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Southwest Airlines Executives Get Raises After Cancelling 16,700 Flights

February 10, 2023

The worst airline meltdown in the history of American commercial aviation happened over the past holiday season, as Southwest Airlines canceled more than 16,700 flights. The failures left millions of travelers stranded, often without their luggage and most of their belongings, and forced to pay for days worth of hotels and overpriced airport food.

In response, Southwest announced this week that the executives responsible for the catastrophic breakdowns would not lose their jobs but would instead be promoted and given healthy raises.

Five executives at the airline, including the VPs of network planning and customer service, will be given expanded roles at the carrier, sometimes in addition to their current jobs.

Adam Decaire, who oversaw the scheduling breakdowns that left so much of Southwest’s networks paralyzed, will now be elevated from Vice President of Network Planning to a Senior position in the Department. Decaire was initially promoted to Network Planning at the carrier after working only four years as a Southwest ramp agent.

Tony Roach, who steered the efforts at the airline to apologize to millions of stranded passengers, investors, and Federal Regulators, will likewise move up to Senior Vice President of Customer Service.

The slate of promotions is happening following a decision by the Department of Transportation to issue very few airline fines over the past two years.

The Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is facing increased criticism from Congress and watchdog groups who believe that the Department under his leadership did not take enough steps to prevent the massive flight cancellations during the holidays. The source of the problem is said to be a combination of long-term airline consolidation, greed, and allegations the Department is in the pocket of billion-dollar airlines.

According to Dylan Gyauch-Lewis, a spokesperson for the Revolving Door Project, the promotions indicate a complete disregard for Federal Regulators, passengers, and front-line workers.

“The Southwest debacle is what happens when corporations feel like they won’t face any serious regulatory oversight,” he said. He pointed to large airlines’ political influence as one of the main reasons for the lax federal response to air travel outrages.

“Pete Buttigieg chose to let nearly every domestic airline off scott free after they were caught completely flat-footed earlier this year,” he said in a press release issued after the airline’s debacle. “Despite rampant cancellations and widespread violation of federal law by giving travel vouchers instead of cash refunds, the only domestic airline to face any regulatory scrutiny was the small, politically weak Frontier.”

The Revolving Door Project is a consumer-focused watchdog group.

But, where fines and federal oversight may be lacking, Unions at the airline are issuing a direct challenge to executives who have delayed contract negotiations.

Captain Tom Nekoue, a spokesperson for the Southwest Pilots Union, issued a blunt message to executives at the carrier and laid the blame directly at the feet of CEO Gary Kelly.

“During Gary Kelly’s tenure as CEO, Southwest Airlines has returned approximately $12 billion to shareholders while increasing his own total annual compensation by more than 700%,” the letter read. He pointed out that the lion’s share of the money was used to buy back stock shares. Buying back stocks was previously against the law and doesn’t help a company financially. However, the practice raises stock prices, increasing executive pay based on the stocks. According to the union, this was the wrong investment choice when IT and network awareness was so outdated.

“It is clear that Southwest management is circling the wagons as they have always done in the past,” he said in a blunt letter to the Union. “No acknowledgment of the magnitude of the mistakes they have made. No attempt to hold the responsible decision-makers accountable. No indication that there will be a course correction in the future,” he continued.

In January, Southwest Pilots called for authorization to hold a strike vote. “This historic action on the part of the pilot union comes in the wake of Southwest’s largest meltdown and the utter lack of meaningful progress on contract negotiation,” said Union President Casey Murray.

If a strike gets Union members’ approval, the pilots will still need clearance from the National Mediation Board before an actual work stoppage can happen. The vote is scheduled for May.

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