Southwest Airlines Offers Incentives To Retain Flight Attendants During Peak Holiday Period

In an effort to maintain adequate staffing levels during the busy holiday travel period, Southwest Airlines Co LUV on Saturday offered its employees new incentives to help avoid flight cancellations.

What Happened: Flight attendants, pilots and operations employees could receive up to 120,000 Rapid Rewards points, a value of more than $1,400, according to an internal Southwest memo.

Additionally, flight attendants eligible to work 36 days between Nov. 15 and Jan. 14, and cabin crews who work 28 days over that period could get 60,000 points.

Southwest is also offering triple pay to employees in ground operations for Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with double pay for overtime shifts during the two holidays.

Why It Matters: During Columbus Day weekend, Southwest was forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights, costing the airline $75 million.

According to the memo, written by Southwest’s vice-president Sonya Lecore, in charge of inflight operations and cabin crews, the number of no shows or inaccessible flight attendants has increased recently. The airline has removed emergency policies which required that flight attendants show a physician’s note to call out sick.

American Airlines Group AAL, which is also offering flight attendants and crew members extra pay for holiday shifts, was impacted by mass flight cancellations late last month and in early November.

Related Link: Why Delta's CEO Is Optimistic About Leisure, Business Travel: 'There's Enormous Pent-Up Demand'