New board topics in Discussion Forum

Southwest - Have a Heart

Rosanne — Thu, 06 May 2021 05:34:06 GMT

My brother died in March 2020

His wife, children and grandchildren planned a trip to Hawaii (his wife's home town) for October 2020 to scatter his ashes at the same place his son's ashes were scattered.

I never travel, but was going with them to honor my brother, The reservations were made in June 2020 for the October 2020 flight. On September 12 2020 my niece said to cancel the flight because of Covid restrictions, She said we would go October 2021. I cancelled the flight on Sept 12, 2020.

When I cancelled the flight, I saw that it said the funds will expire June 2021 but was assured by my niece that the funds really would not expire until Sept 2022 and she sent me a document that stated this from airfarewatchdog.com.

My niece notified me the other day of the new flight information for October 2021. I got online immediately to make reservations and was told that the travel funds will expire before the October trip.

I asked my niece if she had the same problem and she said she had forgotten to cancel the flights she reserved in 2020, and when Southwest cancelled the flight she got a full refund.

I reached out to Southwest twice begging them to please honor my funds for the new trip, I told them it was for a memorial. I told them my niece got a full refund and I even named those persons in my family who were booked last October and this October so they would know it was not a lie.

Southwest said no on the phone and responded to my written plea with a canned impersonal response saying NO!

I cannot go with the family without my travel credit being extended. So I sit here heartbroken with an ache in my heart with no recourse.

Long wait time horrible

Connie_96 — Thu, 06 May 2021 02:51:40 GMT

I’ve been waiting for over 3 hours this is insane .

Minor tickets refunds for adult rewards purchaser

krgrier — Thu, 06 May 2021 00:49:57 GMT

I booked and paid for one-way tickets for my 2 minor granddaughters and the price decreased, so I re-booked at the lower fare. The difference was a savings of $36.00 for each ticket. Since I'm a SWA rewards member, I should be able to get the refunded amount added to my account. These girls won't be traveling anytime soon, so that $72.00 will be forfeited back to SWA. I appealed to customer service but they are refusing to give the credit to me.
Shame on you SWA. This is BAD business. I'm not going away silent!

phone system

29640520 — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:34:12 GMT

what is going on at Southwest? called last night the call back option not working held for 2 hours and no one answered phone

Traveling Process for Young Traveler

bifriends — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:29:54 GMT

Hello!

I've been booked a flight as a young traveler (17) with another adult. I have a few questions and want to know a bit more about the process and required documents that I may need to travel smoothly!

- Will I have to check in with the adult that is booked with me or can I check in separately?

- What documents will I need to get through the entire check-in, security and boarding process? This includes TSA.

- If I do need a form of ID, will a school ID or a birth certificate suffice?

- What is the process like for traveling as a young traveler on Southwest Airlines? I want to get an idea and be ready for anything that may happen.

Flight attendants

smontoya72 — Wed, 05 May 2021 21:57:26 GMT

Been a Southwest Rewards customer for quite a while and always enjoyed our flights but, customer service are days that no longer exist in flying. It’s not cheap traveling and now it feels like your threatened as soon as your buns hit the seat! Flight Attendants threatened to throw you off the plane before you even leave the gates! We were TOLD what would be served as a refreshment and not to ask for anything else like a alcoholic beverage. Be prepared for a new way of flying. Cost is still the same with NO customer service at all.

Travel Funds

starwinfield — Wed, 05 May 2021 18:54:38 GMT

Each time I try to book a flight using travel funds I can never do so because of something in the system with the way my name is spelled. I type my name, copy and paste exactly how it is in my account and never any luck. Each time I have to call and by the time I get someone on the phone, the airfare cost has increased. Currently on hold for the last 20 minutes and I am expected to be on hold for 81 minutes. Ridiculous! Does anyone else have this issue?

First leg of flight cancelled with no notification and now on hold forever

hesterjay — Wed, 05 May 2021 17:04:15 GMT

I love Southwest Airlines but this is nuts. Just logged in to check my summer itinerary and the first leg from our home airport vanished! I have the confirmation email that shows the first leg but never received any notification that this leg was cancelled. Now I am on a 172 minute hold to try and fix it. Why wouldn't Southwest contact flyers for such a major shift? I get an email for a slight change in time but to eliminate a flight altogether?!?!?

Quick question

Nadinegm — Wed, 05 May 2021 17:00:49 GMT

I got my plane tickets already I put my new home address but I still have my ID with my old home address do I need a new ID to fly? To match my new home address or I’m ok with the ID I have right now

rental car

davisj — Wed, 05 May 2021 16:30:21 GMT

is there a way to find out more details about your rental car that has been reserved (such as, built in dvd player)? thanks for any help!

NON-PARENTAL adult travel w/11 yo child

ULRICHHARE — Wed, 05 May 2021 15:53:46 GMT

I'm planning a FAMILY trip with my daughters, grandkids and a family friend. We have permission from the friend's Father in Colorado, to take his Son, a Minor Child, and friend of my Grandson, with us from COLORADO to FLORIDA to meet up with his Mother in Tampa from 3-7 June. WHAT documentation do we/they need to authorize him traveling with us?

Sorry, we found some errors...

PookieWookie — Wed, 05 May 2021 15:38:15 GMT

I keep getting this error. I have cleared all browser history, cookies and tried using two different browsers. Does anyone know why this keeps happening?

Sorry, we found some errors...

We are unable to process your request. Please try again. If you continue to have difficulties, please contact a Southwest Airlines Customer Representative at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792).

Error details

Error detail 1: 126aad58-379a-48ff-b610-c2e7c4176416 : 403050700

Jobs

Hannahfredieu — Wed, 05 May 2021 15:35:00 GMT

Hi, I have been interested in becoming a flight attendant for you guys, I was wondering when applications would be open?

Convert travel funds

bcamer001 — Wed, 05 May 2021 14:30:03 GMT

I purchased 4 tickets which were canceled due to covid. The other 3 people will not travel and I would like to convert them so I might be able to fly somewhere. Is there anyway to convert them to to points or vouchers?

Den to Belize City

JasonB — Wed, 05 May 2021 02:54:53 GMT

I would love spend $s with and fly Southwest to Belize instead of using Delta, United or American to fly to our favor destination. Love southwest but may have to fly the competition. Spent 40 mins on hold in the alist queue for the customer service agent to tell me he had no idea if Belize will ever open back up.

Signed loyal Southwest customer

Return flight changed to a different city!

ggreen7953 — Wed, 05 May 2021 00:11:21 GMT

Why would southwest change my return flight to STL from FLL to TPA? It wouldn’t be so bad if I could change it back to FLL online, on the app or over the phone! I get error messages online & on the app, & apparently their phone lines are so busy, I cannot get a human being to pick up OR call me back! Am I the only person with this type of problem?

Request for refund to my credit card

Miguel56 — Tue, 04 May 2021 18:50:02 GMT

I requested a refund to my credit card today for a flight that was changed by Southwest. Since I cannot take the flights on the dates they changed them to I was told that my refund request was processed and it would take several days to see the refund on my credit card statement. I see online that money was put into my "travel funds" for this flight.

Does anyone know if this is normal? Will I eventually get the refund on my credit card?

Psychiatric Service Animal

Fertitta — Tue, 04 May 2021 16:33:18 GMT

Hello SW Family and much LUV

Hold times are 2+ hours so thought this forum might be a better Avenue for my detailed question.

My wife has a trained Psychiatric service animal and I have a trained Psychiatric service animal. Sometimes my wife and I fly together - sometimes we take business trips separately. But each of us always flies with our respective service animal because each dog is trained to do a specific yet different task for either of us.

We are familiar with the requirement to fill out the -U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form- and if applicable the additional relief form (on flights over 8 hours)

We want to be the best and hassle free passengers we can be and take all the right steps. Here are My questions in order to accomplish that goal:

Can we submit the [U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form] prior to the flight and get approval?...that way when we get to the airport there are no issues/holdups/snafu’s!

A couple other airlines (gasppp, don’t worry we barely fly anything else other than luv ❤️ - especially with our new companion pass!!) will allow you to submit your service animal DOT form and provide you with an ID card / number that can be used on other flights after being approved - Does southwest do something similar?

If preapproval is not an option - Is the [U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form] the only item we need to bring to the airport with us?

Looking forward to a lovely response from NicoleAshley, one of the other excellent moderators or the amazing fellow travelers that give great responses!

Cheers y’all!

Southwest used to be different and why do folks defend them

theoldgeezer — Tue, 04 May 2021 15:54:11 GMT

Southwest used to take care of their passengers and did what it took to do so, now they are no different and in some ways worse.

When Southwest started it was different:

1) They solved customer problems. A big issue back then was delays, they came up with a model that made them much better in this way than others.

2) They were low price and offered notable better value. I think Delta has the title now but if not, Southwest no longer is the clear price leader.

3) They were obsessed with taking care of their customers, even if that impacted the bottom line for that incident. I don't know if their hiring is different, their policies, or both, but today their standard response is "this is policy and no one can do anything about it". To be fair to some of their old-school employees, there are still a couple who will bend the rules to take care of you, but as a rule, it is an "it is your problem" attitude today.

4) The employees had fun and were fun. When was the last time you were on a Southwest flight when an attendant was fun or goofy, which was the norm in the past.

Southwest was founded and grew on providing a fun, value-based travel experience with great customer service across the board, I see none of that today and I wonder why folks keep defending them. The old Southwest didn't make excuses, they did whatever it took to take care of their customers. The new Southwest is just living off the legacy. Southwest needs to figure out how to deal with today's environment(just like they solved the delay issue with their early business model). There is no excuse for constantly changing routes and messing up folks plans and then not doing something to make up for it. Covid 19 has been around over (18) months, they have had plenty of time to figure out how to deal with it. The lack of timely customer service is a joke. Is it now a requirement of Southwest to get anything approaching decent customer service that you be on all the various social media and search for which one has the shortest time to reach someone. How about putting all these folks on phones(which everyone and demographic knows how to use) so that everyone waits the same amount and the average wait is reduced for everyone-not just those who can/will search all the media.

Southwest was founded on solving problems for their customers, now their focus is bottom line and excuses. They flourished when they put customers first, but now that they are like everyone else I expect they will decline or go away entirely. I coach a team that travels and until now flying with Southwest was my preference. Based on how I have been treated my team and I will no longer be doing this, and my frustration with the airline industry as a whole is such I am looking into buses and RVs to travel in to avoid the need to fly at all.

If anyone thinks things are going to return to normal I say they won't and shouldn't. The way Southwest is treating folks they should expect them to find alternatives to them if they choose to fly, if they don't find alternatives to flying entirely(like I wish to do)

Constant automatic changes to flights

Sickofsouthwest — Tue, 04 May 2021 13:34:16 GMT

6 people and 15 flights between us. ALL have been changed and they were changed to flights with extended fly times and multiple stops. They were all originally non stop flights. After being left on hold 3 of the times (some were able to be changed online in the app) I was able to change flights. I had to make a bunch of other arrangements, have family change scheduled days off, change hotel accommodations and car rentals causing upwards of $250 per change. After doing all of this, I start getting emails AGAIN stating they were changed! Now my 12 year old daughters flight was changed from a non stop to a flight with a stop and plane change, extended flight time (went from 4.5 hrs to 8.55 hrs) with arrival almost midnight! I can’t get through to anyone. The chat feature says there’s no one to talk with and hold times are hours long. I’ve already called and waited hours with the first changes. Customers are most definitely not a priority. Oh.. and I got an email from southwests marketing saying Non stop flights now $50 for some destinations! HAHAHAHAHA.. they can’t honor existing flights but can accommodate new customers for new flights?! SMH

Flight not showing in itinerary

ajcastellano1 — Tue, 04 May 2021 13:15:23 GMT

I just checked my reservations I made a few weeks ago for July. One of my returning flights are not showing up in my itinenary and I have been on hold for hours. Tampa to Atlanta is showing up but Atlanta to Richmond is not.

Customer Service Wait Time - 2 Hours and Still NO Help

Lesliehlavach — Tue, 04 May 2021 05:45:03 GMT

Hi,

I received an email stating Southwest made a change to my flight. The flight change went from a nonstop flight of 4 hours to a two stop and 10 hour flight. I tried to make a change through the website and I was unable to make a change and an error comment stated to contact customer service. I have been holding for over two hours and no assistance. I am hanging up because obviously no one is working! Why offer customer service, but not have customer service. A two hour wait time with no assistance is unheard of and very embarrassing to Southwest. Southwest you need to fix your customer service department. For two hours I have listened to Southwest telling me "how much you like me" and are transparent. Good grief Southwest get it together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

can my 16 year old travel on their own?

jkimberly4 — Tue, 04 May 2021 04:21:25 GMT

can my 16 year old travel on their own? they have their own ID and all

Early Bird Check In - Wheel Chair and Chamoy

arod27 — Tue, 04 May 2021 01:15:56 GMT

Okay so we’re flying out tomorrow and it’ll be our first time.

My husband is in a wheel chair and we also purchased the early bird check in option. How does all that work? Also I have some chamoy dips I wanted to carry on with me since we won’t be checking in any luggage can I take those?

Why the crazy flight diversions?

barnettdeb — Mon, 03 May 2021 23:16:22 GMT

I've recently started traveling again (YAY) and I'm trying to stay with SWA to earn points.

I am finding that EVERY flight I look for from Indianapolis wants to route me thru Baltimore (600+ miles away) or Houston (950+ miles), rather than thru Midway (200 miles).

That includes flying direct to Midway. Yes, for S&G I searched for a flight from IND to MDW two months out and it only offered me routes thru Baltimore or Houston. Nothing direct. This is crazy.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Were you able to rectify the situation?

Thx!

Leg of flight completely cancelled

csschena — Mon, 03 May 2021 20:21:02 GMT

I booked a multi-leg flight on 4/29/21. Just 3 days later, I was notified my itinerary has changed. Not a big deal, I've flown southwest for 15+ years. This happens. Usually its a time change. BUT when I dug closer into the reservation one leg was completely removed, and from my origin city!! So even though I live in Providence, they removed my Providence to Baltimore leg and have me leaving from BWI now... I guess they want me to drive to Baltimore to get this flight. It says in the itinerary change email, "Your reservation is confirmed and no further action is required" If I didn't notice this and let it go for 14 days I would have been stuck with no flight out of Providence and would have had no recourse. In a major change like this SW really needs to proactively reach out and call the affected customers. If customer service and "Luv" of your customers is truly a tenet at SW then this policy needs to be looked at. I understand that things may be changing based on travel nationwide starting to pick back up but these types of situations would make someone leave an airline after many, many years of loyal flying.. Just sayin.. I was able to get through to a representative after about 20 minutes (not bad) and she honored my price to change to another flight. She also told me to "keep and eye on this" for any other changes..

Previous Credit

Burrowsb2002 — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:38:11 GMT

I have a previous credit for 217.96 from flight. I scheduled a flight on 4/21 assuming my remaining balance would be put toward my new flight. After booking I did call SW that vary day but due to long hold times I was unable to reach a live person. I have since called but again experience delays in waiting.

Today I finally was able to get to a live body only to be told the balance of my account was past the 24 hours and I would need to call SW Customer Support. I am on hold as we speak now trying to get through.

Can someone apply my balance of 217.96 to the new flight I was just billed? thanks for your support, Beth

Flight change

Ladyfrost2 — Mon, 03 May 2021 19:49:32 GMT

My flight was changed from a one stop to a two stop. Buffalo to Tampa May 13th 2021. The second stop has us sitting on the plane in CT for what looks like hours before actually heading to Tampa. Can someone please explain this to me? Especially during a pandemic? I’m hoping I’m reading this wrong...

A-List

cariposadar17 — Mon, 03 May 2021 18:21:49 GMT

So I was able to acquire the 50K points as a promo for my RR CC, but the points are not reflecting in my A-List points progress. The reason I'm posting this is because the points are showing up in my Companion Pass progress.

Do my CC points not go towards my A-List progress?

Clarify masks and eating

MarianR — Mon, 03 May 2021 17:55:50 GMT

We will have a long day of flying - first a very early commuter flight to airport, a short time between flights and then a two hour SW flight , change planes and another flight to our destination. I understand the mask requirement, but somewhere we will need to eat something and take medications. Can we remove our masks on the plane to do that or should we do it in the airport if we have time?

Folding desk as carry on luggage

HBRJR — Mon, 03 May 2021 14:52:03 GMT

I have a fold up standing desk that is 30” wide by 20” deep by 3” thick. Will that fit in the overhead of a Boeing 767-700?

Minor spelling correction on 12 year old passenger

leshanc11SW — Mon, 03 May 2021 14:19:09 GMT

We are taking our 12 year old grandson on a trip to Utah in 1 month. We left the "K" off his last name. Southwest wants $75 to fix. Should we just leave his name as is?

Travel voucher questions

Jdharness — Sun, 02 May 2021 23:26:31 GMT

I know that Southwest usually offers a voucher if they cancel your same day flight, but what about if they cancel a month in advance? Ive been planning a trip for my husband, some friends and I to punta can for months! Racked up enough points for a companion pass, saved points to use for the flight and booked as soon as they opened flights for June.. Today I get a call saying they are canceling part of that flight and the only other option is to fly into baltimore from dallas a full day early and fly from baltimore to punta cana the next day. While i promise im grateful they didnt just completely cancel all options to punta cana, this is a HUGE inconvenience! 1. My mom is flying in just to babysit for us that week. Her flight doesnt get in until 7pm and we would have to fly out of dallas at 4pm! So I am going to have to jump through hoops to figure out who can watch my child in that 4-5 hour time gap. 2. This means that I have to pay for an extra night of hotel in Baltimore on top of already paying for Punta Cana! Yes, they offered a full refund but thats even more of an inconvenience because 1. I specifically booked through southwest because of my companion pass and use of southwest points 2. Its a month before travel! At this point every airlines prices is triple what i wouldve paid when I initially booked! Im super frustrated about this whole situation, but I said all this to ask does anyone know if southwest will give a travel voucher or award points for the cancellation and the huge inconvenience?

Handicapped

Pugmama5 — Sun, 02 May 2021 21:15:04 GMT

Will the skycap take to to pick up luggage and outside after arrival at the airport?

Bad Experience

AngryCovidIssue — Mon, 03 May 2021 13:41:30 GMT

Why don’t you care about people effected by Corona?

My Grandmother died in November of 2019. Funeral planned for July of 2020. Bought our plane tickets in January of 2020. Covid hit, funeral was cancelled, because they weren’t allowing them. Tried to cancel our tickets, was told that we could have a credit. Credit was set to expire in December. We booked a new trip to go to New Orleans in December.
You offered us a refund in November. We accepted. You gave us back the $3 difference between the first tickets and the new tickets.

Then we were told you would extend our credit.

You cut our credit in half, and now we have half the money and only this month to use it.

I’m investigating using the money to fly somewhere and then fly home (just to use the tickets, because that’s how mad I am)

At this point, I will NEVER fly southwest again, and I will torch the earth to make sure no one I know, am related to, do business with, or speak to does either.

I didn’t get to be there for my grandmothers funeral, I was offered a refund and got $3. Now that I’m vaccinated, I have a month to use half of the credit, where I should have been given a refund.

No one has said anything to me that felt like they cared, and no one has offered me anything reasonable.

I’m literally about to book a flight to go from one airport to another and back, just for the satisfaction of spending your credit rather than getting nothing.

We spent $711.92
That we couldn’t afford at the time, but my Grandmother had died.

We now only have a credit of $358.96 to spend by the end of this month

During Corona, I was laid off from my Job, we were forced to move out of our apartment, this has been very hard on us. Being jerked around by a Multi Billion Dollar Airline hasn’t helped.

Using spouse's points for RR and vice versa

martinitosnl — Sun, 02 May 2021 03:36:06 GMT

My wife recently qualified for rapid rewards with the new bonus. I have alot of points on my personal acct as well. In the future, does she have to use her own points (now she has very low points) and then add me to her booking as a companion? Can she use my points to book her flight since I have so many and then add me as companion?

Otherwise what do I do with all my points? I noticed they recently also removed 'redeem for more rewards' where I could use my excess points for southwest gift cards or other store/restaurant gift cards

thanks

Mask Exemption Process does not meet ADA requirements

PetertheProphet — Sat, 01 May 2021 23:29:27 GMT

Hi all,

I was taking a look at the process outlined on the Southwest Airlines website about how one could go about securing a medical exemption to face masks. I was shocked to see the following....

1) One must need to be TESTED before applying for an exemption. Why should I have to be tested for a "virus" which has never been isolated and is based on nothing more than predictive computer-generated RNA sequences? Forcing us to get tested if we want to get a medical exemption is a violation of the Nuremberg Code.

2) Why should flights have to be less than 75% full? Even kindergartners understand that "viruses" aren't smart enough to distinguish between 100% full flights and 75% flights. Funny how our shoulders are roughly six inches from the passenger next to us. Does the virus somehow NOT infect us even though we're cramped together on-board like sardines?

3) Why do we need a doctor's note? The ONLY valid exemption to face masks is that we are human and need oxygen. No doctor's note necessary.

4) Why does Southwest Airlines get to choose this "third party" medical provider? Especially an allopathic one like StatMD which spreads disinformation?

You guys are breaking the law by making it impossible for us to obtain medical exemptions. You are violating the Nuremberg Code. I'm tired of being treated worse than a dog. Even dogs aren't forced to wear face masks, yet PAYING customers like myself am.

The worst part about all this is that PILOTS aren't even required to wear face masks. If this is true, then it makes any claim about "precautionary measures" complete BS.

I've also seen flight attendants HUG each other at the end of flights. Why are they allowed to embrace each other and violate social distancing requirements, yet if we passengers hug each other on-board...we get kicked off and charged with disorderly conduct? Huh?

In any case, I know that it's impossible to hold Southwest responsible in civil or criminal court because the FAA supports your every move, but there will come a point where people will just stop flying. If you want people to stop flying, then fine. But at least be honest and don't pretend to care about customers.

If I treated MY customers as badly as Southwest treats their customers, I would have had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a long time ago. I'm a restaurant owner and so I've been in customer service for years. It saddens me to say that I've received BETTER service in inner-city Applebee restaurants than I have on Southwest flights since the scam-demic began.

Flight attendant jobs

pohlmann93 — Sat, 01 May 2021 21:00:13 GMT

Any idea when Southwest will be hiring flight attendants again? I am 28 and interested in making a career change.

MY FAMILY'S SOUTHWEST FLIGHT OF HORROR

dajana_saint — Sat, 01 May 2021 19:11:13 GMT

(I wrote this the day after the event. Sick to my stomach — I’ve been avoiding seeing it again but here I am submitting it)

Monday, April 19th, Dallas (Love Field) Airport, Texas.

Flight 736, Gate 14, which should have been a departure time of 11:30am, from Dallas to Tampa.

What happened to us on your Southwest Airlines flight, forever changed us, our view of your brand and organization, and how you LEAD your “professionals” who represent it. Truly, unfathomable.

After I submit this letter through your Southwest Airlines website, I will be posting on social media platforms, to get back in touch with the people on our flight, who so graciously and selflessly, stopped my husband as he exited the gate when we departed your horrific flight, and told us they stand WITH US — these fellow passengers (every one of them that approached us both on and off the flight) told us that if your flight attendant and pilot would have kicked us off of that flight, they would have stood up and exited with us. Standing up for what is right, what is moral, and leading with KINDNESS is what our people, our society, and our COUNTRY needs, especially after such a hard and trying year our entire world just endured. Shame on you all, how you lead, how you train, who you hire, and how your flight attendant represented you — ultimately showing her true colors, as well as yours, through her.

So I will begin,

On Friday, April 16th, we flew from our home airport in Tampa, Florida, to Dallas, Texas, for a very special family wedding. “We” as in me, Dajana St.Hilaire, my husband Maxwell St.Hilaire, our daughter Ava St.Hilaire, and my mama Marica Jankovic. Besides turbulence from bad weather, which no one can control, this flight was lovely. All the staff was so accommodating, kind, and extra sweet to our 2 year old baby girl. I wanted to begin with this flight, because we hadn’t flown with our daughter since our flight to Cabo, when she was 8 months old. This April 16th flight, marked our first flight with Ava, since the pandemic rocked our world. Following the news, reading up on the cdc guidelines, reading up on the airport and airline websites, and with simply being a PARENT, and knowing/researching developmental progress, we knew a two-year-old child did not (and could not) wear a mask. Let me also mention, since so many unfortunate instances in this country have been about reactions on perceptions (judging and assuming, especially in an important role as the leader in the sky, is just setting your flight crew up for failure) on which stance people are taking, politically, with the vaccines, with masks should never ever be on the forefront of your mind, as a leader in the sky, you should view every situation case by case basis. I had to mention this, to say we are NOT against masks — and that is EXACTLY why this terrible situation happened to us, because your flight attendant, on our April 19th return flight home, ASSUMED we were there to challenge her “authority” with being another one of those people who just complain and want to go against the rules, by standing against masks. Which, again, is SO UNFORTUNATE for your brand/organization, and how you all train your “leaders” to lead. We are not against masks, and have done our part to be law-abiding citizens. We are educated, we are successful, we are loving and kind individuals, and are always doing things to help people/our community in need. We are not these monsters she made us feel like. Before I start with that horrible return flight on April 19th, it was important for me to state that we are not against masks and it’s important for me to state that our daughter did not wear a mask on our April 16th flight from Tampa to Dallas (yes, also, Southwest Airlines). Like I said, after all research I did, and trying to “train” this precious two-year-old baby girl of ours to wear the masks a few times without success, it was very apparent that the pandemic cannot place rules or regulations on such a young and fragile state of life. They have no idea what is going on and why we are placing cloth over their mouth and/or nose. If anything, this should be considered torture at a fragile age of two-years-young.

Walking with our daughter through the Tampa airport for our flight to Dallas, not one person said anything to us about her not wearing a mask (just as our research stated) — Not security, not the pilot that stopped us to give her a sticker of “wings” to match his, not any Southwest Airlines crew when we checked her carseat in at the baggage and ticketing counter, no one at the gate, not the pilot or the flight crew on our Southwest Flight, who kept saying our daughter was so sweet and well behaved. NO ONE.

Now — the flight that makes my heart sink and my stomach queasy, even a day after — We can NOT believe we were treated like this. UNFATHOMABLE and UNACCEPTABLE. PERIOD.

Monday, April 19th, we go through Dallas airport with our baby girl, spend some extra time with the kind security professionals so they can test her liquids she drinks for our flight. After group A was called, we were called for family boarding so we go through your gate, and step onto the plane in this order:

Me holding our Ava in my arms, my mama behind me, and my husband next to her/behind her (so they are right there and can hear/see everything). Your flight attendant (I keep saying this because we all looked for a name tag, but she wasn’t wearing one, but I don’t ever recall them wearing one so I am assuming this is normal protocol), greeted us with a smile. Waves to my daughter, I say “Say hi baby” and she waves back to the blonde female flight attendant, our daughter smiles and waves to her. The cockpit door is wide open and as we are about to turn right to walk into the aisle of the flight, goodness, how everything turned in a split-second from this moment (almost like a bipolar episode). The flight attendant’s face changed instantly. From a smile from our two-year-old daughter waving back to her, to a straight face, as she demands, “WHERE IS HER MASK?!” I, still with smile on my face but a little confused, said back, “she’s only two and can’t wear one”, my husband behind me says “she doesn’t need one she is two”. She goes to grab a piece of paper that is right next to her and then puts the piece of paper down before she even looked at it and says to us, “if she is already two, she needs to wear a mask, NOW”. I then said, “ma’am she hasn’t worn one on the way here with ya’ll and we did so much research, at two she can’t be forced to wear one.” Then she states, “two and up she has to.” And this next sentence of mine, unbelievably enraged this woman, (to the point that I thought to myself, wow, and she is who is representing this airline front and center?)

I said to her, “I have a mask for her but she won’t wear it.” Now. Read that again. And, again. This sentence that I spoke to the woman, is why I made it a point to write about perception in the beginning. This woman, IMMEDIATELY assumed I was one of those “no we won’t follow the rules or regulations of leadership just because” mentality having individuals. IMMEDIATELY she assumed my words meant, I have one for her but nope, because you said so, she won’t wear it. UNBELIEVABLE. If she would have looked into my eyes, heard my tone, accessed our body language, she would have been able to realize that her assumption is her assumption. I literally meant “I have one in a bag for her, but she won’t wear it.” As in — she is two years old and we tried at home but she doesn’t know any better and won’t wear it. THIS is why it is important to hire and train your “leaders in the sky” to be humane, to listen, to access, and to take every situation case by case basis (especially during our very first pandemic in our lifetime, which comes with so much uncertainty and confusion, and very little study.) We are all different, and assuming immediately that I am a fighter instead of a lover, that I am a disturbance to her atmosphere and that we want to rebel with this precious blessing in our arms, is so disgusting beyond comprehension. She IMMEDIATELY turned to the cockpit which had the door wide open as I stated above, and yelled, “oh you won’t? CALL SECURITY NOW”

We were SO SHOCKED. I looked at her and said, “what?” followed by, “ma’am, I didn’t say I wasn’t going to have her wear it, I said she won’t as in she’s only two and she won’t put or keep it on.” She then again asked the pilot to call for security and my husband said, “just go sit down Dajana” hoping that we were not hearing what we were hearing, as we couldn’t believe this was handled the way it was. So cold. So aggressive. We go to sit down and with pain in my voice, I tell the flight attendant in the back what she just said/did to us in the front, and this lady actually apologized for her and said, “I’m so sorry this happened to you, I didn’t know she said that, I’m sorry she spoke to you like that.” We find seats and sit down, and an African American gentleman (didn’t get his name either), who we assumed is the security she just demanded for a two year old, came down the aisle with the flight attendant from the front of the plane. She was speed walking ahead of him to the back, he followed. He then came back, and told the little girl sitting in front of us, to put her mask on. She was eating, so her guardians were confused looking at the gentleman, but told her to put her mask on. He then marched back to the back of the plane, where I assume she told him no not that girl, but us, which he probably missed and was confused himself when he saw how itty bitty our daughter was. Our daughter looked at him and smiled as he stared at us, and told us, aggressively, that she had to put on the mask. I went to tell him the story, but my husband cut me off with phone in hand. He had the pulled up CDC website ready on his phone, and showed him the section where it speaks on two year olds. It states that two year olds “should” wear masks, and then it goes on about how they really don’t know and can’t be forced. The very next paragraphs talks about disabilities and how adults who have the mind of children do not need to and cannot be forced to wear a mask. Any sane and logical person would understand that a two year old, who has literally just learned how to walk less than a year ago, doesn’t understand the concept of you trying to put a muzzle on them. It was actually very traumatic and devastating to watch my child’s eyes as the gentleman said we would need to force her to wear one. She at first thought it was a joke/game, and laughed, saying “oh no mommy”, and then the more we tried, the more scared and upset she got. Beginning to cry, not understanding, looking into my eyes and feeling my heart race. It was so upsetting. My husband then looked at the security gentleman and asked if he had children, as he was watching our child upset and not grasp the concept of being muzzled, he said yes I have five. My husband then said, “Sir, then you have to understand.” I then looked at him and said, please look me in the eyes and hear my side of the story. I told him that the moment that woman saw us, and realized that our two year old wasn’t wearing a mask, she lost it. I told her that I don’t know what is going on with her or what happened in her day today but that I was so shocked as to how she spoke to us and handled this as a professional. And I will keep on keeping on saying our “leader in the sky.” This is how you choose to lead? Heartbreaking. My husband then looked at the gentleman and said, “what did we do wrong?, how are we supposed to get home? We’re not going on vacation, we are trying to get home. We flew with you all on Friday and not one person, including two different airports TSA staff, didn’t say one thing to us about a mask on her, besides kind words. What would you like us to do sir? You are wasting everyone’s time on here. We are not trouble makers, either kick us off for our two year old not wearing a mask, or stop wasting everyone’s time on here and let us go home. People have connecting flights, what are we doing here?”

We knew people had connecting flights to Arizona and elsewhere as that was stated over the intercom. We couldn’t believe how much time was wasted. How much unprofessionalism was taking place. The gentleman then went on to disappear and came back about 20 minuets later. Tapping my husband on the shoulder and telling him that the pilot and the flight attendant want us off the plane and he is doing his best to explain our side to management. I was MIND BLOWN. A Pilot, a CAPTAIN of an aircraft, wanted to kick us off a flight without ever hearing our side? Without meeting us or even seeing us. Without knowing that we did nothing wrong. Everyone around us in the seats was telling us how disturbing this was. How they are flabbergasted at how this was handled over a precious innocent two year old. I still can get sick on command just thinking about this. The gentleman disappeared again. To then return to the most shocking and unbelievable part. He came down the aisle with another gentleman. He didn’t have a name tag either, so I will say he was a white male. This gentleman was looking at us with what you could tell sadness in his eyes, couldn’t believe what he was hearing and seeing, as our daughter is so little. Still, the entire plane packed, now about 20 minutes after our scheduled departure. They stand there over us and suggest ways for her to wear the mask. I tried everything. At this point my husband says, “Come on, what do you want us to do?” The African America gentleman says to us “they will taxi the plane, and if she isn’t wearing a mask, we will taxi it back to the gate and kick you all off.” The shock. The gasps from the other passengers. This is when my husband, still sitting down, raised his voice. Because at this point you are not just treating us like dirt, you are treating every single passenger like their time, dying loved ones, sweet celebrations, money, and effort doesn’t matter. My husband said, “You mean to tell us all, you will taxi the plane, attempting to go to runway, and your flight attendants will leave their secured seats, to stare at our two year old, and if she isn’t wearing a mask (which you see she can’t keep on) will taxi us back and kick us off? Are you all serious? Kick us off now, you are wasting everyone’s time. Unbelievable. Why are you doing this? Kick us off then!” We were so shocked with this encounter. On top of everything — the SHOCK OF SHOCK, the white male gentleman behind the security guard, TAKES HIS FANCY CARTOON-LIKE MASK OFF GIVES IT TO ME TO GIVE TO MY DAUGHTER AND SAYS, “Maybe she will put that one on since it looks cool” I had no idea I even grabbed his mask out of his hand (THAT HE WAS WEARING OVER HIS MOUTH) because I was shaking so much over the whole situation. My mama (Marica) looked at me and said you are NOT putting the mask over her mouth that he had on his. I still had no idea what was happening I said real quick, “oh I’ll just double mask it” I then snapped out of it and was like, wait what? This is your mask!

Let me explain to you all how **bleep**TY you all handled this. HE TOOK HIS MASK OFF HIS FACE (he was probably also flustered and shaky that he wanted to help) AND STOOD ON A FULL FLIGHT, IN THE AISLE OVER US, MASK-LESS!!!!! To give his USED mask to put on my two year old. Have y’all honestly lost your minds? A grown man can be mask-less but our two year old, who hasn’t even developed the mental maturity and logical traits yet to understand, can’t? IS THIS REAL LIFE!!

I honestly don’t even know how you all or this staff is operating right now. The disturbance and unimaginable horror we faced.

Before the two walked away, I said, “I come from a Public Relations background. I am writing letters on this either way. I am so shocked with what you all are doing here and how you are handling this situation”

When I said this, they left the plane.

The last walk down the aisle after my above statement on writing letters, the flight attendant who did this to us came rushing down the aisle with the security guard in tow. She told my husband to follow her to the back of the flight to talk to her. The security guard then completely changed his demeanor and said, “she feels bad, she wants to apologize how she handled things”

My husband later told us that she took him in the back and asked him to calm down, he said he was calm and so shocked and then he said, “cut the small talk, are you kicking us off the plane or not” she then followed that up like a teenage talking to their sibling or like a person who has little man syndrome, gets a little authority and playing with everyones wellbeing, “you want me to kick you off the plane?” He looked at her and said, “ma’am do you have kids?” She then said, “no I can’t have any”

(He is better than me because what she put us through, help me Jesus I would have said, “makes sense” — because for her to THINK that a two year old should be forced to wear a mask when they simply don’t understand, made sense that she didn’t have children.) he then said to her, “That is unfortunate and I’m really sorry to hear that but what do you want us to do?” She then went on about how we have to try as hard as possible to have it on her if she’s not eating or drinking. She left, the security guard left, people started to tap us on our shoulder and say how badly they feel and can’t believe this. An elderly woman behind me started cursing with anger on how this was handled and for the entire flight she would reach over to caress my child’s sweet arms or shoulder. Every single time a flight attendant came by on this flight I was so nervous, which is so not like me, trying to cover her face, trying to put a blanket over us trying three different masks to wear. I was sick.

What y’all did and how you treated not only us, but our baby girl and the other passengers on your flight — unacceptable. And DISGUSTING.

The sweet flight attendant that worked the back, came by for drink service, I had been holding my daughter as she slept a bit…looking down at her precious little face, I just started to hysterically bawl. I was crying so badly, that I couldn’t stop. I was looking at her innocence and couldn’t believe the world I am raising her in. The people we are walking amongst. The lady came by to ask me what I wanted to drink, she said, “sweetheart what would you like?” I looked up with tears flowing down uncontrollably and said, “nothing”. I saw her eyes and saw that her heart must of dropped with sadness, looking at a 32 year old mama, holding her baby, trying to protect her and raise her with our good God in her heart and all things lovely — only to be helpless and hopeless in crippling situations like this. We are so heartbroken more than anything. As we landed, my eyes swollen from tears, my husband looked at me and said, “please don’t say anything to her in the front, we are better than them” And I said I won’t. The only thing I would have told her would have been, “you need Jesus.”

To our surprise, the flight attendant and the pilot departed the plane before any passengers. When we came to the front, everyone was gone. How convenient. Shame on y’all.

We walked out of the gate, my husband walked towards the bathroom, when a gentleman stopped him. Telling him he was waiting on us to depart. Telling him the horror he went through, witnessing what happened to us. Stating that he had just watched a video, a week prior, of Southwest doing this to another little girl. His words made us get chills all over our bodies and made me cry once again as he said, “I already filed a complaint online on behalf of you all, and if you all would have gotten kicked off the flight, I would have gotten up right with you.” The goodness and selflessness of his heart, I’ll never forget.

We make it to the shuttle to take us to the main airport/baggage claim, and in the shuttle, a lady and gentleman approached us and their words, “that was unbelievable, we promised if you all were getting kicked off, we were coming with you.” I just gasped as my throat choked up as I said, thank you.

These sweet people were going to compromise their trips, time, money, and schedules to stand up for what is RIGHT. What is humane. To stand with strangers, to make them not feel alone. To show unity in justice matters. Kindness will always matter and Love will always win.

I can’t believe how much time has passed and you all still didn’t reach out to apologize. I know the flight attendant knew who we were because she said her paper stated our Ava Rein was two, which we told her. Shame on you all on so many different levels. Shame on you for being monsters in the sky and not being leaders. Shame on you for not being human first and for treating this monster of a pandemic like something two year olds can make worse than it already is. Shame on you if you come back to state that these are your rules and regulations, when obviously they are not since we flew to Dallas with your airline and your so called rules and regulations are not set across the board, since you now know she didn’t wear a mask to Dallas. Set a standard, let people know what it is, so they avoid having anything to do with you all. Be a respectable brand, not a disgraceful/confusing/unclear/unstable one.

Either way, whatever approach you take on responding, if you even ever do, to our letter — Shame on you. I pray for you, for your children and loved ones and may your children or grandchildren never be treated like Southwest treated our family, but most importantly the single most important blessing of our lives — our Ava Rein.

Shame on you + god bless you all.

Maxwell, Dajana, Ava Rein St.Hilaire + the best grandma on the planet, Marica Jankovic

Travel Funds not applied

laplatt00 — Sat, 01 May 2021 17:40:07 GMT

Yesterday (4/30) I flights for Sept/Oct 2021. When checking out, it showed my $200 in travel funds and gave me the final price after travel funds deduction. However, when the charge went through, it charged me the full price and did not subtract the travel funds.

I immediately called customer service and took the option to get a call back (est time was 61 mins). I did receive a call back and selected the option to indicate I was on the phone. I was immediately put back into a hold queue. I waited 15 mins for a person, then hung up. I called back and this time, held on the line for what was supposed to be about 50 minutes. After 90 minutes, I hung up again.

Today (5/1) I called back again and selected the option to have a call back. The estimated time was 45 minuets. It has been over 3 hours at this point and still have not received a call. Southwest's customer service appears to be non-existent. Very angry/dissatisfied.

Transport time urgent package??

sarahlc — Sat, 01 May 2021 02:52:42 GMT

Hi all,

Does anyone know if there is ANY way to get a package on a Southwest plane without a passenger attached to it? Long story short a very important four-generation christening dress was forgotten in Denver for our baby's christening here in the Oakland CA area on Sunday. I am unsure of SW policy but I know I've read stories in the SW magazine about amazing people making things happen in emergency situations - the emergency here is possibly breaking my mother's heart if the dress isn't here in time. Unfortunately regular shipping won't do because it's a weekend (no Sunday delivery). Does anyone have ideas on this, who to call, etc? I'd so greatly appreciate it. Thank you!!!

Travel Funds

hallefiedler13 — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 22:23:27 GMT

Hi! So I received a credit voucher from Southwest from a past cancelled flight last year, and I'm trying to use it for another flight. I'm currently trying to purchase the plane tickets for this new flight, and it should cover almost all of the price except for an extra $10 looking at my Travel Funds. However, for some reason my total funds are not used for the flight; only about half is used. It states that this represents my "remaining fund balance." Where did the other half of my funds from Southwest go? And is there anyway I can use my entire funds on this flight?

SW Response to frustration over changing flight reservations

Simoneo — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 21:30:23 GMT

SW has informed me via email, that despite them changing 80-85% of my

flight reservations in the last year, that it is RARE.

I'm pretty sure they don't give a flip. I mean, to say something that just

antagonizes an already frustrated customer even more, that's pretty rare.....

but not for SW, it's policy.

June schedule

denno — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 19:50:44 GMT

After a quick scan through the new June schedule out today, it appears that the last flight of the day to/from DEN is a post-midnight arrival, whether it's a one flight a day market like GRR or ALB or multiple flight market like BWI, ATL, MKE, MCO, TPA, MDW with some arrivals as late at 1:55am (BWI). Given that business travel is way down and most summer travel will be leisure travel, who's taking the kids to see the grandparents or the Mouse and going to book these super night owl arrivals? I'm not looking for an explanation. I know that WN is just squeezing in a final round trip with aircraft at the end of the day. But I can't think there will be enough folks at times like these to pay the gas. The folks going to the many single flight per day markets with no better choices are getting hosed the most. Some times it's better to limit the offerings to a more reasonable schedule, fill 'em up, and call it a day. It's like the final scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark:" "top men are working on this."

Bad flight experience

April23 — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 17:55:45 GMT

My husband and I had an awful experience flying on Southwest on April 23, Austin-LA. The plane was packed, other than wearing masks no other guidelines for the pandemic where in place. Boarding was crowded, no distancing enforced. Many of the people had their masks below their nose and no one was enforcing any mask rules. It was simply announced that a mask was required and that was it, no enforcement. Once in our seats, the person behind us was coughing her heart out loud without a concern for others around her. (she obviously was sick, but she still was in the plane with everybody else). She coughed the whole 4 hours to L.A. Once we landed, we had to wait one hour before we could get off due to landing issue with brakes. It was very scary. It seems that Southwest is saving money by crowding their flights which might be of benefit of Southwest, but not at all of the customers who have been flying Southwest for years. I really don't want to fly SW anymore.

Unable to CheckIn

Courtneydee — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 16:04:27 GMT

Every time I click check in on the app and going direct, it lists passenger names with confirmation number but doesn’t give me the ability to check in. Anyone else? Also on hold for over 100 minutes.

Traveling with Grandson

Nbean08 — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 14:55:28 GMT

We will be flying to Phoenix with our 9 year old grandson June 5. Is there anything I need from his mom in order to do this or is he good to go? I wasn't sure what he needs to check in.

We miss you in Newark NJ

LloydStamps — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 12:53:52 GMT

Southwest was my first choice when traveling, but then you left Newark Airport. I know it got expensive for you, but now, flying Southwest is too expensive and troublesome for me. Using LaGuardia from my home in Northern NJ takes twice as long, and getting to LGA is twice as expensive. (I live north and a little west of the GW Bridge.)

You'd be my first choice again if you returned to Newark. If the opportunity presents itself, I hope you'll seize it.

Free Companion pass deal after $5,000 spent on chase credit card

acspock — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 20:35:21 GMT

I signed up for the special deal southwest chase credit card early in March that offers the free companion pass through Feb 2022.

My question is concerning around when will I know when I can add my companion to flights?

I've spent ~$4,000 so far and I plan to reach my $5000 requirement by my next closing date which is May 9th.

Where can I see my status of my free companion pass? does it only activate after I hit my requirement?

Thanks for the info!

Vaccination

BML45 — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 19:47:18 GMT

My family and I are flying toward the end of July. Do we have to have the vaccination before we can fly?

RIC to BWI

Adam33 — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 16:19:44 GMT

As a frequent SW customer and someone living in Richmond, I would like to suggest that SW start a flight from RIC to BWI. This would allow for many connection options. Currently, SW only flies to Atlanta from RIC- which Delta does multiple times a day. The SW connection options out of Atlanta are not as good as from BWI. I believe this would be a very popular flight. Please consider this.

Man thrown off flight at BWI for eating Twizzlers

ThomasPaine — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 12:16:49 GMT

I just saw on WJZ-TV where a man was eating Twizzlers and the flight attendant told him to put on his mask. The plane was ready to depart and was turned around in order to escort this "criminal" off the plane. THIS IS INSANE. HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO PUT UP WITH THIS NONSENSE? It is time to RESIST.

Flight cancellations and Rebooking

Rhonjobbie — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 06:18:24 GMT

Has anyone had similar experiences and found solutions to extending flight credits or getting refunds?

I had booked a flight with a cash purchase in May 2020 for October 2020 however the actual flight was cancelled via Southwest Airlines on September 28th and the flight was supposed to be on October 2nd. Now we are being forced to buy and use that credit by May 20th 2021 which is not even 1 year from the flight. It seems unreasonable and unfair. We aren’t even allowed a refund. I can see possibly if we cancelled the ticket but the actual flight was cancelled by the company. I have spoken with a representative after waiting over 2 hours but was not given any real help towards this issue. Has anyone had any luck in a similar situation? Super frustrating.

SW changed my flight and left me STRANDED

RDJ — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 01:05:29 GMT

SW changed my flights FOR THE 2ND TIME TODAY and leaves me stranded by not adding the final flight of my trip. This leaves me stranded in Dallas with my car in Austin. Can't fix this online and customer disservice by phone is 100+ minutes. Plan to tell everyone to stay away from this airline and all who read this should too. FED UP!

Want to pick up checked bags during layover

JJJ123 — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 23:48:01 GMT

I'm traveling from AUS to ABQ with a layover in Houston, and I know that generally my checked bags are automatically transferred to ABQ via the pink transfer tag.

However, I plan to meet some friends for dinner during my 3 hour layover and I want to collect 1 of my checked bags and leave it with them in Houston. Is this possible / allowed? If so, how is this done?

Traveling with someone in a wheel chair and someone with autism, boarding

grumps — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 21:02:45 GMT

I will be traveling in a few weeks with my father who will need assistance from security to boarding the plane as well as my grandson who has autism. Both of them need me for support while traveling. The rules state that usually those that need assistance boarding can have one person board with them for pre-boarding, that would however leave my autistic grandson without me and it's only the three of us traveling.

Has anyone had any experience traveling where multiple people within the party need assistance and know how southwest handled it?

Scam phone call??

AOeser — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 20:57:11 GMT

I just received a phone call from 615-200-0273 with a woman with an Asian accent saying i was chosen to attend some Southwest Airlines event in downtown Nashville. For attending, I would receive 8 Southwest tickets. She then handed my call over to a man with an Asian accent as a "manager". I figure this is a scam but wanted to come to Southwest and see what the community said.

I told them I thought it was a scam and they hung up.

Question concerning a flight cancellation...

Quidam — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 20:30:21 GMT

I understand "As long as you cancel your flight more than 10 minutes before its scheduled departure time, you will have the option to receive a refund to your original form of payment or Travel Funds for future use." What if your flight is delayed? Here was my scenario: I was booked on a flight that had a scheduled departure time of 6:45 p.m. The flight was delayed and the new departure time was 7:10 p.m. So far, no problem since I generally schedule at least a one hour layover in connecting cities. It was then announced that the flight may be delayed until 8:00 p.m. At that point I made the decision to cancel my flight to the connecting city and the subsequent flight to my final destination, not knowing if I could make my connecting flight in time. I did this right at 6:34 p.m., just prior to the 10 minute window of the original of the original scheduled departure time. Could I have waited until 7:00 p.m., 10 minutes prior to the new delayed departure time? I subsequently found out that the aircraft was able to depart at 7:03 and had I been able to predict the future, I would not have cancelled my flights.

Opening up travel dates

dmatth4603 — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 16:54:37 GMT

Hi - Does anyone know when flights for December, 2021 and January, 2022 will open up? Thanks -

Hawaii - Stopover in HNL/OGG

hl88hl — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 16:34:06 GMT

Hi SW Community,

We were planning on going to Maui this year or next year and saw that flights to Maui has a stop over in HNL. What's the policy and is it possible to stop over in HNL for a few nights before continuing our leg over to Maui? Of course, we'll probably do a non-stop back home. Thank you for any info provided.

Thinking of booking Southwest? Don't!!

Losabos — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 15:01:48 GMT

I fly 40+ weeks a year for work. I have historically leaned towards southwest when I book my flights but as of today I will be looking at other travel options.

My flights have been changing constantly and many times I end up with connection times that are either non existent or in some cases flights that arrive after my connection has already left.

In every case I get the standard "click here to change flight if this change does not work for you" however the link does not work. I try the chat option in the app but no rep is available. No response from social media- so here I am sitting on hold on the phone for over an hour. I do not have time for this. I will not be flying Southwest again.

Flight cancelled but refund was small

Dan1958 — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 09:22:21 GMT

So we were returning from Cancun to Detroit with a layover in Ft. Lauderdale earlier this month. The flight from Cancun to Florida went fine. But then some storms hit and the flight was delayed a few hours. We boarded but after a couple of hours we were asked to deplane. Then we were told the flight was cancelled because they couldn't find a pilot. I checked my e-mail notifications and it said they could put us on a flight 4 days later. This wasn't acceptable so everybody headed over to the Spirit counter. We let them know we weren't interested in that flight and would like a refund. So I see on my credit card statement a refund of $44.17. That doesn't seem like much for 3 tickets. Could it be because I didn't reply to the e-mail and cancel the rescheduled flight through that method? I thought my conversation at the booking counter was enough.

International flight and points

Ness — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 04:26:49 GMT

If I use my points to purchase my round trip to Cancun is there additional fees I have to pay other then the $10fee?

Chicago O’Hare to Las Vegas

nbaker756 — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 03:16:13 GMT

Booked a flight for Thursday June 24 to Tuesday June 29 and got a message in the app and website today there may be a travel disruption and can change my flight. Is this an error or something? I checked the reservation and both times are accurate and still booking on the site.

First time with my ESA dog

Cs2hicks — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 01:59:43 GMT

My main concern is where do ( I ) use a restroom with my service dog on leash. I know there are pet relief areas for him but I’m concerned about me. You’ve all seen those disgusting restrooms in airports and I’m not about to have him walk through that or possibly sit in it. He is a 55 pound basset Hound. Thank you in advance for your help.

Expired 2020 voucher !

lmcamp1974 — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 23:03:53 GMT

Disappointed !

We had flights booked for Thanksgiving 2020 and sadly due to Covid we had to cancel as I am sure most of the country. I tried to use my travel credit and I was told I have to use before the booking date, Sept not the travel date. They will not allow us to travel in October ( 3 weeks out) and offer not help so we lose all the credit. Maybe the worse help during this past year out there !

Does Southwest allow VPN connections while on the in-flight WiFi?

indiez — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:36:49 GMT

I can't seem to find a definitive answer on this question. I'm a network engineer for a big healthcare company and the only way to access our companies email is through a VPN. We have many execs that fly east coast to west coast weekly and without VPN they are essentially out of office the entire time in the air. Can anyone direct me to an official statement about this?

Lodging

20019120940 — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 19:09:41 GMT

I was booked on a flight from Memphis to PDX. SWA cancelled & rescheduled. Provided lodging @ the Wyndham Travel Lodge. Instructed me to head down & get a shuttle.

No shuttle service😡

I pay a taxi 😡 after FINALLY being able to get one.

I arrive at the hotel😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡 FILTHY🥶😨😱🤢😡

I'd to attach photos but unable to add attachments. Waiting to hear back from SWA.😥

Mask Optional Flights #Masksoptional

SouthwestFlyer1 — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:16:34 GMT

I am proposing that airlines start to offer Mask Optional Flights for people who are not able to wear masks for long periods of time. These people have been currently marginalized by society and aren't able to go shopping, fly, travel, and live everyday life as well as people who can handle masks. There are many different reasons people aren't able to wear masks, but these people haven't been able to travel in nearly a year.

I am sure there are at least 2 pilots and enough crew to handle mask optional flights and allow people who have been marginalized by society to fly again. Also, vaccines should not be mandatory for these flights. Masks and vaccines can be recommended, but remain optional.

I know that the federal aviation authority has mandated masks for all flights, but as we near the end of the pandemic, it is time to rethink that mandate and allow options for those unable to wear masks for long periods of time to fly again. If you want to truly be inclusive, mask optional flights should be a serious consideration.

Thank you SouthWest for considering all options.

Signed,

a 14-year southwest cardholder

Unavailable flights

kendall — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 15:34:34 GMT

I have travel funds available. I understand that these funds are not refundable, however...there are now no flights available from LBB to HRL. There are literally 4 days in June that have flights but I cannot make it those days. There is NOTHING from now until ever. I am a college student and I can't use the funds to fly home? Other airlines offer flights but SW does not. I flew home to HRL in March but couldn't fly back into Lubbock and had to take a different airline.

Can I get a refund if Southwest offers NO FLIGHTS? It's not my fault I cannot fly home.

Employment verification

Jadesunderworld — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 23:17:54 GMT

I was a flight attendant up until August 2018. What is the number to verify past employment please?

2 hour non stop flight changed to 5 hour flight to florida

ScarlettandMatt — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 18:13:41 GMT

I have never ever in all my travels had an issue with Southwest. They have always been very stable for me. I live in MD close to 3 major airports but I almost always use BWi. I booked 7 flights for family vacation back in February to Tampa. Direct flight both ways, an amazing rate. Now I see we are leaving Maryland to go to Ohio to have a layover to get another flight to Florida. But there are even today other non stop flights available to Tampa so why weren't we put on those flights? But here I am 2 hours on hold now with Southwest to try and get this taken care of. Plus I now realize they also changed are flight home as well. It is still NON stop but what the heck is going on. Very disappointed.

Can I gate check a baseball bag?

kimbosue — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 16:44:04 GMT

We are traveling to Cooperstown, NY this summer for the Cooperstown baseball camp. For obvious reasons, we are leery of checking our son's baseball equipment. I would rather it not go through normal baggage check. I know it can't be a carry on item due to the exposed bat being considered a "bludgeon," but hoping it qualifies for a gate check. I have searched in this forum and other places and can't find a definitive answer.

Any help would be appreciated!

Disappointed AList Preferred Traveler

Mrplay — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 16:14:04 GMT

I have flown Southwest during Covid last year and the first 4 months of this year roughly 2-3 times a month. I have also been a rewards member since 2000.

I have been very understanding when they made changes or canceled flights in the past and they have accommodated my changes as well.

Now the flights are filling up again and they are less understanding it seems.

I tried to contact Customer Relations last Friday at 4:55 (They close at 6) and they said they were short handed and asked me to email them. Of course they are closed on the weekend and didn't get a response until today when I called them again.

I had a direct flight tomorrow out of Memphis and returning the same day in the evening that has been scheduled from landing at 8 to landing at 11:30 and flying out at 5 because they changed to a layover. They have made the changes in the past multiple times over the last year with no additional fees to fly out of Nashville direct so I can make my meetings. They even made the change last Tuesday without fee changes. Now they want to charge $350. to make the change for this flight. The same flight they changed for free last week.

I stayed with them when times were tough but when things get going again they want to stick it to you.

Very disappointed and I guess I'll be looking for other carriers in the future for my business if they plan to continue this practice...

Customer Complaint With SW In-Flight Service

hiflynsjo — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 15:25:42 GMT

I have never ever complained about SW, I love this airline and fly them whenever possible. I will add that over the years I have been A-List, Preferred A-List and a Companion Pass holder. Sadly, I have reason to launch my first complaint. On Saturday 4/17 on a flight from Seattle to Phoenix at 7:00 AM, my wife and I boarded our flight and were informed of the curtailed beverage service due to COVID. Only Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or water was our beverage option. No coffee for a 7:00 AM fight, really? That is pushing the COVID excuses a little too far in my book. Also, I have flown SW 12 pervious times during the COVID pandemic, and never ran into such curtailed service. But that is not the worst thing, the flight attendant that was making all the announcements informed us that to order our beverage, we need to hold our finger(s) up to identify our beverage choice, such as one finger for coke, two fingers for diet coke, etc...

She continued by saying, we do not need to pull our mask down to speak, we just use our fingers. And....she actually said this..."we don't want you talking to us!" My wife and I looked at each other in disbelief at what we just heard. A flight attendant uttering the words, "we don't want you taking to us!" Wow, just wow! She then droned on and on and on about the masks, and keeping then on in between bites and, laughably, social distancing in a completely full plane. The minute we walk in the airport we are bombarded with COVID announcements, and this woman spewed out the COVID rules every damned time she made any kind of announcement.

From Phoenix we continued on to Fort Lauderdale and aside from the silly reduced beverage service, the flight attendant making the announcements, mentioned COVID rules once and moved on to more important business. Same with the two flights back home yesterday.

So SW, this attendant and your reduced COVID service has left such a bad taste in my mouth that we are going to give Alaska Airlines a try when we fly to Southern CA next month. Maybe they will be the same or maybe worse, we shall see. Everywhere we are seeing more and more COVID restrictions being lifted, but SW seems to be going in the opposite direction. Some people may like that, others like my wife and I will look elsewhere, so tread carefully SW.

Worst , Scariest and Most embarrassing experience of my life- FA's Drunk with Power

gmaselli — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 14:53:24 GMT

Flight 1821: LAX-MCI - April 15, 2021

Me and my two daughters boarded a flight from Los Angeles - Tampa with a layover in KC. About 20 minutes or so into the flight, my daughter in the middle seat woke me up and to an angry and disrespectful FA (Chrisine 57043) that informed me, in a very harsh tone, that I needed to fix my mask. As I fell asleep, the mask slid down my face a little and my nose was exposed. I didn't respond with any words, I just fixed my mask and went back to sleep. We hit a bit of turbulence and I woke up and set up my ipad and had a coffee. There wasn't a single word exchanged the remainder of the flight... not one! It was completely uneventful.

Upon landing, we requested with one of the other FA's if during the layover we could move a few rows forward, which he (Gerard I believe) said 'no problem'. He seemed to be unaware of any drama. As we went to move forward another man I hadn't seen approached me and asked why I wasn't wearing a mask to which i replied, "look at my face, what are you talking about?" he then went on about how the FA from the previous crew said I was defiant and wasn't wearing a mask. My two daughters and the row behind my attested that ONE time during the flight she came by and asked me to move my mask over my face and I complied without hesitation or arguing. I even showed him a photo of a selfie we took for my wife during the flight and it was of all three of us with our masks on 'smiling' for my wife to let her know we were on the flight and all was good.

At this point, I was completely sideways... I was traveling with my two teenage daughters to a soccer showcase in Florida and I'm being harassed by an over-zealous FA. Then it gets worse.. During the crew change, the FA Chrisine tells the new Lead FA (Claudio 91455) 'whatever' she tells him and he instantly becomes over aggressive, disrespectful and confrontational with me. He informs me that "you are off my flight" to which I ask why.. Everything went back to what one FA said. I had multiple witnesses attesting that the story she relayed was completely inaccurate but Claudio was insulting, demeaning and completely unhinged.

I fly a lot for business, I just returned from 17 days in Dubai and Asia for work and I'm well aware of the protocols for wearing masks. When the FA asked me to cover my nose I did. Her attitude in asking me was rude and confrontational but I still did as she said and didn't say a word back to her. We literally exchanged no words after she told me to 'fix' my mask but I was still thrown off a flight.

At this point, my daughters and I are pulled off the flight and told that there is only one way for us to make it to Tampa. My two teenage daughters fly alone to Tampa and then wait that I hopefully make the connections as I was forced to fly to Chicago then Tampa. I was enraged.. I couldn't believe that Southwest had the authority to separate a family based on the word of one FA against the testimony of multiple eye witnesses.

My daughters were crying, I was beyond angry and confused, it was insanity. There is no accountability.

Claudio and Chrisine are two people that make air-travel terrible. I have no idea how people in their positions have any authority and are allowed to make decisions unchecked. What if my flight to Chicago or out of Chicago was cancelled or delayed? Who was going to care for my two teenage daughters in Tampa alone? What if during the 4 hour wait at the Tampa airport something happened to one of them, who was responsible??

To add insult to injury.. I had to fly Southwest again this weekend and for the first time in over a decade I noticed I wasn't TSA Pre-Check? Was this is a coincidence?

Young Traveler

Mtraynham89 — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 11:52:32 GMT

I have a young traveler. I tried to do the 24hour check in online but was given an error. Do I check her in when we arrive? Not sure how this works.

LUV Voucher

eberenholtz — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 11:19:56 GMT

Hello,

I have a LUV Voucher that I am unable to use. It is in the amount of $191.96. The travel must be completed by May 13, 2021.

Service dog

Rock — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 05:38:42 GMT

I will be traveling with my service dog soon. It will be our first flight together. What documentation for a service dog is required? Also, suggestions for travel with a service dog would be helpful.

Flight Cancellations and Rescheduling

RHallmark — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 01:31:43 GMT

Has anyone else noticed an increase in the number of flights that Southwest cancels causing a reschedule? I have been flying Southwest since 2001 and have been A-List Preferred for several years. Beginning in November 2019 I noticed a dramatic increase in the number of flights that were cancelled triggering a booking change. In one period I had 5 out of 6 round trip flights rescheduled due to cancelled flights. It has reached the point of feeling like a bait and switch operation since it is usually too late or too expensive to rebook with another airline when they cancel the flight. I also fly with other airlines although not as frequent and have not had that problem with them. I hate to give up the companion pass but have decided to use another airline for my travel needs due to frequently having to change business/vacation plans.

groups from Australia

Australia — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 23:43:32 GMT

Hi,

We have a group of approximately 180 who will fly into LAX & SFO from Australia, late December 2021 & early January 2022.

From around 3 to 7 January 2022, they'll all want to fly from California to Colorado from various airports in LA & San Fran region. Doesn't matter which airports in each region. For LA could also use SAN. For SFO could also use SMF.

They will mostly want to fly back to California prior to MLK long weekend, again to one of 10 airports above, as most will not be on return flights to Australia until evening of 19 January 2022 at the earliest.

Imagine they will fly in groups of 10 to 20 people.

Phoning a U.S. number in the middle of the night our time, is not an option. We are 15 hours ahead of Dallas Texas time.

WE NEED A CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS.

New to A-List - do I still need to check in to guarantee my boarding number?

Chelle313 — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 22:22:34 GMT

Just received a promotional A-List status - YAY! Now what? I'm so used to setting my alarm 24hours and 3 minutes prior to departure so I can try to snag a good seat. Does this now mean I can just "show up" at the airport 2 hours prior to departure, and my A-boarding number will be there? Or do I still need to set my alarm to secure a good seat? I see comments about 36 hours..does that only apply to Early Bird Check-in, NOT to A-List? Thanks in advance for the explanation.

Post-Pandemic suggested route

PahoehoePete — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 16:07:34 GMT

Consider an Alaska/Hawaii leisure travel route, possibly summer only, for European tourism to these States:

BGO-FAI-KOA (HNL also possible). Ideally pressure DOT to open up a minimal "experimental sterile transit area" at FAI to avoid need for in-transit customs hassles. Return flight could be booked indepentently for an Alaskan as well as Hawaiian vacation. cuts at least 10 hour off of flight time to Hawaii and could be done with fuel-efficent single aisle aircrafft! The MAx 7 (or 😎 could be used also for interisland and inter-Alaskan flights.

Costa Rica Now Open

Hope2 — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 12:05:33 GMT

SW has opened Cost Rica flights but there aren't any flights. Does anyone know how long it take SW to update their schedules once they open a destination?

4 Hour Delay reported in Flight Status 7 hours before flight time - flight left almost on time

davismdd — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 12:05:30 GMT

Flight #1096 scheduled to leave at 7:40 pm BWI to MIA on 4/24. Around noon, my husband checked flight status in the Southwest app and it showed the flight would not leave until 11:00 pm and arrive in MIA after 1:00 am, when the rental car agency would be closed. We were scheduled for a scuba dive in Key Largo at 8:00 am the next morning, and because it seemed we would not be able to get our car rental (or much sleep) we cancelled our trip. Later we were shocked to see the flight left just 20 minutes late.

In my experience, reported flight delays just get worse as the day goes on. Why would a such a long delay be reported so early in the day -- it seems it was not accurate information.

I do realize that booking a dive for the next morning was not an optimal choice given that delays do happen.

delayed flight due to miscommunication and misinformation from Southwest

jewel11223 — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 01:49:38 GMT

I had a flight booked this evening (flight number 2736) for 5:50pm from ISP to PBI which had been delayed twice. I had received a text message from Southwest at 1:50pm stating my flight was delayed until 7:35pm, and then received another text message at 5:30pm stating the delay had been pushed back further to 11:05pm. At this point I became disappointed due to the extremely late arrival time. Suddenly at 5:41pm (11 minutes after I received the last text from Southwest), Southwest informed me the flight would now be departing at 6:15pm. 30 minutes is not enough time to get to the airport for that departure time due to travel time and going through security check points.

At this point I now have missed my flight and every flight for the evening. I called customer service and had no choice but to wait 45 minutes for a call back. When I spoke to the customer service representative, she was able to get me on another flight in the morning which is inconvenient for me since I have prior work engagements which I will now miss. Not to mention medication I need that I will now have to go a day without. I suffer from severe asthma.

When I realized I had received C class seating I contacted customer service, waited 50 minutes again, received a call back, got put on hold immediately for 10 minutes, just to be disconnected. At this point, I wasn't even able to get a chance to speak to a representative to try to change my seat class.

The reason I wanted to change the C class seating was because of the traumatic experience of being the last person boarded in the last seat by the bathroom that I was continuously bumped into during my whole flight up to New York. I definitely did not want this same horrific experience during my flight home since we are supposed to be socially distant due to COVID-19.

I spent about $473 to fly with Southwest, which I feel was extremely expensive for a flight especially during a pandemic. I always fly Jet blue but heard good things about Southwest from a mothers group of 11k women. I am active member of this community of women who travel frequently, so I decided to give you a try. Unfortunately, I was misdirected and extremely inconvenienced and now disappointed.

I feel I should be compensated for this mess of an experience due to incorrect information from the company message alerts. Nobody should be without their medication and have to put their health at risk for incorrect delay information that caused me to miss my adjusted flight.

Customer Service Complaint

Melinad380 — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 18:45:47 GMT

I missed my connecting flight from NYC to MCO. I've never missed a flight. I spoke to the CSA in NYC to try and re-book me to get to my final destination MEM. I need/needed to really get home. At first she said that wasn't possible...Due to it only being flights to Chicago. She issued me travel credit. It wasn't until I explained I was a former employee of Southwest. And while we were talking I googled a flight from MDW to MEM. I could actually make it. I walked to try to contact SWA customer service, the wait was too long. I went back up to the desk. And showed her what I think would work again. She blamed the system for not working and then said I would I have to purchase separate tickets after calling SOS. I didn't mind paying the difference. The flight was boarding and it was taking forever. So, I told her not worry about it. I don't know if she used the full amount or what she did. I appreciated her help though. I brought a ticket when I got to MDW to MEM. A lady name Octavia and a ramp agent name Joshua were terrible. They have terrible customer service.

Toddlers eating on flights

Kar33 — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 15:26:19 GMT

Can my boys age 4 and 5 eat snacks on the plane and we also have lollipops for take off.

Name mismatch passport with companion

Aedrown — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 14:27:39 GMT

Hello,

I'm traveling to Cancun, Mexico from Houston for a vacation. My Southwest ticket has my married name, but my passport has my maiden name.

My US drivers license and match the name on my ticket.

I have a legal USA marriage certificate reflecting the name change.

I’ve seen the other thread with a similar question but I wanted to see if anyone had successfully traveled in this situation with a companion recently. That post was from 2017 so wanted to check.

Thank you.

Tennessee One

Anonymous4021 — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 18:44:41 GMT

Do Southwest have an explanation on why the Tennessee One aircraft (N922WN) was quietly repainted into the standard Heart livery?

I am hearing dirty rumors that it was due to its resemblance to the Confederate flag or the history of Tennessee’s position on owning slaves more than 130 years ago.

Please help a loyal customer understand that rationale.

Resumption of flights to Belize

SherJones — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 16:53:09 GMT

Greetings.

Please let us know when SWA is resuming flights to Belize? There are many of us who have credit to use and now that the Phillip Goldson IAP is reopened, we would love to use our credits to fly to Belize. We thought that SWA would resume flights in April 2021. Please hurry and re-open this route from all locations, but especially from DCA; ATL; and FLL. Thank you.

Customer Service Complaint

ksmith08 — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 14:44:26 GMT

Recently, my family and I traveled on a short flight from Fort Lauderdale to Nashville. We were traveling with two children (ages 2 and 8). Our 2 year old sometimes has trouble keeping her mask on, and on the flight down, no one even mentioned her wearing one. On the flight back, we were very much harassed about her wearing her mask and that it covered her nose and mouth at all times. Okay, no big deal. We are not anti-maskers and understand the rules even though they were not consistently enforced. Our daughter didn’t have problems and we were able to reason and bribe her with keeping her mask on, but the little boy (also 2) in front of us had a visible learning disability and was not able to comply with this rule. The flight attendants were extremely rude to this single mother traveling alone. She kept explaining that her son had autism and didn’t understand and the flight attendants were EXTREMELY rude and inconsiderate to her son’s needs. The flight was held up for 30 minutes because the poor toddler kept ripping his mask off. He didn’t understand what was going on and his little eyes were so sad and confused with why everyone was upset with him. At this point, the mom became angry because the flight attendants did not care that her son had special needs and they threatened to remove her and her son from the plane if he didn’t leave his mask on. The flight attendants came back again and removed mother and son from flight even though she was traveling alone. Throughout the entire ordeal, they kept coming to my aisle and giving my daughter death looks to make sure she was still wearing her masks. I have never felt more uncomfortable. Two year olds should not be treated with disdain over a mask issue - especially one with special needs!!! I also want to point out that my daughter is white without a learning disability, and the little boy in front of us was black and had a visible disability. Then the mom had to plead with flight attendants that he is autistic in front of other passengers. I had tried to call for two weeks about this incident and got through to no one!!! This is not okay and needs to be addressed immediately in company policy and also an apology to this poor mother and her child.

Resume flights to Nassau

Brandystar — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 12:21:29 GMT

Any updated information for when SW will resume flights to Nassau? We have credits from our trip we cancelled last summer and a trip booked for July. I’m getting really nervous waiting this long to book a flight. Also any idea why SW is one of the only major airlines NOT resuming flights to the Bahamas?

Question regarding purchasing tickets

ldp103 — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 11:45:54 GMT

Hello,

I would like to book a flight for my wife and two daughters ( 6, 13), I saw one ticket option for 67 per ticket as the wanna fly option, the other price is about 135 for the business select. My question is if I select the business ticket would I be able to select the seating. I just do not want to purchase the cheapest tickets and then not have the option of seating together

Thank you

plane tickets

ruiz13 — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 05:31:41 GMT

Hello I had purchased airline tickets but i had cancelled the flight i had to flight on October 25 0f 2019 but i had cancelled they said i had credits to travel because they couldnt refund me so i had 6 months to travel but then we had to stay home and coulnt travel because of covid 19 and i wanted to know if we still have our credits now that its ok to travel . this is the confirmation of our tickets # LKBRIV

Using child's rapid rewards

mommabear — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 03:56:33 GMT

My children have RR and now have enough points for a flight. How would I use these points If I'm booking the flights for the family? Do I need to transfer their points to my account (paying a fee)? I'm assuming I can't buy an individual ticket under my 7 yr old's name... Thanks for the help!

Must read if flying SW

kdleonard — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 21:03:08 GMT

Anyone that typically flies @southwestair - TAKE NOTE!

I recently had a flight from Columbus to Miami with a layover in Atlanta. Prior to take off from the original flight, I received two notifications that the connecting flight had changed to a little bit of a later time. Upon landing in Atlanta, I receive a notification that the flight had been cancelled. I spoke with a customer service representative and was told that the flights for that day were booked and the next available flight was not until the following day in the late afternoon. I then go to locate my luggage in the baggaige claim and am told that if I want my luggage it is going to be at least an hour. Considering that all my bags were checked and I did not have any personal belongings, I agreed to wait. Two hours go by and my luggage was not located- only to be told that it "likely" was on another plane and I would not be getting it that afternoon. At this point, not only was my plane cancelled and luggage lost, I had to pay for my hotel that I had booked in Miami, a hotel night in Atlanta, transportation to and from the airport, in additional to food and beverage in the airport. Nearly $700+ later and an unmeasurable amount of frustration- as anyone could imagine.

It gets better! I filed a complaint with Southwest Airlines to address the issue only to be told that Air Traffic Control cancelled the flight (though there were other flights/airlines still operating as normal with no delays at the same exact airport). As a result, the only thing that Southwest guarentees is a seat on the next available flight but no reimbursements. Despite the extra $700+ that I had to spend due to the major inconvenience, they offered me a $75 voucher for future use on their airline and a "sorry for the inconvenience".

In summary, I would never wish this on anyone and would highly recommend choosing any other airline but Southwest. This was by far the most frustrating experience- not only in the moment, but after the facts having to fight it only to get nowhere.

Unworkable policy for disabled patients with heart failure

ACESNEIGHTS — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 20:43:41 GMT

If you cannot wear a mask because of breathlessness caused by heart failure, SWA graciously allows you to fly without a mask:

IF THERE IS NO ONE ELSE ON THE FLIGHT WITH A MASK EXEMPTION

AND THE FLIGHT IS LESS THAN 75% FULL.

Otherwise, you WILL BE DENIED BOARDING and rescheduled until a flight that is less than 75% full and has no one else with a medical exemption on board, no matter how long that takes hours or days.

The solution is to buy a portable oxygen concentrator that can deliver oxygen under your mask for $4000, or wear a mask that looks compliant but fits so poorly that it doesn't restrict your breathing at all or just wing it and have the flight attendants bring you bottled oxygen if you become breathless due to the mask.

After a few emergency landings, the airlines might be able to get the FAA/CDC to change their policy or if this is a SWA policy they might change it.

Left Sony Camara on Flight 4/19/2021 PDX to Denver

Jetsetter66 — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 04:28:25 GMT

I left PDX airport 4/19/21 flight 1086 at 3:10 to Denver, then on to Houston Flight # 2400 not realizing I left my Sony Camera underneath my seat in Den and didn’t realize it until I arrived home in Houston Tx that’s when I Immediately contacted SWA and put in a lost item report what I’m very displeased about the most is the lack of communication and not being even able to contact the arrival gate to see if it was turned in. I also want to mention the fact that I seen a guy cleaning the plane upon me departing the plane which was in back on the right hand side middle seat so I know someone seen it I travel frequently with SWA being that they are my Preferred Airline it would be comforting to that the airline and its employees are honest and that it’s not a blessing when when finding someone else’s property the right thing to do is to turn it in

I am not a happy customer 😞

$460 cancelled COVID flight, I can only use $50 to rebook?!?!?!?!?

daniele1 — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 01:35:33 GMT

Had a vacation planned for April 2020. Thanks to Covid that didn't happen. Tried to rebook vacation, but had to cancel rebooking due to second wave and lockdown. Trying to rebook vacation for October 2021 and now I only have $50 in travel funds. All other credits have expired. I have not used any of the original $460. I am just trying to book a flight. My friends have already rebooked through United with no issues. Southwest said we would have until September 2021 to use the money from cancelled flights. Please someone help I am beyond frustrated and upset. I booked with Southwest because they advertise that they care about customer service and it seems like all my friends that booked on Spirit/United are getting much better customer service. Please help I am just trying not to lose this $410 its a lot of money. Can anyone help me book this flight?

Anyone that reads this if you see no responses and just excuses it tells you everything you need to know about Southwest. $460 spent and no flight so far...