LUV CLASS ACTION NOTICE: Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Files Securities Fraud Lawsuit Against Southwest Airlines Co.

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP (“GPM”), announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas captioned Carlson v. Southwest Airlines Co,, et al., Case No. 4:23-cv-00920, on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Southwest Airlines Co. (“Southwest Airlines” or the “Company”) (NYSE: LUV) securities between June 13, 2020 and December 31, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Plaintiff pursues claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).

Southwest Airlines investors have until March 13, 2023 to file a lead plaintiff motion.

If you suffered a loss on your Southwest Airlines investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information at www.glancylaw.com/cases/southwest-airlines-co-1/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at shareholders@glancylaw.com or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights.

On June 14, 2021, after the market closed, news outlets reported that Southwest Airlines flights were being delayed due to a nationwide technical difficulty with the Company’s weather information system.

On June 15, 2021, during market hours, news outlets including CNBC reported that Southwest Airlines canceled more flights on Tuesday, June 15, 2021 due to a network connectivity issue that was unrelated to the problems on Monday with the Company’s weather information system.

On this news, Southwest Airlines’ share price fell $0.16 per share to close at $57.12 per share on June 15, 2021, thereby injuring investors.

Then, during market hours on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, news outlets reported that Southwest Airlines was delaying and canceling flights for a third day in a row due to continuing technical issues. The New York Times published an article entitled, “Southwest Airlines Delays and Cancels Flights for a Third Day.” The article explained that “[t]he headaches began with problems with a weather data supplier on Monday, then technical troubles on Tuesday, and the issues spilled over into Wednesday.”

On this news, Southwest Airlines’ share price fell $0.45 to close at $56.67 per share on June 16, 2021, thereby injuring investors. The Company’s share price continued to decline on June 17, 2021, falling another $1.10 per share to close at $55.57 on June 17, 2021, thereby further injuring investors.

Then, on Saturday, October 9, 2021, Southwest Airlines published a tweet on Twitter.com stating that “ATC [air traffic control] issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend while we work to recover our operation.” The same day, AZ Central published an article reporting that “Southwest cancels, delays hundreds of flights nationwide.” AZ Central reported that, after receiving pushback that the Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) delay website showed no evidence of delays, Southwest Airlines issued an updated statement stating that the delays resulted “after an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations.” By Saturday afternoon, the Company had 568 cancellations and 717 delayed flights nationwide. Additional news outlets echoed and expanded on the disclosure, reporting that Southwest Airlines flights were being canceled or delayed as part of a major nationwide problem.

On October 11, 2021, the first trading day following the disclosures, Southwest Airlines’ share price fell $2.25, or 4.17%, to close at $51.67 per share on October 11, 2021, thereby injuring investors.

Then, on December 27, 2022, Reuters published an article entitled “Southwest cancels thousands more flights; U.S. Government Vows Scrutiny.” This article quoted Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (the “SWAPA”), who said “Southwest is using outdated technology and processes, really from the ‘90s, that can’t keep up with the network complexity today.”

On this news, Southwest Airlines stock fell from a closing price of $36.09 on December 23, 2022, to $33.94 on the next trading day, December 27, 2022, and then to $32.19 on December 28, 2022, a drop of more than 12%.

On December 31, 2022, The New York Times published an article entitled “The Shameful Open Secret Behind Southwest’s Failure,” which discussed how it was an “open secret” within Southwest Airlines that it desperately needed to modernize its scheduling systems. In particular, the article discussed how software shortcomings had “contributed to previous, smaller-scale meltdowns,” and that Southwest Airlines worker unions had warned the Company about the software at various times before the Company’s meltdown over the 2022 holiday season.

On this news, Southwest Airlines stock price fell from a closing price of $33.67 on December 30, 2022 to $32.6 on the next trading day, January 3, 2023, a drop of more than 3%.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) Southwest Airlines continuously downplayed or ignored the serious issues with the technology it used to schedule flights and crews, and how it stood to be affected worse than other airlines in the event of inclement weather; (2) it did not discuss how its unique point-to-point service and aggressive flight schedule could leave it prone to prolonged delays in the event of inclement weather; and (3) as a result, Defendants’ statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

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If you purchased or otherwise acquired Southwest Airlines securities during the Class Period, you may move the Court no later than March 13, 2023 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff. To be a member of the Class you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the Class. If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Charles Linehan, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.

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