Illinois

Southwest says it expects normal operations to resume Friday

Published

2 years ago

December 29, 2022

Southwest says it expects normal operations to resume Friday

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airways mentioned it expects to return to regular operations Friday after slashing about two-thirds of its schedule in latest days, together with canceling one other 2,350 flights Thursday.

Airline executives advised workers that crew scheduling this week— a significant explanation for the meltdown — has been mounted.

Southwest is struggling to recuperate after being overwhelmed by a winter storm that left tons of of pilots and flight attendants stranded out of place to function flights.

It’s doubtless that way over 1 million passengers have been affected. Southwest has canceled greater than 13,000 flights since its meltdown started on Dec. 22. Its planes have 143 to 175 seats and have been doubtless almost totally booked across the Christmas and New 12 months’s holidays.

Different airways are again to full energy. Delta, American and United collectively canceled round 30 flights by late morning, in response to tracker FlightAware.

Southwest’s cancellations amounted to 58% of its schedule, barely higher than in earlier days. The Dallas service accounted for greater than 95% of all canceled flights in the USA on Thursday.

Southwest has acknowledged that it has insufficient and outdated expertise that may go away flight crews out of place when unhealthy climate strikes. However firm executives advised workers that issues with crew-scheduling have largely been mounted.

“Proper now it seems to be like a reasonably clean operation as we head into this transition (Thursday) to permit us to renew operations on Friday at our regular schedule, which is a giant step up,” Chief Working Officer Andrew Watterson advised workers by video Wednesday evening.

BLEEPED PROFANITY: A Southwest passenger finds his bag at discovering his bag at Chicago Halfway Worldwide Airport on Wednesday. (Source: WBBM/CNN)

The airline has declined requests to make executives accessible for remark and didn’t present an replace about operations on its web site. Its important public outreach has been to submit video statements by CEO Robert Jordan and its chief industrial officer.

Jordan faces a disaster simply 11 months after he turned CEO, changing longtime chief Gary Kelly. Southwest had 88 planes and seven,000 workers when Jordan joined 35 years in the past. Now it has greater than 700 planes and greater than 60,000 workers.

Chatting with reporters a month in the past at Southwest headquarters in Dallas, a relaxed and jocular Jordan spoke in glowing phrases concerning the airline’s tradition and customer support. He outlined 5 priorities, together with modernizing the airline’s expertise for scheduling pilots and flight attendants.

“I do assume the size and the expansion of the airline acquired forward of the instruments that we now have,” he mentioned. “No fault of anyone — takes funding — and we’ll get all this achieved.”

Jordan didn’t give a timeline or greenback determine for that funding, or clarify why the airline had not already achieved the work. However his feedback concerning the airline’s archaic crew-scheduling system appeared to foreshadow one of many main causes of the present meltdown — the shortcoming to get pilots and flight attendants in place when there’s a disruption to the operation.

“We now have lots of crews shifting everywhere in the nation,” he mentioned then. “In the event that they get reassigned — they should go to a special metropolis or totally different flight than they thought, or they get reassigned to a brand new resort — any person must name them or principally within the airport chase them down and inform them what their re-route seems to be like.

“So at our measurement and scale, that’s simply not OK.”

The federal authorities is investigating what occurred at Southwest.

A girl should cancel her marriage ceremony after her flight to Belize was canceled. (Credit score: CNN Newsource)

Southwest added a web page to its web site particularly for stranded vacationers, and it invited prospects to submit receipts for sudden bills. The airline mentioned it could contemplate reimbursing “cheap” bills for meals, resort rooms and alternate transportation incurred between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2. Shopper advocates criticized using the phrase “cheap” as too obscure.

1000’s of consumers have been unable to succeed in the airline this week, as Southwest’s telephone system was overwhelmed. Pilots and flight attendants additionally reported being placed on maintain for hours.

Buyers seem to assume that Southwest may lastly be getting a deal with on the disaster. The corporate’s shares rose greater than 3% in afternoon buying and selling, however they remained down 8% for the week.

The airline has not given an estimate for a way a lot income it has misplaced and the way a lot additional price it’ll incur – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and a few members of Congress are demanding that Southwest pay stranded vacationers for resort rooms, meals and substitute flights they booked on different airways.

One indication of the value tag: Southwest mentioned a disruption in October 2021 price it $75 million. That meltdown was far smaller, leading to about 2,000 canceled flights over a four-day stretch. Again then, as this week, Southwest’s answer was to chop its schedule to stabilize the operation.

Southwest has been essentially the most worthwhile U.S. airline to this point this 12 months, incomes $759 million in web revenue by September.

Raymond James airline analyst Savanthi Syth mentioned Thursday that she nonetheless expects the corporate to submit a small revenue within the fourth quarter, however that some shoppers are prone to swap from Southwest to different airways over the following few months when reserving journey.

Source link

Click to comment

Illinois

Illinois' best elementary schools revealed in new report. Here are the top 25

Published

8 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Press Room

Illinois' best elementary schools revealed in new report. Here are the top 25

A number of schools from Chicago and the suburbs were recognized as among the top elementary schools in Illinois, according to a new list.

The “2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools” list from U.S. News and World Report examined more than 79,000 public schools in all 50 states, a press release revealed. Editors used publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze mathematics and reading performance at the state and district levels — while accounting for student background and achievement in core subjects.

For a school corporation to receive a district-level ranking, at least two of the top performing schools must rank in the top 75% of the overall elementary or middle school rankings, according to the website. In all, 47,573 elementary schools and 23,861 middle schools were assessed.

In Illinois, a total of 3,421 schools were ranked. Seven of the top 25 schools in the state were Chicago Public Schools, including the top school, Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center.

Almost all of the top 25 schools were in either the city or suburbs — except for No. 10 – Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Rockford and No. 22 – Congerville Elementary School in downstate Woodford County.

Following behind Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center was Hinsdale’s Oak Elementary School and Naperville’s Meadows Glen Elementary School at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center, a Chicago Public School, and Brook Forest Elementary School rounded out the top five.

Here’s a look into the top 25 elementary schools in Illinois, according to the report.

Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center – Chicago
Oak Elementary School – Hinsdale
Meadows Glen Elementary School – Naperville
Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center – Chicago
Brook Forest Elementary School – Oak Brook
Elm Elementary School – Burr Ridge
Forest Hills Elementary School – Western Springs
The Lane Elementary School – Hinsdale
Eisenhower Academy – Joliet
Thurgood Marshall Elementary School – Rockford
Skinner North Elementary School – Chicago
Greenbriar Elementary School – Northbrook
Westmoor Elementary School – Northbrook
Ellsworth Elementary School – Naperville
Prospect Elementary School – Clarendon Hills
Walker School – Clarendon Hills
Lincoln Elementary School – River Forest
Highlands Elementary School – Naperville
Bronzeville Classical Elementary School – Chicago
George B Carpenter Elementary School – Park Ridge
Madison Elementary School – Hinsdale
Congerville Elementary School – Congerville
Decatur Classical Elementary School – Chicago
Lincoln Elementary School – Chicago
Hawthorne Elementary Scholastic Academy – Chicago

Source link

Illinois

No I-Pass Sticker Yet? Illinois Tollway Extends The Deadline

Published

15 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Press Room

No I-Pass Sticker Yet? Illinois Tollway Extends The Deadline

Even though the Illinois Tollway would really like it if you would make the switch soon from the plastic I-Pass transponder you have over to the new I-Pass sticker tags, they understand that it’s going to be an ongoing process for Illinois drivers to make the switch. That’s why they’ve decided to extend the deadline for replacing your soon-to-be-outdated plastic transponder.

Source link

Illinois

Northwestern wins dual season opener 29-8 over Northern Illinois

Published

23 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Press Room

Northwestern wins dual season opener 29-8 over Northern Illinois

Redshirt freshman 125-pounder Dedrick Navarro’s gutsy decision win over No. 27 Blake West set the tone for Northwestern’s statement 29-8 victory over Northern Illinois Saturday.

NU entered its dual season opener with a point to prove, having lost to Northern Illinois 18-17 to start last year.

“After dropping a match to them that stung for a whole year, it was nice to go out there and not just win, but to really put it on them and win in dominating fashion,” coach Matt Storniolo said.

The night got off to a flying start as Navarro pulled off a stunning upset over West. An escape and a takedown by West put Navarro in a 0-4 hole entering the third period, but he battled back, scoring a takedown of his own before a trip with seconds left vaulted him to a 7-6 decision win.

Navarro said he tried to push the pace in the moment, and it felt good to get his first win of the dual season.

“We’ve only got a few years of this, so I’m just soaking it in and being grateful, having fun and putting on a show,” Navarro said.

The Huskies notched their first team points of the night in the 133-pound bout as redshirt sophomore Markel Baker won by major decision over sophomore Massey Odiotti. Three Baker takedowns in the first period cemented his 14-3 victory.

Graduate student 141-pounder No. 10 Chris Cannon made his NU homecoming with a 9-3 decision win over NIU’s Charles Curtis.

A two-time All-American for the Wildcats, Cannon transferred to Michigan before the 2024 season but missed nearly all of it after suffering a head injury in his dual season opener exactly one year ago Sunday. Storniolo said Cannon was not back to full strength yet, but that didn’t stop him from competing and winning.

“It was good for him to know that he’s still got that fight inside him,” he said.

No. 20. redshirt freshman 149-pounder Sam Cartella’s 15-0 win by technical fall put the ’Cats in the driver’s seat, and they didn’t look back from there. Dominant decision wins by No. 12 graduate student 157-pounder Trevor Chumbley and No. 16 redshirt senior 165-pounder Maxx Mayfield ran up the team score. Then, redshirt sophomore 174-pounder Joseph Martin secured his first dual meet win of his career, lasting nearly a minute underneath NIU’s Jake Evans without conceding a takedown and holding onto a narrow 4-0 lead.

Graduate student 184-pounder Jon Halvorsen secured extra team points by scoring a late takedown in his match, upgrading his victory from a decision win to a major decision win. He said his feelings after the win were unexplainable.

“The guys around me believe in me, and the coaches I have believe in me,” he said. “It’s just a reflection of my team and how awesome these guys are.”

A professional 19-4 win by No. 25 redshirt junior 197-pounder Evan Bates put the finishing touch on the NU rout.

Redshirt freshman 285-pounder Dirk Morley lost his match with NIU’s Jacob Christensen to end the night. An initially strong defensive performance unraveled in the third period, ending the night with a 12-2 loss by major decision.

In its return to the mat nine months after posting a 1-9 record, NU matched last season’s win total in one night. Storniolo attributed the team’s improvement to Cannon’s return to Evanston, Cartella’s continuing dominance in the 149-pound weight class and new faces like Navarro entering the lineup.

“Guys are hungry this year,” Storniolo said. “They feel like they really have something to prove after last year. They want to let the rest of Division I wrestling know that we’re a strong program, and last year doesn’t represent who we are as a team.”

The ’Cats are back at Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday at 2 p.m. to take on Little Rock.

Email: [email protected]

X: @sidvaraman

Related Stories:

—Wrestling: Northwestern starts season with three second-place finishes at Michigan State Open

—Wrestling: Northwestern earns first win before conference championships

—Wrestling: Winless Northwestern drops weekend matches to Wisconsin and Minnesota

Source link