Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co’s 2022 nightmare before Christmas is unlikely to inflict long-lasting damage to the carrier’s reputation if management compensates customers and makes good on vows of operational changes, communications and management professionals say. In recent days, social media has been flooded by angry Southwest customers after storms and shaky computer systems forced the airline, the largest domestic ...

  Bloomberg Australians spent a record-breaking A$74.5 billion ($50.4 billion) in the run-up to Christmas, a sign that rising prices and soaring interest rates have yet to weaken consumer demand. Retail sales across Australia surged 8.6% between November 1 and Decemebr 24 from a year ago, according to figures released by Australian Retailers Association in partnership with Westpac DataX. Trading ...

  Bloomberg Hong Kong scrapped its closed-loop requirement for international airline crews, ending almost two years of pandemic-related restrictions on flight staff. Transport officials in the Asian financial hub told airline industry representatives of the change, which took effect immediately, people familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified because they’re not authorised to speak publicly. The change means ...