The blizzard is just one reason behind the operational meltdown at Southwest Airlines

December 27, 2022 4:18 PM ET (Easter time)

By JENNIFER LUDDEN SCOTT NEUMAN

A flight board shows canceled flights at the Southwest Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday.

Eugene Garcia/AP

The cliché about a "perfect storm" could hardly be a more apt description of the situation right now for Southwest Airlines — a carrier that has been forced to cancel more than 60% of its flights over the busy Christmas travel season as it struggles to get back on course after a devastating blizzard that socked in much of the United States.

在强烈的暴雪使得美国多数机场关闭后，西南航空仍在努力恢复航线。但在忙碌的圣诞旅行日下（晴空），西南航空却取消了超过60%的飞行航班，显然老一套的“巨大暴雪”原因,并不能够进一步解释西南航空现在的情况.

sock in  机场关闭

of inclement or visibilityreducing weather, to completely enclose someone, something, or some place, especially as results in closure, immobility, or inoperability. Often used in passive constructions

While Southwest isn't the only airline to experience delays and cancellations, it is by far the worst-hit. More than 5,500 Southwest flights have been taken off departure boards across the country in the last two days, compared to 311 cancellations for Delta, which had the second-most cancellations by a U.S. airline..

当然，西南航空并不是唯一一个经历延迟和取消航线的航空公司，但却是最糟糕严重的一个，全国各地的西南航空的航班表上被取消航班超过5500个，与之相对比的是美国第二大取消量的达美航空,331个航班。

take off 起飞 （拿下 取下）

1. verb Literally, to physically remove something or someone from someone, oneself, or something else. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "take" and "off."

4. verb To rise into the air in flight.

Analysts say Southwest's problems are the result of a confluence of events — not just the severe weather, but staff shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as employees out sick with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Most important is an outdated computer system for crew scheduling that turned what would have been simply a challenging storm into a full-scale meltdown.

分析的人称，西南问题不只是单纯恶劣天气的问题，而是多方因素汇聚共同导致的结果，除了因为新冠导致的人员紧缺，同样还有，因感染流感和呼吸道合胞病毒生病请假的员工。最重要的是过时的员工安排系统，这些因素使得单一的暴雪挑战变成了全面崩溃。

"In short, everything possible has gone wrong for Southwest, including some problems of their own making," says Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, a travel website. "At this point, we can very safely say that this is no longer a weather-related disturbance. We've had clear skies in the United States for several days now, more or less, and Southwest is the only airline that is failing so spectacularly here."

旅游网站（Thrifty Traveler）的执行主编凯尔·波特（Kyle Potter）表示，简而言之，西南任何事情都可能出错，包括他们自己，在美国，我们现在至少有过多天的晴空，且西南是唯一一个失败的如此彻底的航空公司。在这点上，我可以负责的说，这已经不再是天气问题。

That failure has attracted the attention of Congress. On Tuesday, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released a statement saying the committee would look into "the causes of these disruptions and its impact to customers."

周二，这个失败事件，引起了国会的注意。华盛顿州，参议院商业，科学和运输委员会主席，参议员Maria Cantwell发布声明称，委员会将调查“这次中断的原因及其对客户的影响。

For Southwest passenger Taylor McClain, 34, the saga started last Thursday, when his morning flight from Salt Lake City into Chicago Midway was canceled. He rebooked for a 3 p.m. that didn't end up departing until 9 p.m.

34岁的西南航空乘客,泰勒·麦克莱恩（Taylor McClain）上周四经历了一连串事件，他早上从盐湖城飞往芝加哥中途岛的航班被取消。于是他重新预订了下午3点的航班，但直到晚上9点才离开。

McClain's return to Utah has been even more harrowing. He was scheduled to leave Chicago late Monday. It was canceled. Now, the soonest he's been able to reschedule is for Thursday night.

麦克莱恩返回犹他州的过程更加折磨人。他原定于周一晚些时候离开芝加哥。但被取消了。现在，他能最快重新安排的时间是在周四晚上。

At least he's lucky to be with his parents, but "I will burn multiple days of unplanned vacation and absorb four days worth of extra kennel fees for the dog I can't get back to," he says.

至少他幸运的和他的父母在一起，但他将浪费很多天在意外的假期上，并且不得不花费额外的四天照顾费为了无法回去照顾他的狗。

"It was awful. It really was," McClain says, adding that he feels bad for fellow Southwest passengers who face even worse predicaments.

麦克莱恩说，这真的非常糟心，并为其他面对更加困难处境的西南乘客感到难过。

He says he's flown Southwest for the past decade, but he will wait and see how the company makes him whole before deciding to fly with the airline again

他说在过去的十年里他一直乘坐西南航空，但现在，在他决定乘坐西南航班之前，他将关注并等待这家公司做出怎样的大革新。

End

众说纷纭，不过我影响最深刻的是 hub and spoke system 

说是西南航空在点对点的模式下运行但不如轮辐模式有优势，新闻还有一些可以去npr观看。总的来说，在圣诞节这么大的节日下真是一件非常糟心的事情。