Southwest Airlines Reputation Crisis Day 35. Equity returns at 35 days normalized to the S&P500 returns are -6.2% (predicted -5.7%). It is under performing the Dow Jones US Airlines Index (DJUSAR) by 15.4%. The regression technology powering the equity impact model was derived from a study by Steel City Re, an ESG and reputation insurer.
Angry Reactions From Stakeholders. Southwest Airlines promoted five executives as the budget air carrier continues to reel from an operational meltdown that resulted in nearly 17,000 canceled flights over the chaotic holiday travel season. The company said … the moves would “strengthen our operational execution.” […] Nir Kossovsky, an expert on corporate risk and CEO of Steel City Re, told FOX Business that the angry reactions from apparent stakeholders is further evidence that Southwest is going through a “reputational crisis.”
Delayed maintenance creates reputation risk. In the aftermath of a meltdown that led to 16,700 flight cancellations and may cost the airline more than $800 million, blame has fallen on an outmoded crew scheduling system and an unusual point-to-point route network. […] Southwest has acknowledged putting updates to its crew scheduling system behind other improvements, despite long-standing complaints from pilots and flight attendants.
Culture limits risk strategy. Southwest was overwhelmed and unable to adapt as a severe storm swept the US. But behind those specific issues is an insular management team that critics say lacks the imagination and technology expertise to help avoid such crises. […] The carrier has a long-standing reputation of being slow to adopt new technology, and spent years implementing a new reservation system and updating its maintenance operations.
“There is a standard pattern after a major reputational event. It begins with the event that is usually emotionally charged and leaves a lot of people disappointed, and thereafter every different stakeholder group will have their say. Customers will obviously be disappointed, employees will be disappointed, and shareholders will be disappointed,” said Nir Kossovsky, a reputation risk expert. “
Southwest Airlines canceled between Dec. 22 and Jan. 1 around 37% of its schedule. […] The holiday flight disruption is likely to have lasting consequences for Southwest’s reputation, Nir Kossovsky, CEO of reputation risk insurer Steel City Re, said. “In addition to the large swath of customers who are angry and disappointed and likely to act on those feelings in the future, reputational damage of this magnitude often triggers a pile-on of regulators, litigators, and activists,” he said. “It’s no surprise Southwest’s shares are now underperforming the airline index.”
Mitigating an expectation shift: An effective, thoughtful risk strategy. Of the many on offer, only our solution is quantitative, battle-tested, quality management-proven, and grounded in four Nobel Prize winning insights. The bottom line: mitigating costly reputation risk by targeting factors that would lead to a shift in expectations
Carnell and Nir are two of the three speakers who will be delivering the general session titled, “Mitigating the Hazards of ESG-Linked Enterprise Risk,” at the RIMS ERM Conference on November 11th at 11:30 am. This session will explore the value proposition of how to manage ERM to mitigate ESG-linked reputation risk strategically. It will focus on the cultural aspects of rounding up the collaborators from legal and communications and risk insurance. Two of every 3 directors prefer value-creation through an ESG-linked reputation strategy.
Insurance Captive and Risk Strategy Transparency. The insurance captive is the key to making the value of a risk strategy transparently measurable to all stakeholders. An effective, insurance-authenticated risk strategy can mitigate the ESG risk du jour.
The Chicago Risk Forum, 2022 aims to be the premier event for the Chicago RIMS Chapter, partnering with our greater Midwest Risk Management and Insurance Community. The mission of CRF is to provide engaging, industry leading educational opportunities and the ability to network and build professional relationships within the Risk Management and Insurance industry. CRF …