Southwest reports progress on flights, refunds, White House watching

Southwest Tuesday said it was making "solid progress" in efforts to return operations to normal after cancelling nearly 16,000 flights in the week ended Dec. 29 due to bad weather and meltdown of its crew scheduling system. The White House said Southwest "failed its customers" and added that the government would seek to fine the low-cost Texas-based airline if it does not appropriately reimburse customers for their losses. Southwest said that during the New Year holiday weekend ending Sunday it operated 11,092 flights, or 99.1% of scheduled flights. The airline said it intends that "nearly all baggage delayed during the recent holiday travel week to be shipped or delivered by midweek." Southwest had canceled 59, or just 1% of its flights on Tuesday, according to FlightAware. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Transportation Department will hold Southwest accountable for to its commitments to compensate customers whose flights were disrupted since Dec. 24 and is closely monitoring the airline. "Southwest Airlines failed its customers -- point blank," Jean-Pierre, adding the Transportation Department "will seek fines from Southwest if it doesn't cover" required costs. Jean-Pierre added that "our administration is going to continue to press for long-term solutions." The airline said it was reaching out by email to every ticketed customer "significantly impacted last week to offer a tailored gesture of goodwill and another heartfelt apology that redoubles our commitment to Customer."<br/>