> The lesson from all this, it seems to me, is that if a meltdown can happen to a company like Southwest, which has ample resources and talent, then it could ha

> The lesson from all this, it seems to me, is that if a meltdown can happen to a company like Southwest, which has ample resources and talent, then it could happen to anyone. That doesn't strike me as the lesson at all, the lesson seems to be that if you have a part of your process that is brittle (staff tracking & scheduling) you need to be aware of that limitation and either address it or not execute a business strategy that makes it sure to break under duress. American & United had a lot of delays and cancellations but they did not have to essentially shut down their airlines so they could spend a few days figuring out where their crews actually were! Southwest had to do that! (And many of the SW crews had to book their own accommodation in the hopes that they would be reimbursed because everything was broken.) The article does make it seem like the ptp model is the issue.. and it is the issue in the sense that ptp is certainly harder to support if you can't actually track where your staff is.. but having the worst staff tracking system in the industry and straining that part of your business by adding more routes that require more stringent staff tracking is kinda my point!