Red Banyan Founder and CEO Evan Nierman explains in PR News why Southwest Airlines’ CEO may have harmed the carrier’s reputation by failing to testify before Congress. In the wake of the airline’s disastrous meltdown last December, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee peppered Southwest Airlines COO Andrew Watterson with sharp questions in an hours-long, tense interrogation. Watterson stepped in for CEO Bob Jordan who said he could not attend the committee hearing. Nierman notes in the article how Jordan’s absence will likely prompt more questions about the airline’s scheduling problems, which resulted in nearly 17,000 cancellations last year during the holidays. Read the entire article here.