Southwest CEO admits airline needs to be updated after 15,000 flights were scrapped

The CEO of Southwest has claimed the airline is 'off to a great start' despite cancelations and delays carrying on after more than 15,000 flights were scrapped over the holidays. 

In his first TV interview since the troubled airline left thousands stranded across the country, Bob Jordan told Good Morning America on Friday staff were working quickly to correct the issues. 

'I'm watching the stats and we've launched the East Coast and have a great operation under way. It's our full schedule, 3,900 plus flights,' Jordan said. 'I'm very confident we'll operate a really tight operation today.'

Despite the optimistic outlook, the airline has already canceled 41 flights, with another 143 delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware.com. 

Jordan also dodged questions regarding calls for his resignation, and said the company was committed to learning from its mistakes. 

'There will be a lot of lessons learned in terms of what we can do to make sure this never happens again because this needs to never happen again.'  

Jordan also danced around the question of what exactly went wrong at the airline that resulted in more than 15,000 flight cancelations. 

The CEO attributed the chaos to the 'unprecedented storm' that hit the nation over the holiday weekend, affecting 23 of Southwest's top 50 travel destinations. 

'We had record temperatures that did so many things like froze jetways, froze aircrafts, froze the icing fluid,' Jordan told GMA.

'Solving this problem becomes very daunting.

We have great tools, but this is something we have never seen in our 51 years.' 

Jordan, however, did not explain why his company was not able to correct the issues as quickly as the other airlines affected by the storm.

The CEO ultimately offered another apology to customers, following COO Ryan Green's second groveling apology on Thursday, and said the airline was committed to doing right by its customers. 

'Beyond safety, there's no greater focus at this point than taking care of our customers, reuniting them with their bags, getting refunds processed,' Jordan said.  

'Our desire is to go above and beyond. Take care of things like rental cars, hotels, meals, bookings for other airlines,' he added. 'This has impacted so many people over the holidays. I'm extremely sorry for that.' 

Southwest hubs in Denver and Chicago have been hit particularly hard by the deluge of cancelations as the company extends self-service options for customers to rebook flights. 

Meanwhile, some airlines have begun capping prices on travel to and from select cities as struggling Southwest passengers desperately try to rebook their flights.

CNN reported that United and American Airlines will implement the price cap in order to help stranded passengers make it to their destinations.

The price cap notification from American arrived as frustrated passengers posted screenshots of domestic flights skyrocketing to more than $2,000 as they attempted to rebook their travel.

'We're doing our part to help get people where they need to be and we're putting a cap on fares for select cities,' tweeted American.

Various reports have indicated that the Southwest meltdown was triggered by an antiquated system becoming overheated in the days following the storm. 

In response, the company canceled the vast majority of its flights for several days in an attempt to reset its operations. 

In the company's most recent announcement, COO Ryan Green tells customers that they will be able to rebook their seats without paying any additional charges through January 2.

Customers will also be able to request a refund for their canceled flights and reimbursements for most travel expenses accrued while experiencing cancelations or long delays.

Those who have been separated from their luggage can now fill out a form online to expedite the reunification process.

Government officials, including US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on Wednesday that his department will be keeping a watchful eye on the airline as it attempts to 'rebuild trust and confidence' with its passengers.

He described the post-Christmas wave of cancelations as a 'meltdown,' before saying he would like to see Southwest passengers 'adequately compensated' not just for their canceled flights, but for hotel reservations and all other costs associated with their travel delays.

Buttigieg confirmed that he had spoken with the company's executive leadership and used the opportunity to 'remind' the company executives of 'their customer service commitments.'

He said that Jordan and his team intend to go 'above and beyond the letter of their customer service plan,' and that DOT will remain vigilant to 'make sure that actually happens.'

But despite Buttigieg's posturing toward forcing Southwest to assume accountability for its major misstep, some reports indicate that the DOT Secretary was warned months ago of the potential for disaster among major US airlines.

In August, New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote Buttigieg about an 'escalating pattern of airlines delaying and canceling flights.'

Her note followed a four week period during which Southwest had delayed 29 percent of its flights and many other major US carriers had similarly disrupted schedules that caused a notable spike in travel upsets.

At a press conference, James said that 'Airlines knowingly advertising and booking flights they do not have adequate staff to operate are flying in the face of the law.'

Later in August, a bipartisan group of 38 state attorneys wrote to Congressional leaders informing them that the Department of Transportation - helmed by Buttigieg - had 'failed to respond and to provide appropriate recourse' for an alarming number of flight delays and cancelations after which passengers were not compensated.

The attorneys said that DOT has permitted airlines to 'mistreat' customers without being held accountable.