Abandoned Trips, Lost Presents: Southwest Cancellations Wreak Holiday Havoc - The New York Times

CHICAGO — Weary vacation travelers were near to slumber connected airdrome floors, instrumentality agelong autobus rides oregon wantonness trips altogether connected Tuesday arsenic the meltdown spurred by the cancellation of thousands of Southwest Airlines flights stretched into yet different day.

With astir two-thirds of each Southwest flights canceled again connected Tuesday, galore families were searching for immoderate mode to get backmost location aft visiting relatives for Christmas. Some, similar Isabella Carvajal, had ne'er been capable to scope loved ones successful the archetypal place.

Ms. Carvajal, 20, spent Christmas Day successful Chicago Midway International Airport and had been sleeping successful the terminal for the past 2 nights aft flying determination from Miami and learning that her connecting formation to New York was canceled.

“I spent my full abrogation astatine the airport,” she said connected Tuesday. “I get a fewer minutes of slumber present and determination but not much.”

Ms. Carvajal gave up connected her plans to spot her family, but she has inactive been incapable to instrumentality home. She said Southwest reimbursed her for conscionable fractional of her summons terms and told her that she could not publication different formation to Miami until Monday. She is readying to instrumentality a Greyhound autobus from Chicago to Orlando implicit the adjacent 2 days.

“Southwest fto a batch of radical down,” she said.

The hose debacle came aft frigid temperatures and snowfall swept done overmuch of the state past week. While different airlines recovered, Southwest has struggled to lick its rider problems, canceling much than 70 percent of flights connected Monday and 64 percent connected Tuesday, according to FlightAware. By Tuesday evening, the institution had already nixed astatine slightest 61 percent of its flights for Wednesday. The institution has apologized and called its show “unacceptable,” and the Department of Transportation has begun scrutinizing the airline’s cancellations.

As travelers sought retired alternate routes, fearfulness stories emerged of ruined vacations, missing luggage and long, tense lawsuit work lines.

Many passengers were capable to instrumentality archetypal flights lone to beryllium stuck successful connecting airports hours distant from their location and destination.

Deepak SurendranPillai said helium and his woman had planned to instrumentality their 11-year-old girl connected an extended circuit of Florida — from Disney World to Miami to Everglades National Park — but had to scrap it each erstwhile they flew from Oakland to Las Vegas and past ended up stuck determination connected Christmas Eve amid a question of cancellations.

Mr. SurendranPillai, 41, who lives successful Alameda, Calif., and works for a exertion company, yet resigned himself to the information that his household would person to postpone its travel altogether. But someway the family’s bags — including 1 filled with wrapped Christmas gifts for his daughter, Namah — were enactment connected a formation without them.

The household spent the nighttime successful a Las Vegas hotel, and Mr. SurendranPillai slipped a brace of earrings nether his daughter’s pillow — from Santa Claus — for her to aftermath up to connected Christmas Day, 1 of the fewer gifts helium had kept successful his carry-on.

Southwest lawsuit work agents rebooked Mr. SurendranPillai and his household onto a bid of flights connected Sunday, each of which were canceled, until they were yet capable to get the past 3 seats connected a level backmost to the San Francisco Bay Area.

When the household returned home, Mr. SurendranPillai said his girl had tears successful her eyes, reasoning she had not gotten the 1 happening she astir wanted: a brace of reddish Converse shoes.

“She’s like, ‘I didn’t inquire for much. I conscionable asked for reddish Converse shoes,’” Mr. SurendranPillai recalled. “I had to archer her, ‘I bought those for you. Santa did not get those, truthful they’re successful our luggage.’”

At Los Angeles International Airport connected Tuesday, Carole and Marc Shepard sat surrounded by their suitcases successful the Southwest baggage assertion terminal, hoping that they would beryllium capable to marque it location to Pittsburgh aft visiting their girl for the holidays.

They had been checking Southwest's website repeatedly — portion eating meal and successful the car connected the mode to the airdrome — and it had showed that their archetypal connecting flight, to Las Vegas, was inactive connected schedule. But 15 minutes earlier boarding was acceptable to begin, the gross cause announced that it had been canceled.

The mates said they were told that Southwest would not beryllium capable to publication them connected different formation to Pittsburgh until adjacent Tuesday. Needing to get location to conscionable their son, who is visiting from New York, they paid $1,700 for 2 Delta Air Lines tickets to question connected Wednesday, what Ms. Shepard, 66, called a “ridiculous magnitude of money.”

“It’s conscionable truthful unusual wherefore this 1 hose had each these problems,” Mr. Shepard, who is besides 66, said of Southwest. “We’ve experienced upwind delays but ne'er a concern similar this.”

The breakdown crossed Southwest’s web was being called the biggest meltdown successful the company’s history. After past week’s tempest caused wide cancellations, Southwest was incapable to redirect crews and passengers onto caller flights due to the fact that of an inadequate machine strategy and the airline’s unsocial “point to point” exemplary that does not instrumentality planes to main hubs.

At Baltimore-Washington International Airport, passengers formed a agelong enactment astatine a baggage assertion lawsuit work table successful hopes of locating their luggage.

Among those successful enactment was Helena Dahlen, who knew to expect a agelong hold and had brought a pinkish camping seat with her to beryllium in. After respective hectic days of question woes, Ms. Dahlen, 59, had fixed up connected her plans to alert to Los Angeles to spot friends and household and was present successful hunt of her luggage.

Her archetypal Southwest flight, connected Christmas Eve, was canceled, but she had rebooked with the hose for Monday and made it onto a formation to Nashville. When she arrived, though, the adjacent limb of her travel was canceled. The lone option, she yet learned, was to alert backmost to Baltimore and telephone it quits.

“I’m done,” Ms. Dahlen said connected Tuesday, inactive a ways from the beforehand of the enactment aft 3 hours. “I got P.T.S.D.”

Other passengers successful enactment lamented the clip they had missed with household due to the fact that of the cancellations.

Taylor Koerner had been hoping to compression successful a spot much vacation clip with his daughter, who lives successful Massachusetts, but his Monday greeting Southwest formation from Baltimore to Hartford, Conn., was canceled. Then, the formation helium rebooked for the evening was besides canceled.

Mr. Koerner, 34, of Houston, is grooming to beryllium a pediatric cardiologist and said helium did not get overmuch clip distant from work. Though helium got to walk Christmas with his family, helium said getting a fewer much days with his girl would person meant a lot, fixed his docket and the region betwixt them. Mr. Koerner’s parent was readying connected joining them.

“I get a small clip off, but my ma was going to question up with me,” helium said. “It was going to beryllium bully and peculiar for her, too.”