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It is not a good week for Southwest Airlines.
On Wednesday, the carrier criticized a union of mechanics for hundreds of cancellations in recent days, an unprecedented level.
"On February 12, just days after our last round of negotiations with AMFA, we experienced an unprecedented number of out-of-service devices at four specific maintenance sites, despite no change in our maintenance schedules , no change in management, nor in our policies and procedures, "said operations director Mike Van de Ven in a statement.
"We are determined to operate a safe fleet and every report is investigated, which is why we issued a notice asking for an" all hands "response so that the out-of-service aircraft could return to the fleet serving our customers. "
This week alone, Southwest canceled more than 600 flights and delayed more than 1,000 more, according to FlightAware. He imputed these interruptions to a number of out – of – service aircraft representing more than double the usual number of aircraft 20. Last week, he had declared an "urgent" operation.
The mechanics' union retaliated, accusing the airline of using it as a scapegoat for other issues.
"The fact that Southwest's leadership links the" operational emergency "declared by the airline to collective bargaining is simply an attempt to divert attention from the company's safety concerns," said the airline's spokesman. Organization in a statement.
Southwest shares fell more than 4% in trading Wednesday morning, a decline in revenue for the first quarter of 2019 and a deterioration of Wall Street has also weighed on the minds of investors.
Read more:Seating allocated on the southwest? Here's how a major change would differentiate the company from other airlines
In a regulatory filing on Wednesday morning, the airline said the government shutdown would have more impact than the $ 10 to $ 15 million previously disclosed. It now expects a $ 60 million negative impact on revenues due to "weak demand for passengers and reservations due to the closure of the government".
Moreover, a deterioration in Goldman Sachs' rating related to its launch in Hawaii also added to the headache of the airline. Analyst Catherine O. Brien lowered her rating to be able to sell her shares, saying the new bonds could reduce Southwest's pre-tax margins by 60 basis points.
"We continue to be positive about LUV's long-term thesis, but we prefer ALK for the moment," she said in a note to customers Tuesday night.
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