Canceled flight/lost luggage

[Bethanybroom]

Hello,

We were supposed to depart on 4/2/22 from MDW to LGA at 1:35pm. Our flight was continually delayed by 15 minutes until 7pm when it was finally canceled. Before the actual cancellation, SouthWest announced they had secured another airplane from Baltimore and we would be taking off at 6:30 (which gave us false hope). 
After our flight was canceled at 7pm, we went to get our checked luggage. The lady at customer service desk told us to go to carousel 2 and wait for one hour. After our luggage did not come out, we went to the baggage customer service. They told us it would be 7 hours for us to get our bags. 

We did not have 7 hours to wait because our cruise was leaving from New Jersey at 12:00 pm on 4/3/22.

It was chaos. They lady in front of us had a 3 month old and her infants formula was in her luggage and they only had 1 bottle left. 
Another person was stranded because they did not have their children's car seats.

They also did not have another flight we could get on until Monday, 4/4/22

So, we drove all night (12 hours) and spent $750 at a target a dicks sporting goods store to buying clothes, toiletries  for our cruise for myself, husband, and two teenagers. 
We had to buy everything from underwear to sunscreen. We still didn’t have enough and had to wear dirty clothes. We also couldn’t attend the two formal

nights because Target and Dicks do not sell formal attire. Also, no other stores were open at 9AM on a Sunday. 
I also booked a hotel for $400 in New York City which we missed staying at. I also paid $120 in advance for airport parking in Chicago. 

Now-I have been trying to contact Southwest for 3 hours with no luck. 

Will we be reimbursed for the money we spent on clothes? What about the hotel room? They already said they could not refund us for the tickets because they were booked through a third party. The third party is telling me Southwest only allows credits towards future trips. 

Could someone from SouthWest reach out to me to make this right? I mean, it was a horrible experience. 

Thank you,

Bethany Broom-Dombrowski

[TheMiddleSeat]

Which 3rd party is selling Southwest tickets? Something does not sound right here.  If Southwest cancels a flight you are eligible for a refund. 

Did you file a lost baggage claim?

Airlines will typically cover costs for items needed to survive while bags are being located. That process does not typically take long and in this case you were told it would take 7 hours. You made the decision that you could not wait and purchased all new items instead of waiting for 7 hours. I see no reason any airline would reimburse you for any of those expenses because it was your choice not to wait. 

This story is the perfect example of why travel insurance exists and is a great addition when making plans for expensive, elaborate trips.

Your best bet to reach Southwest is to use the contact us link at the bottom of this page and send a message.

--TheMiddleSeat

[Bethanybroom]

Airfare Experts is the third party app selling SouthWest tickets.

Yes, I filed a baggage claim after being on hold for two hours. Now we have to drive an additional two hours to go and pick up our luggage at another airport. 

I would call 7 hours a long time to locate bags that never left an airport. 

We didn’t have a choice to wait because we would have missed our cruise. 

I have no idea what travel insurance would have done in this situation regarding my luggage. 

Thank you,

Bethany

[TheMiddleSeat]

You did have a choice, you made the choice to leave so you could make the cruise. It's an understandable decision, but not one that entitles you to be reimbursed for a week's worth of clothing. Travel insurance would pay for alternative travel methods and related hotel expenses if a flight was canceled and another flight was not available.

If you choose to fly Southwest in the future book directly with them for the best refund and rebooking policies. I would actually recommend this for any airline or hotel. 

--TheMiddleSeat

[jksobonya]

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@Bethanybroom wrote:

Airfare Experts is the third party app selling SouthWest tickets.

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I have literally never heard of any 3rd party selling Southwest tickets, so I had to look this up for myself. Doesn't look like a very reputable company, BBB gives "Airfare Experts" an F rating: https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/carrollton/profile/travel-agency/airfare-experts-0875-90940154 

However, it does look like they specialize more in international flights / trips around the world so how or why they are somehow offering Southwest fares is beyond me. I just tried looking up a few routes from Philadelphia to Vegas, LA, etc and it says "No flights available" at all. Very puzzling. 

--Jessica