To watch Senator Capito’s questioning, click here or the image above.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today participated in a hearing titled “Strengthening Airline Operations and Consumer Protections.” During the hearing, Senator Capito questioned Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer (COO) Andrew Watterson on the causes of their major air travel disruption over the holidays, and also pressed industry officials on how to improve U.S. public air travel and proper compensation for impacted travelers.
HIGHLIGHTS:
WIDESPREAD IMPACT: “I will say anecdotally, in my office, I had 10 of my staff members, I said, ‘who was affected? What happened?’ About four of them were affected. So that shows you the breadth of Southwest.”
CAUSE OF CANCELLATIONS: “Mr. Watterson, your [Southwest] CEO, in an interview last week, said that it's a misconception that technology was the issue, and blamed more the storm. Understanding that it's more than one thing – I'm hearing in the testimony and response to questions, and the fact that you're putting a large investment in technology that it is, in fact, the technology.”
FUTURE IMPROVEMENT: “Another thing I've wondered, did you ever run a worst case scenario? I mean, certainly, you know, you always want to plan for the worst. Did you ever run a full out scenario where you could anticipate a bad storm, you know, deicing issues, so that you could have gone back to those trial runs to see how we can fix this more quickly?”
THANKING AIRLINE PROFESSIONALS: “I'd like to say to the men and women that work in airlines, particularly the ones flying into places like West Virginia –Southwest does not – thank you for keeping us safe. It is with great pride, I think to for us to feel that when we sit down and buckle in, that we're handled with great professionals who have our safety at the top of the list. So thank you all very much for that.”
# # #