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Flight cancelled and rebooked for a day earlier to Dominican Republic

Shawntel13
Explorer C

First off I want to say that I am a very very loyal Southwest customer.  They are without a doubt my preferred airline.  I fly several times a week for work, I'm A-List preferred and I have a companion pass.  However,  this past January I booked a trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.  When I was booking I even called and spoke to a Southwest Airlines agent who gave me tips on where to fly into from the West Coast to be able to have a direct flight to Dominican Republic.  No big deal I had to fly from Phoenix to Chicago and then a flight from Chicago to Dominican Republic.   This is all new for Southwest and I totally understood why they may not have flights directly from the West Coast yet I was just glad that I could fly them to my vacation.  If that meant I had to stay a night over in Chicago then so be it I was willing to do that.  

 

About a month later I received a phone call from Southwest Airlines saying that my travel plans have been changed and to call them back.  Upon calling I was told that my flight has been canceled from Chicago to the Dominican republic and booked for a day earlier. This isn't just a flight to a busy city it's a flight to an international country.  I had already booked a resort stay in Punta Cana for this trip based on the days of my original travel.  Everyone knows that those type of  reservations are often times not flexible without having to pay some sort of a penalty.  When I asked what I was supposed to do to find a place to stay a day earlier Southwest did not care that was my problem.  I said, "what happens if I can't stay at that same resort a day earlier than my original reservation? Would I be compensated with the love voucher or something to help offset the cost of having to stay somewhere else for an unplanned day, change penalties, etc.?"  Shockingly southwest airline said no.  They told me that I agreed to the terms and conditions when I reserved my travel.  So the conversation ended that I either take the new flight they booked which extends my trip a day or I cancel my entire trip and re-book somewhere else.  

 

Needless to say I was shocked that Southwest was willing to do nothing to make that up to me.   After all they're so great about sending love vouchers for being inconvenienced during boarding or having to deboard and re-board.  I couldn't believe they were not willing to help offset any of my cost for having to find a place to stay a day earlier or by having to cancel and rebook my reservation that I would be assumed penalties on.  

1 REPLY 1

Re: Flight cancelled and rebooked for a day earlier to Dominican Republic

LindseyD
Retired Community Manager

Hi @Shawntel13,

 

Have you reached out to our Customer Relations Department? You can contact them at 1-855-234-4654. The Southwest Airlines Community is not one of our complaint resolution channels, but we'd really like the opportunity to speak with you. Nobody likes to have vacation plans changed at the last minute, and I'm sorry that you were put in an inconvenient situation.