i’ll say it over and over, but it is freezing…
the arctic blast and winter storm in north america this year is brutal, to say the least
it's not just in buffalo, new york – at least 37 in new york and 25 others in 11 other states have been reported dead in the storm
315k+ homes and businesses went without power on christmas eve
for airlines, southwest took it the hardest
delta, american airlines, and united each cancelled at most 40 flights on wednesday
southwest had to cancel 2,500 flights (~62% of its planned flights that day)
dot (department of transportation) considers southwest's rate of cancellations and delays to be "unacceptable"
why southwest tho?
per the new york times, it has to with airlines' different route models. southwest is a low cost carrier – it's known for minimizing operating costs and not providing traditional airlines services and comforts. one way it makes for reduced revenue due to lower prices is charging extra fees (i.e. charging for carry-on bags)
southwest uses a "point-to-point" route model
it’s good in that it lets passengers fly between smaller cities without a middle stop or layover at a bigger metro city
but the downside is that, for the airline, it's way more difficult to have an ample reserve of standby crew members and pilots at all serviced small cities
larger carriers (i.e. united, american) use a "hub-and-spoke" model where flights are usually from smaller cities to a hub airport in a bigger metro city, where passengers change planes
so, after a storm like this week's, the hub-and-spoke model makes it much easier for crew members and pilots to regroup and spontaneously support other flights
will southwest change it model to prevent similar future incidents?
💡 something im thinking about
there’s a “correct” way to take pills (click image)
that's all, folks 🐒
