What's wrong with Southwest Airlines?

Flight attendants and pilots sleeping on floors. Vast piles of luggage — some with presents inside, some with medication — stuck in the wrong airport. And frustrated travelers stuck on hold for hour after hour. Southwest Airline's cascading failures have checked a veritable bingo card of travel nightmares.

Why does Southwest Airlines have a bad schedule?

But Southwest (LUV) also hurt itself with an aggressive schedule and by underinvesting in its operations. Southwest’s schedule includes shorter flights with tighter turnaround times, which are causing some of the problems, Kathleen Bangs, a FlightAware spokesperson, told CNN. “Those turnaround times bog things down,” Bangs said.

Why did the FAA not investigate Southwest Airlines?

The FAA said at the time that Southwest was flying aircraft with “unresolved” safety concerns and inspectors from the agency failed to review the airline’s risk assessments or “safety culture,” adding the FAA couldn’t ensure Southwest “operates at the highest degree of safety in the public’s interest.”