Fortunately, I spent the week between Christmas and New Year on my couch. This is a frequent traveler's dream. But many weren't so lucky – especially those who chose to fly Southwest over the holidays. It was hard to miss the story about the Southwest meltdown, and my heart went out to everyone impacted by the disaster.
While some of the Southwest crisis can be attributed to bad weather – there are many layers to the onion. One big one, as discussed in this New York Times article, is that Southwest has not been keeping up with its infrastructure and I.T. investments. The Unions and employees have been begging management to address these issues since the 1990s. And now Southwest is paying the price.
There is a lesson for all of us in this story.