Southwest said Friday that it has now taken the plane out of its schedule through May. He likened the flight impact to a winter storm that lasts for weeks and weeks. Mainz said passenger frustration is to be expected given the length of the Max 8 groundings. Southwest carried 120 million passengers last year. But he says the complaints represent a small portion of the airline's customer base. Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz, in response to questions from USA TODAY, acknowledged a spike in negative comments and overall negative social media sentiment. That compares with a range of 28% to 37% in the last week of January, according to the firm. In the last week of March, for example, the percentage of negative comments versus positive comments about Southwest on Twitter ranged from nearly 40% to as high as 54%. ![]() Southwest has seen a spike in negative sentiment since the grounding of the Max 8, according to SEMrush, a global search analytics firm that pulled social media data for USA TODAY. "Really bad form, Southwest, really bad form.'' "Southwest's lack of planning should not have cost me a day's pay, a one day delay in arriving to my destination, a bad seat choice, and increased rental car fees,'' the poster said. "Southwest just isn't dependable right now.''Ī few hours later, another traveler posted a lengthy complaint on Southwest's Facebook page about a last-minute flight cancellation Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport due to the Max 8 reshuffling. "Buyer be aware,'' a passenger posted on Southwest's Facebook page Wednesday morning. Travelers have just come to expect more from the airline that touts its customer-friendly policies. The airline is not required to provide compensation for flight disruptions due to factors out of its control, such as the weather or the FAA-mandated Max grounding. In social media post after post, passengers slam the nation's largest domestic carrier for stranding them, cutting vacations short, forcing the purchase of pricey last-minute tickets on other airlines, long waits on the phone and for giving little compensation, if any, as a goodwill gesture or to cover expenses incurred by passengers. And they're perplexed by Southwest's uncharacteristic lack of flexibility, with affected passengers given two options: take the alternate flight, even if it's days later or to a different airport, or get a refund. They're peeved about Southwest's handling of passenger rebookings, especially last-minute flight cancellations that leave them with few options. Passengers aren't complaining about the grounding of the plane involved in two fatal crashes in less than five months. ![]() ![]() carrier and has scrambled to accommodate those passengers. Combined, the two incidents have led to more than 5,600 flight cancellations at Southwest, an unprecedented number of non-weather related cancellations. The complaints escalated with the March 13 grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 8. Travelers started to turn on Southwest in mid-February when the airline saw a spike in last-minute flight cancellations due to maintenance issues it blamed on a dispute with mechanics. ![]() Southwest, which calls itself the love airline – the ticker symbol for its stock is LUV – is suddenly seeing a steady stream of hate on social media that threatens to damage its sterling reputation. The airline has more than 2 million Twitter followers and 6 million Facebook fans, a group of frequent flyers and once-a-year travelers who gush about its free checked bags, fare sales, flight attendants, fee-free ticket changes and new flights to Hawaii. Southwest Airlines has legions of fans and sits atop countless industry rankings for its vaunted customer service. Watch Video: President Trump grounds Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes
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