Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

reservation cancellation had to wait 14 hours to board plane

gamemasterdls68
Explorer C

I went to board the plane on July 27th at 6 pm from denver flight 1560 and the flight was switched multiple times throughout the night. I was told the reason was because there were many cancellations and not enough people to fly. It seems that customer service has gone down the drain. The CEO Gary C. Kelly of Dallas, TX, is not suffering at all. He earns 2 million dollars per year and $750,000 in misc benefits among other compensation. I suppose it is all about the almighty dollar. Don't worry about anyone except the end dollar. I will never fly Southwest Airlines again. The service is horrible. My father works for the IRS- I am going to ask that this CEO is investigated. He must be a crook. 

4 REPLIES 4

Re: reservation cancellation had to wait 14 hours to board plane

rtbarron
Frequent Flyer A

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience on Southwest. I can't remember the last time that I had a bad experience with them. Then again, I've come to realize that unexpected and inconvenient things happen and just roll with them, so my definition of "bad customer service" is probably much narrower than some other passengers.

In my opinion, Gary Kelly earns every penny that he makes and, unlike most other airlines, he shares the success of the company with the employees. He's been with Southwest for over 30 years so he clearly knows what he's doing. I'm confident that he's not a crook and doubt that the IRS will investigate him because the relative of an employee had an unpleasant flight.

I know that Southwest hates to lose any Customer and hope that you will give them another try because they are consistently better than the other airlines. You can call Customer Relations at 855-234-4654 to discuss your problem if you wish.

But if your mind is made up, good luck to you on United, or Frontier, or whichever airline you choose.

Re: reservation cancellation had to wait 14 hours to board plane

elijahbrantley
Aviator A

It’s unfortunate when tough circumstances make air travel frustrating. You never know how weather across the country, for example, can impact a flight in your city. 

 

I wanted to investigate why the flight was delayed 14 hours, but it seems this flight was just 1 hr 10 mins late. Were you bumped to another flight or did you miss your original one?

741BAC65-8386-4834-B9BC-AD197FD04337.png

 

 

-A List, Companion Pass holder

Re: reservation cancellation had to wait 14 hours to board plane

dfwskier
Aviator A

@gamemasterdls68 wrote:

I went to board the plane on July 27th at 6 pm from denver flight 1560 and the flight was switched multiple times throughout the night. I was told the reason was because there were many cancellations and not enough people to fly. It seems that customer service has gone down the drain. The CEO Gary C. Kelly of Dallas, TX, is not suffering at all. He earns 2 million dollars per year and $750,000 in misc benefits among other compensation. I suppose it is all about the almighty dollar. Don't worry about anyone except the end dollar. I will never fly Southwest Airlines again. The service is horrible. My father works for the IRS- I am going to ask that this CEO is investigated. He must be a crook. 


The last 4 or 5 days have been very difficult for every US airline. The bad weather  on the east coast has caused countless delays. The more the delays piled up, the more cancellations there were. Why? There are federal rules that specify how long members of the flight crew can be on duty- either on the ground or in the air.  Whn that time has been exceeded, federal law prevents them from flying. No airline was prepared for what happened this week. No airline could be staffed to a level to accomodate what is likely a once or twice a year situation. You were among tens of thousands of people affected on Southwest, and every other airline.

 

Southwest cares very much about it's passengers - more than any other US airline. It's level of customer satisfaction is the highest of any airline in the USA. Only one airline in North America is rated as one of the 10 best airlines in the world. It is Southwest. Even good airlines run into situations that they cannot overcome.

 

I know you had a bad experience,  and I'm sorry that happened to you. EVERY airline runs in to these situations. The best do, and the worst do. If you fly enough, you are bound to run in to one of them at some point. I know I have.

Re: reservation cancellation had to wait 14 hours to board plane

CareforNOLA
Frequent Flyer A

@gamemasterdls68

I am sorry that this delay happened to you.  Having been a frequent traveler for work for decades, I have been frustrated with many different incidents and airlines.  I was very relieved when the Department of Transportation passed rules and penalties in 2010 which discouraged airlines from loading passengers on a plane and making them sit for 4-5 hours waiting for take-off because I had that happen to me more than once (but my two incidents were on other airlines).  It feels better to endure the delays in the terminal than on the tarmac.

 

As a tax geek, I have to point out that Mr. Kelly’s income level puts him in a tax bracket that means he is more likely to be audited by the IRS than the average person, and the 1998 IRS Restructuring and Reform Act Section 1203 protects taxpayers from acts of retaliation from IRS employees.

 

Air travel can be rough and it seems like you had one of those trips.  I hope future travels are smoother for you.