Crisis Public Relations:

April 17, 2018 was a normal day for those passengers boarding flight 1380 from New York to Dallas. Until the unthinkable happens when a blade in the rotor of the left engine breaks loose causing to engine to explode mid-flight and sending a plume of debris up the fuselage shattering windows and causing the cabin to depressurize. Lucky for those aboard their pilot Tammie Jo Shultz, was a navy veteran pilot who was able to safely and quickly land the plane before more damage could be done

With 1 dead, having been partially ejected from the plane in air, and 8 wounded this would have been very bad for any airline. Not Southwest. Upon the safe landing of the plane and evacuating of the passengers CEO Gary Kelly got straight to work. All passengers were given free accommodation and travel, trauma counseling, a heartfelt statement from Kelly himself to the passengers, notes under hotel room doors reminding them they had 24/7 counseling services whenever they needed. Not only that but Southwest immediately pulled all advertising from social media. All passenegers received personal phone calls and emails as well as $5,000 with no strings attached and $1,000 travel vouchers for Southwest. Their team also kept running tabs on social media and other channels to keep update on what people were saying and sharing. As PR Daily stated "When The New York Times follows a disaster with the headline “Southwest pilot of Flight 1380 is Navy veteran hailed for her ‘nerves of steel'", you know you got your messaging right.". This was a terrible situation but with PR like what Southwest exhibited as well as the personal care it had shown to each of those passengers we may not have continued to see Southwest Airlines for much longer.