January 13th, 2023, Shinmin Bali
Following the Christmas and New Year holiday period in the US, which saw Southwest Airlines cancel thousands of flights, the airline is forecasting huge losses for the fourth quarter. While Southwest Airlines resumed normal operations from 30 December 2022, some passengers were still struggling to reunite with their missing baggage from cancelled flights in early January.
Just how badly was Southwest Airlines impacted during the US holiday period?
According to YouGov BrandIndex - which tracks consumer sentiment towards thousands of brands daily - the impact has been felt fast and deep. The Index metric - which is an overall measure of brand health made up of General Impression, Customer Satisfaction, Quality, Value, Corporate Reputation and Recommendation scores for the brand - has gone from a net score of 23 on 12 December 2022 to –1.2 on 11 January 2023.
The Buzz metric - which measures whether consumers are hearing more positive or negative things about the brands - suffered the most. Its net score was 11.6 on 12 December 2022 and dropped as low as -43.5 on 3 January 2023, before climbing back up to -30.9 on 11 January 2023. The last time the Buzz score crossed into negative territory was between 15 November 2021 and 20 January 2022. However, even then, it didn't slip beyond -3.
After the season’s harrowing experiences with the air carrier, would flyers still recommend the airline to friends and family?
They’re much less likely to do that now, as the Recommend metric - which identifies brands that consumers tell their friends and colleagues to avoid and those they recommend to them - would suggest. The net score for the metric has gone from 23 on 12 December 2022 to -3 on 11 January 2023. At its lowest within this time period, the score had dropped down to -9 on 5 January 2023.
The Value metric - which measures whether the brand represents poor or good value for customers’ money - though now in recovery, hasn’t fared much better than the rest. While the Value metric did cross into negative territory, it didn’t stay there for as long. Its net score was 22 on 12 December 2022, -2 on 8 January 2023 and 1 on 11 January 2023.
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Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Southwest Airlines’ Value metric score is based on the question: Which of the following airlines do you think represents good value for money/poor value for money? and delivered as a net score between -100 and +100. Its Recommendation score is based on the question: Which of the following airlines would you recommend to a friend or colleagues? And which of the following airlines would you tell a friend or colleague to avoid? and delivered as a net score between -100 and +100. Index score is an overall measure of brand health, made up of General Impression, Customer Satisfaction, Quality, Value, Corporate Reputation and Recommendation and delivered as a net score between -100 and +100. Its Buzz metric score is based on the question: Which of the following airlines have you heard something positive about (whether in the news, through advertising, or talking to friends and family)? / Now which of the following have you heard something negative about over the past two weeks?, and delivered as a net score between -100 and +100. Scores are based on an average daily sample size of 494 US adults between 12 December 2022 and 11 January 2023. Figures are based on a one-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.
Photo by Miguel Ángel Sanz on Unsplash