DALLAS — While Southwest Airlines continues to sort out their problems and reset, a former longtime spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, Ed Stewart, gave WFAA a look into how the company communicates with the public.
He said Southwest Airlines is known for doing the right thing.
"The first plane took off June 1971, they've been doing this a long time. There are bound to be some bumps in the road,’’ said Stewart, who served as a spokesperson for 16 years.
When the recent news about Southwest's issues appeared last weekend, Stewart said this was unheard of.
"This is unprecedented. When I first heard about it, it was gut-wrenching, because Herb Kelleher had brought me on, and anybody who knows about Southwest, he's the man," said Stewart.
As tens of thousands of customers’ flights were canceled on Christmas weekend, everyone waited patiently for Southwest Airlines to give answers.
"I think before Southwest gave any statement, they wanted to do some fact-finding, and they don’t want to go off and say anything that’s not 100% accurate. It takes a minute to know exactly what’s going on. You need to know the who, the what, the when, the why, before you can accurately respond," said Stewart.
Then on Tuesday afternoon, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan spoke front and center.
"Please also hear, that I’m truly sorry,’’ said Jordan.
While the major carrier continues to sort out the problems, Stewart hopes the sincere apology from the CEO resonates with everyone.
"I know Bob personally, I know he means it, I just hope it got out to the customers, as well. This guy gets it, he understands," said Stewart.
Moving forward, Stewart said Southwest will be looking at refunds on a case-by-case basis.
Stewart went on to reassure customers, "The message I heard is they are going to individually look at cases and figure out what’s the right thing to do. You have to look at the situation individually and figure out what’s appropriate in the situation."
He added that Southwest is a people company. They will look at people individually to do the right thing.
"They want fans. Those are the fans that keep coming back those are your brand ambassadors. I would dare say, give Southwest opportunity to right the ship. This is unprecedented," said Stewart.