPE-BAgpV-GuK6VbMdGX
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/business/southwest-flights-canceled-travel.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/us/southwest-airlines-canceled-flights.html#:~:text=the%20main%20story-,Southwest's%20Woes%20No%20Longer%20'Weather%2DDriven%2C'%20Transportation%20Secretary,days%20before%20normal%20service%20resumed.&text=As%20a%20subscriber%2C%20you%20have,can%20read%20what%20you%20share.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/travel/southwest-airlines-flight-cancellations.html#:~:text=Because%20Southwest%20is%20the%20largest,dozens%20of%20cities%2C%20he%20said
https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2022/12/29/crisis-management-lessons-from-southwest-airlines-meltdown/?sh=1f036f861d5e
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/26/southwest-airlines-luv-earnings-q4-2022.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/01/29/snl-skewers-southwest-airlines-mass-cancellations-over-holidays/11144875002/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64362249

PEARSON

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/this-is-a-joke-right-some-travellers-baggage-lost-for-days-as-pearson-struggles-with-broken-luggage-belt-1.6209134


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