Southwest Airlines Tries To Calm Affected Passengers With 25K Flier Points

Southwest Airlines Co LUV has added 25,000 frequent-flier points in addition to ticket refunds and reimbursement to travelers affected by its cascade of flight cancellations over the holidays.
“I know that no amount of apologies can undo your experience,” a letter from Southwest Chief Executive Bob Jordan says.
The airline did not disclose the number of passengers affected by nearly 16,000 flight cancellations and the number of points it issued.
Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz says Points.com, which handles the points issuance for the airline, reported a high volume of traffic to the site to redeem the offer. He called that “a good thing” and nothing out of the ordinary. Mr. Mainz says Southwest expects the wait times to decrease.
A passenger received a message: “Thank you for your patience. Your estimated wait time is 1 hour and 5 minutes. We are experiencing a high volume of traffic and using a virtual queue to limit the amount of users on the website at the same time.”
The airline says the bonus points are worth more than $300. Wall Street Journal writes that the value will vary because Southwest’s point redemptions vary based on trip distance and demand.
Price Action: LUV shares are up 0.55% at $32.78 during the premarket session on the last check Wednesday.