A Southwest Airlines executive apologized for the company's holiday season meltdown in front of a panel of senators on Thursday.
The airline company canceled nearly 17,000 flights and stranded more than two million customers between December 21 and December 31 following a winter storm, far more than any other airline. The Senate Commerce Committee questioned executives in a hearing that focused on those disruptions.
"Let me be clear, we messed up," Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson told senators. "I want to sincerely and humbly apologize to those impacted by the disruption,"
"In hindsight, we did not have enough winter operational resiliency," Watterson explained.
The Southwest executive assured the committee that the company has been working to improve its systems.
"We are doing a system-wide review of our preparedness for winter operations and will implement any measures necessary to mitigate the risk of an event like this occurring in the future," Watterson said.
The company has budgeted $1.3 billion for 2023 investments, upgrades, and maintenance of their IT systems.
Democratic Senator Ed Markey, unsatisfied with the executive's explanation, demanded the airline company give a "cash hardship payment" to those affected.
Some Republicans, however, were more sympathetic with the airline company.
"I've had multiple conversations with senior leadership at Southwest. I'm confident they understand it was an epic screw-up and that they are committed to doing everything possible to prevent its recurrence," Sen.Ted Cruz of Texas said.
Watterson testified the airline had reimbursed 273,406 customers, and that every impacted customer had been emailed flyer points, along with an apology.
But, the airline company would not pay customers directly for their inconvenience unless it was "reimbursement of a flight they took in the disruption," Watterson said.
The U.S. Transportation Department is also investigating Southwest for its flight scheduling throughout the disruption.
In late January, NFT company Candy Digital cashed in when a Shohei Ohtani Icon NFT sold for $100,000, breaking the six-figure sale price mark for MLB NFTs for the first time. Scott Lawin, CEO of Candy Digital, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why his company is very excited about the future of digital collectibles and how the Ohtani NFT sale shows consumer confidence in the marketplace.
Sēkr, a mobile app that aims to improve and digitize the outdoor travel experience, announced this week that it raised a $2.25 million seed round. In the Sēkr app, users can get access to more than 50,000 campsites throughout the U.S. including the nation's largest database of free campsites. The company is saying it is on a mission to make every step of the planning experience for outdoor travel easier, safer, and more social. Breanne Acio, co-founder and CEO of Sēkr, and Jess Shisler, co-founder and COO, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Cheddar's Big Game Special gives you all the info you need heading into Sunday's event. Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis, Big Game MVP Hines Ward, and Big Game Champion Emmanuel Sanders dissect the action set to take place on the field, Olivia Harlan Dekker delivers her winning wagers, Tom Morton breaks down what we should expect from advertisers, Azia Celestino showcases the atmosphere from Los Angeles, and Baker Machado discusses what viewers should expect to see unfold during the halftime show.
As the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams prep to face each other in the Big Game at SoFi Stadium in LA, 55 percent of a record number of bettors are projected to drop money on the Rams. Casey Clark, the senior vice president of strategic communications for the American Gaming Association, joined Cheddar News to share some data and predictions based on the greater interest in gambling on Super Bowl LVI. "You know that means that people are migrating away from the predatory illegal market and corner bookie and moving their action into the legal marketplace," he said. "So really encouraging for consumer protections and for those of us who might want to have a little action on the game."
Facebook parent Meta and Grammy Award-winning singer Ciara have joined forces to help black female-owned small businesses. Selected businesses will receive marketing mentorship from Meta along with $100,000 to put into their brand. One such business, The Self Care Suite, is a platform that supports mental health, and founder Tara Pringle Jefferson, along with Irene Walker, Meta Elevate founder and program manager, joined Cheddar News to discuss the program. "Having this opportunity with Meta, with Ciara, really will allow us to focus on our virtual programming, to focus on our e-commerce shop, and, as we kind of adjust, to the new normal in 2022," said Pringle Jefferson.
Tesla has been under mounting regulatory scrutiny by the NHTSA, and has issued numerous recalls, including four within the past two weeks. While the company has issued recalls over the years, the number seems to be increasing in recent months as the company issues fixes for seat belt chimes, pedestrian alerts, its self-driving software, and more. What's behind this uptick in recalls — and how might this impact brand loyalty? Al Root, Senior Writer at Barron's, joins Closing Bell to discuss.
Under Armour released a successful Q4 earnings report amid supply chain issues. The apparel company said it invested in analytics to decipher what drives consumers to its brand. However, the company warned of potential supply problems going forward due to COVID.
Hyperice is a technology company that specializes in physical recovery for athletes, and it's now partnering with the NFL. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers running back and Hyperice athlete-investor, and Jim Huether, Hyperice CEO, joined Cheddar News to discuss the partnership. "It's definitely for both for performance and for recovery, as somebody who plays a brutal sport and have to go through some of the unfortunate realities of injury," McCaffery said of the products. "You're always fighting for that 0.1 percent difference between winning and losing and and the little things and every second matters."
