by It was excessive time “Saturday Night Live” spoofed the historic Southwest meltdown that upended hundreds of vacationers’ plans over the vacations — and the present delivered with one in every of its funniest business parodies up to now.
The sketch that aired throughout final weekend’s episode started with a treacly piano accompaniment as forged members Heidi Gardner and Devon Walker supplied up a halfhearted apology on behalf of the airline.
“Over the vacation season, we tousled,” Gardner stated, portraying fictional air concierge Rachel Dougherty. “Our system collapsed, and hundreds of flyers had been left stranded. And you understandably screamed at us for days on finish. Even greater than you often do.”
Not to fret — Southwest is rolling out “a greater, extra trendy expertise.”
The business went on to skewer the airline’s inside know-how system by promising to improve to 2008 Dell computer systems, a step above its beforehand used 2002 ThinkPad laptops “with the little crimson nipple within the center.” (Those computer systems will now be used for the airline’s modernized air visitors management community as a substitute of a pen and paper.)
Southwest additionally unveiled a brand new premier lounge for its valued prospects — a number of tables within an lively Starbucks, as flagship lounge flooring captain Donald Sparks (host Michael B. Jordan) proudly introduced — and vowed to streamline check-in by “not having one in any respect,” per ramp agent Meghan O’Niel (Punkie Johnson).
Thanks to the refurbished system, the pilots even get a number of perks, too.
“Now I get a correct flight schedule as a substitute of discovering out the place I’m going quarter-hour earlier than takeoff,” captain Tom Wilkime (James Austin Johnson) stated with a chuckle.
In the top, the airline owned as much as its faults however didn’t fairly take full accountability.
“Let’s hold it actual,” Gardner stated. “You purchased the ticket. Again, you purchased a Southwest ticket. You clearly don’t respect your self, so why ought to we?”
Watch the total clip under:
The phase was launched as the actual Southwest faces a class-action lawsuit and the specter of a pilots’ strike. In an announcement launched earlier this month, CEO Bob Jordan stated the airline was “rising from a few of the most difficult days in our Company’s historical past,” emphasizing that “just about all” passengers’ checked baggage that had piled up in airports had been returned and that “almost all” refunds had been issued to passengers who requested them. Jordan stated Southwest can also be nonetheless “processing tens of hundreds of reimbursement requests a day.”
