Flight cancellations and Rebooking

[Rhonjobbie]

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.

[jksobonya · Accepted solution]

Hello,

In the case of travel funds, when you cancel a flight travel funds are valid from one year of the date of booking, not one year from the date you are going to fly. So booking in May 2020 and having the funds expire one year later in May 2021 is valid. 

Secondly, if Southwest actually cancelled your flight, did not rebook you on a different flight, and you did not cancel the flight yourself, it's possible that you could get a refund, although travel credit is still generally the first option they give you. You would have to contact Southwest via the Contact Us links below (in my opinion, social media direct messages on Facebook / Twitter have the fastest response) and explain your situation, and see what they have to say about refunding a flight that they cancelled on you.

Lastly, travel funds can be extended an additional six months by contacting Southwest after they expire, and Southwest will give you a voucher for your travel funds, but they charge a $100 fee for this and it's on a case by case basis. It may be worth it if your travel fund is a decent sum. 

--Jessica