STORY: Southwest Airlines is still feeling the heat from a tech meltdown that left thousands of travelers stranded over the holidays.

The airline on Thursday warned of a loss in the current quarter as passengers shunned the carrier in the immediate aftermath of the debacle – which saw Southwest cancel nearly 17,000 flights between Christmas and New Year’s due to what the company said was outdated crew scheduling software.

As a result, the largest U.S. domestic carrier estimates a revenue hit of between $300 million and $350 million in the first quarter.

The airline also expects non-fuel operating costs to be higher than its previous estimate, in part due to extra pay it has offered to workers for dealing with the December meltdown.

And Southwest forecast even more pain to come… as it faces regulatory scrutiny over its handling of the fiasco.

The airline’s under-fire chief executive, Bob Jordan, on Thursday again apologized for the mass cancellations, which were attributed to software that buckled under the weight of staff reassignments after severe winter weather left crew members stranded around the country.

The meltdown led to an adjusted loss of $226 million in the quarter through December, robbing it of the gains from booming holiday travel demand.

Rival carriers United, Delta and American have all reported higher-than-expected earnings for the quarter.

Southwest expects to spend about $1.3 billion this year on technology investments, upgrades, and system maintenance.