Listen "EPISODE 5: Nothing to Declare - Airline(s) Meltdown - Southwest, Westjet, and Sunwing Holiday Failures"
Episode Synopsis
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-1.6209223WEST JET https://bc.ctvnews.ca/passenger-told-to-find-own-flight-after-westjet-cancellation-leaving-her-stuck-in-calgary-1.6206608SOUTHWESThttps://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-GuK6VbMdGXhttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/business/southwest-flights-canceled-travel.htmlhttps://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%20saidhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2022/12/29/crisis-management-lessons-from-southwest-airlines-meltdown/?sh=1f036f861d5ehttps://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/26/southwest-airlines-luv-earnings-q4-2022.htmlhttps://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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More episodes of the podcast The Crisis Beat
EPISODE 31: Trust and Grievance
03/06/2025
EPISODE 30: Hospital Crisis Communications
14/05/2025
EPISODE 29: Wildfire PR
05/03/2025
EPISODE 28: 2024 In Review
24/02/2025
EPISODE 27: Jaguar Rebrand
08/02/2025
EPISODE 26: Boeing Nowhere Fast
18/01/2025
EPISODE 25: Data Drama
11/12/2024
EPISODE 24: All the Worst Humans
28/11/2024
EPISODE 23: Beastly Behaviour
11/11/2024
EPISODE 22: The Secret Service Playbook
28/08/2024
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