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Don’t believe them when they say they hold connecting flights

labro16
Explorer C

My flight from Baltimore to Tulsa connecting in St. Louis was delayed did you them losing luggage. We sat on plane for over an hour. I asked customer service at the gate  before boarding if there were option to fly the next day and I anticipated there would be limited time to make connecting flight in St. Louis. I was told they were holding connecting flights and this was announced to all customers. Once on the flight, this was announced again. When I arrived to St. Louis. My connecting flight left 5 mins before scheduled time. The supervisor told me that I was told they were holding the flight so that customer service in baltimore didn’t have to deal with angry customers. Southwest has always been my favorite airlines but to be lied to by representatives of southwest just to avoid dealing with an issue is disheartening for me therefore this will be my last time flying with them. Please don’t believe them if they tell you they are holding connecting flights 

3 REPLIES 3

Re: Don’t believe them when they say they hold connecting flights

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

There's never a guarantee of a flight being held even if the request is made.  Hard to say/know what really happens behind the scenes and what criteria is used to make these decisions although I have been on numerous flights that are held for other connecting passengers so it does happen.

 

You're welcome to submit your comments directly to Southwest, use the contact us link at the bottom of the page.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Don’t believe them when they say they hold connecting flights

parpitt1
Frequent Flyer A

It is disappointing to hear that you were lied to, but I would recommend a couple of things moving forward:

Always I mean always fly direct.

When this is not possible make sure connecting flights are thru SW hubs, I don't believe St Louis is a SW hub.

If connecting be sure to fly early in the day too. 

Why? when there are delays and yes there will be delays if you are at hub you will have options.

I pay extra to fly direct sometimes, and when I can't fly direct I will pay more to connect thru a "busier" SWA serviced airport.

Less Stress less headaches etc...

Re: Don’t believe them when they say they hold connecting flights

FlyWithLUV
Frequent Flyer C

First off, thank you for sharing your experience flying with Southwest. It's definitely a difficult situation when you end up missing a connection and the inconvenience that it causes is unfathomable.

 

Generally, Southwest and other air carriers may delay flights to accommodate connecting passengers who are delayed but other factors may interfere with this general practice, such as delays that may interfere with other customers' itineraries. Due to the excessive delay that you encountered in your departure airport, it is only possible for Southwest to hold connecting flights for so long before other customers lose their connections as well. I hope this clarifies the situation that you may have encountered in St. Louis, and I hope this helps you understand what the supervisor may have been trying to say. From my perspective, Southwest is a generous carrier when it comes to delaying flights to accommodate connecting customers. Most other air carriers do not practice this, as it interferes with their schedule and results in excessive fees that are the result of delayed flights.

 

It is definitely unfortunate that the flight had to leave so close to the time you arrived at the gate.

 

I hope that Southwest was able to accommodate you on the next available departure and make any necessary arrangements for lodging, etc. I hope that you will consider choosing Southwest to travel with again.