'SNL': Michael B. Jordan Skewers Southwest Airlines Over Holiday Cancellations

Saturday Night Live took shots at Southwest Airlines this weekend, and host Michael B. Jordan didn't hold back. Southwest came under fire during the holiday season when it canceled about 16,700 flights in just 10 days, leaving travelers stranded all over the country. In response, SNL made a parody ad for the airline starring Jordan and a handful of cast members.

The two-minute pre-recorded sketch was one of the highlights of the night, starring Jordan as a Southwest employee along with Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Punkie Johnson and several others. With contrived smiles on their faces, they acknowledged the airline's faults and proposed outlandish ways the company would improve their operation, from upgrading their computer systems to minimizing their security process.

"Over the holiday season, we messed up," Gardner said with a straight face. "Our system collapsed and thousands of flyers were left stranded. And you understandably screamed at us for days on end, even more than you usually do."

The parody ad aimed most of its mockery at the airline itself, but it reserved some for the customers as well. Toward the end, Gardner said: "Here at Southwest, mistakes were made, and that's on us, mostly. But some of it's on you. Again, you bought a Southwest ticket. You obviously don't respect yourself, so why should we?" It ended with a new slogan – "Southwest: if it's that important to you, just walk."

The news of Southwest's catastrophic delays is about a month old now, but new details came out on Thursday in a fourth-quarter earnings call, according to a report by USA Today. The company reported lost $800 million from its canceled flights in the last week and a half of December, with a total loss of $220 million for the quarter. As SNL noted, the airline is also under investigation by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The Department of Transportation is reportedly investigating whether Southwest scheduled more flights than it could have expected to handle, to the detriment of its customers. If so, this could be considered "deceptive trade practices" – a violation of federal law. Southwest claims that its scheduling process is "thoughtfully designed" and that it had adequate staffing for the season, so it's not clear where the failure lies.

This was Jordan's first time hosting SNL and by all accounts it was a success. The actor was promoting Creed III, which he directed as well as starred in. The movie premieres in March, and Jordan's episode of SNL is streaming now on Peacock and Hulu.