Scroll down to see both lists: the world’s safest airlines and the safest low-cost airlines. carriers Allegiant, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and Westjet made the cut. “The burden has been far greater than normal, bringing aircraft back from storage and additional training to get pilots back to work after Covid.”ĪirlineRatings’ annual report also included the 20 safest low-cost airlines, with the carriers listed alphabetically. “No big surprises this year with the major airlines continuing to pour resources into their pilot training and aircraft,” says Thomas. carriers, followed by Hawaiian Airlines, United, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Alaska Airlines came in first among the U.S. Then it won again for three years in a row: 2019, 20.Ī number of U.S. In 2018, it was in the top 20 when AirlineRatings awarded 20 airlines jointly. It’s not the first time that Qantas has won: The 100-year-old Australian carrier was named the world’s safest airline from 2014 to 2017. It replaces last year’s winner, Air New Zealand. gettyĬoming out on top this year is Qantas, which has been named the safest airline for 2023. But the company has not offered clear guidelines about what expenses they will cover, only saying that they will honor "reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation (such as rental cars, or tickets on other airlines)."Īnd of course, there's no reimbursement for missing Christmas with your family, or spending a night on an airport floor with a cranky toddler and no luggage.Qantas Airlines has been named the safest airline in the world. It has also previously committed, for any avoidable cancellation or extreme delay, to rebook passengers at no additional cost, and offer vouchers for meals and hotel accommodations.Īnd Southwest seems willing to cover even more costs for this debacle. Southwest is required by law to offer a full refund for a canceled flight. Customers may be reimbursed for "reasonable" expenses (. ![]() The same situation unfolded in this disaster, and many pilots and flight crews took to social media to express frustration with their own company. Pilots were ready to work, but Southwest didn't have planes or routes available for them. There were multiple scheduling meltdowns in the last two years that, while smaller than the Christmas disaster, indicated that Southwest had a problem. "And it's really just not scaled for an operation that we have today." "We're still using, not only IT from the '90s, but also processes when our airline was a tenth of the size," he said. The president of the union representing Southwest pilots called the Christmas meltdown "catastrophic" but told NPR he, for one, wasn't surprised by it - and neither were most pilots. I'm open to dating another airline." Customers aren't the only ones angry. ![]() The entire Southwest Airlines Family is devastated and extends its deepest, heartfelt sympathy to the customers, employees, family members and loved ones affected by this tragic event. Now, she says, "I've been thinking about it. A Southwest Airlines statement said: We are deeply saddened to confirm that there is one fatality resulting from this accident. "I have 50,000 miles with them," said Hillary Chang, a traveler whose bag is lost in the Southwest disaster vortex. "They're usually pretty good at responding to crises."Ĭustomers are bewildered by how terrible this experience has been. "They've got the best reputation for customer service and management agility," airline analyst Richard Aboulafia told NPR. It was a well-respected - in some cases, even beloved - company. Southwest isn't a fly-by-night operation, or a bare-bones discount airline where customers have low expectations and misery is part of the bargain. The epic failure of the airline caught many by surprise From what Ive heard from pilots and other folks who make way more than I do, even the issues with the Maxs werent a big deal for American and most European trained pilots. ![]() The Department of Transportation says it is launching its own investigation into exactly what went wrong. Several other airlines do actually fly the same type of planes as Southwest, Boeing 737-700 and 800s in addition to the Maxs. And he said the company clearly needed to accelerate its "already existing plans to upgrade systems." Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan compared the airline's debacle to a "giant puzzle" that needs to be solved. Weather The blizzard is just one reason behind the operational meltdown at Southwest Airlinesīy all accounts Southwest was using badly outdated computer systems to manage that complicated system.
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