Pilots and flight attendants of Southwest Airlines are set to receive subscriptions to restaurant delivery service DoorDash from the airline giant starting Oct. 12.
Southwest will hand every active crew member a six-month subscription to the delivery meal service so meals can be delivered to their hotel rooms. The airline giant made the decision to help crew members with the issue of food and transportation shortages that began this summer. Southwest confirmed the DoorDash deal on Friday, Oct. 8. This perk comes in close proximity to the mass cancelation of flights by Southwest.
In a memo sent to crew members, Southwest stated that the pandemic has affected the everyday lives of everyone in more ways than can be counted.
“As it relates to your workday, we recognize that the staffing issues felt throughout the airports, hotels, restaurants and the travel industry as a whole made it difficult to get a meal during your days and overnights,” the memo to Southwest’s crew members read.
This summer, crew members struggled to find hotel rooms. It was also difficult to acquire meals and transportation due to the labor shortage that plagued airlines and the service industry.
A grievance was filed by Southwest Airlines’ flight attendant union, TWU Local 556, over the issue. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association is currently suing the company in federal court over issues originating from conditions since the airline industry traffic started to rebound this spring.
American Airlines, Southwest’s competition, is also dealing with similar issues. Many of its crews have complained of shortages of staff who are responsible for arranging hotels for them. According to unions, crew members have shown up in assigned hotels only to learn that their reservations have not been made.
The deal between Southwest Airlines and DoorDash will apply to over 24,000 employees.