Southwest Offers Incentives for Independence Day Help

Coming off a weekend where Southwest Airlines was forced to cancel hundreds of flights, the carrier is now offering employees incentives to take extra work heading into the Independence Day holiday. The carrier is offering double pay for operational and flight attendant staff, but not pilots.

With the goal of keeping operations as normal as possible over what could be the biggest travel holiday of the summer, Southwest Airlines is offering some of their employees double pay for extra shifts through July 7, 2021. CNBC reports the airline is offering the incentives to both operations staff and flight attendants.

Southwest Double Pay Period Runs July 1-7, 2021

According to internal memos sent to the two employee groups, Southwest is offering the additional money in hopes of preventing a network meltdown. Over the weekend of June 25, 2021, the carrier was forced to cancel hundreds of flights between storm conditions and a potential shortage of staff.

“We have heard from many of you who are frustrated with our network reliability and irregular operations created by summer storms across many parts of the country,” wrote Southwest executive vice president of daily operations Alan Kasher, as quoted by CNBC. “To address the situation for the short term, we will be incentivizing our Ops Employees during this busy holiday travel week by increasing overtime pay from July 1 through July 7.”

While the incentives will be offered to operational staff and flight attendants, pilots will be excluded from earning more for flying additional hours. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) said the Dallas-based carrier offered the double pay option to captains and first officers, but they called the move “inadequate.” With hundreds of pilots still out on voluntary leave programs, the union is placing the blame on Southwest for attempting to ramp up their flights too quickly.

“It has been clear (since spring!) that our operation was on track for a brutal summer,” SWAPA wrote in a communication to their workers, as quoted by CNBC. “Caused by overselling a schedule that they absolutely cannot fill.”

Flyers Brace for Cancellations Ahead of Independence Day

With flyers expected to travel in droves over the Fourth of July, analysts are warning travelers to prepare for delays and cancellations due to three factors: weather, staff shortages and capacity issues. If your flight is cancelled over the weekend, experts speaking to The Washington Post recommend travelers use the airline’s mobile app for support and pack supplies – like snacks and phone charging batteries – to survive an extra long layover.