Lessons from Southwest’s IT Debacle

January 11, 2023 Alex Woodie

During the historic Christmas Blizzard of 2022, air traffic came nearly to a standstill across the United States. Most major airlines rebounded before the ice fully melted, but Southwest Airlines was unable to get its Boeing 737s back up in the air. The main reason cited may have a familiar ring to it for IBM i shops: An overreliance on outdated, legacy technology.

Not all the details are known about what went on at Southwest Airlines during the week that followed the winter storm that decimated the eastern half of the country for several days, starting on Christmas Eve. But …