Flight Cancellation due to weather???

[Salsasb3ar]

Very disappointed in SWA and your customer service team.  My wife and 17 year old son were on a college visit to Texas A&M with a flight back to Kansas City from Houston today.  When they got to the airport they found out their flight was cancelled "due to weather".  Customer service told them there was nothing they could do, other than get them to Dallas today and on another flight tomorrow to KC.  Offered nothing in the way of compensation.  They had to spend almost $200 on a room near Love Field, $30 on dinner, an extra $25 for parking, and my 17 year old is losing out on almost $100 in wages because he won't make his job on Sunday.  

Then we find out every other airline is having no issues with the KC weather (my father in-law flew in from Florida this evening).  We also find out that SWA has cancelled a bunch of flights due to an "operational emergency" in regards to contract negotiations with their mechanics.

How about a little something for the effort?

Herb Kelleher must be rolling in his grave...

[bec102896]

@Salsasb3ar

Sorry to hear about your flight being cancelled. I know first hand how frustrating it can be to have a delay in your arrival because of a cancellation. 

I would recommend you reach out to customer relations by calling 855-234-4654 or you can click on the contact us link at the bottom of this page to send a message to customer relations and someone from Southwest will reply to you as soon as possible. 

You could also try and send southwest a message on Twitter or Facebook and they could look in to things that way as well. 

Hope the rest of your travel goes smoothly!

Blake 

[dfwskier]

Hello.

Yes, cancellations are never fun. I've had four of them so far this year, but I travel a lot.

You need to remember that Southwest operates a bit differntly than most airlines. Instead of flying to and from a few hubs, Southwest is a point to point airline. So Southwest flys from lots of cities to lots of other cities. That could mean that the weather in another city prevented the flight (and plane) from that other city from getting to Houston, thus cancelling you flight becasue there was no availabe plane. So weather does not have to be at either your departure or arrival city to be causing trouble with your flight.

As Blake said, you might want to reach out to the airline to see whether or not an accomodation is possible.

Sorry that this turned out badly for you.

[Reb7990]

All airlines consider the cancellation of a flight an act of god. Southwest is no different. It wouldn’t be feasible for airlines to offer hotel accommodations but maybe they should offer insurance for such cases where the passenger agrees to pay the insurance while purchasing their tickets. Most airlines will waive the fee to change flights but it’s not mandatory. I have always found SW very accommodating. 

[dfwskier]

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@Reb7990 wrote:

All airlines consider the cancellation of a flight an act of god. Southwest is no different. It wouldn’t be feasible for airlines to offer hotel accommodations but maybe they should offer insurance for such cases where the passenger agrees to pay the insurance while purchasing their tickets. Most airlines will waive the fee to change flights but it’s not mandatory. I have always found SW very accommodating. 

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Actually, Southwest always waives any change fee on flights it cancels. The rule is the you can get a seat on the same routing within 14 days on any flight that has an available seat -- at no additional fee. Getting cash back (even on non- refundable fares) is also an option. I'm going to travel Tuesday on a ticket issued for a flight that was cancelled last Wednesday.

As far as insurance goes, Southwest  (beyond what was said above) doesn't offer it because Southwest allows anyone to cancel a flight for any reason and, depending on the fare, get either cash bck or travel funds.

Anyone can buy travel insurance from an indpendent vendor for things other than air fare. It's expensive enough that I wouldn't think of buying it. I'd send far more over time on nsurance than I'd ever collect on a rare claim.

[Mhops]

My flight was canceled yesterday because bad weather was possibly arriving 8 hours after landing.  Plane was ready to go but not put in use, so had to make other arrangements.  Lesson learned is that bad weather can affect your flight the day before in happens!

[chgoflyer]

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@dfwskier wrote:

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@Reb7990 wrote:

All airlines consider the cancellation of a flight an act of god. Southwest is no different. It wouldn’t be feasible for airlines to offer hotel accommodations but maybe they should offer insurance for such cases where the passenger agrees to pay the insurance while purchasing their tickets. Most airlines will waive the fee to change flights but it’s not mandatory. I have always found SW very accommodating. 

---

Actually, Southwest always waives any change fee on flights it cancels. The rule is the you can get a seat on the same routing within 14 days on any flight that has an available seat -- at no additional fee. Getting cash back (even on non- refundable fares) is also an option. I'm going to travel Tuesday on a ticket issued for a flight that was cancelled last Wednesday.

To be clear: Southwest never charges change fees. They do however charge the fare difference if you electively change your flight to a different one.

If Southwest cancels your flight for any reason, according to their Contract of Carriage (pdf) you are due either reaccommodation on the next flight to the same destination that has available space, for no additional charge, or a full refund.

If Southwest has issued a Travel Advisory that covers your flight, you can alter your plans and make a one-time change to rebook on another flight within 14 days of the original flight, between the original city pairs (or sometimes co-terminals if applicable), for no additional charge, according to their accommodation procedures, or request a full refund.

[dfwskier]

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@chgoflyer wrote:

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@dfwskier wrote:

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@Reb7990 wrote:

All airlines consider the cancellation of a flight an act of god. Southwest is no different. It wouldn’t be feasible for airlines to offer hotel accommodations but maybe they should offer insurance for such cases where the passenger agrees to pay the insurance while purchasing their tickets. Most airlines will waive the fee to change flights but it’s not mandatory. I have always found SW very accommodating. 

---

Actually, Southwest always waives any change fee on flights it cancels. The rule is the you can get a seat on the same routing within 14 days on any flight that has an available seat -- at no additional fee. Getting cash back (even on non- refundable fares) is also an option. I'm going to travel Tuesday on a ticket issued for a flight that was cancelled last Wednesday.

To be clear: Southwest never charges change fees. They do however charge the fare difference if you electively change your flight to a different one.

 Let's try to clarify that further. Example:

If your flight from Dallas to Chicago was cancelled (insert your real itinerary)

1) You can get a seat on any Dallas to Chicago flight that has an open seat within 14 days at no addiional cost.

2) Alterntively, you could fly from Dallas to Milwaukee, and there would be a charge. Hint: you may be able to sweet talk a reservations person in to letting you make that change at no  charge, but that is not assured. That is more llkely if you have to be in Chicago TODAY, your flight TODAY was cancelled, and the best you can do is get close to Chicago TODAY.

3)You can cancel the reservation. If you do it yourself, you will get travel funds. If you do it with a reservations person you can ask for cash back to whatever method used to pay for the original reservation. Alternatively, you can ask for travel funds. If you used a gift card to pay for the original reservation, your only option is travel funds.

[chgoflyer]

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@dfwskier wrote:

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@chgoflyer wrote:

---

@dfwskier wrote:

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@Reb7990 wrote:

All airlines consider the cancellation of a flight an act of god. Southwest is no different. It wouldn’t be feasible for airlines to offer hotel accommodations but maybe they should offer insurance for such cases where the passenger agrees to pay the insurance while purchasing their tickets. Most airlines will waive the fee to change flights but it’s not mandatory. I have always found SW very accommodating. 

---

Actually, Southwest always waives any change fee on flights it cancels. The rule is the you can get a seat on the same routing within 14 days on any flight that has an available seat -- at no additional fee. Getting cash back (even on non- refundable fares) is also an option. I'm going to travel Tuesday on a ticket issued for a flight that was cancelled last Wednesday.

To be clear: Southwest never charges change fees. They do however charge the fare difference if you electively change your flight to a different one.

 Let's try to clarify that further. Example:

If your flight from Dallas to Chicago was cancelled (insert your real itinerary)

1) You can get a seat on any Dallas to Chicago flight that has an open seat within 14 days at no addiional cost.

2) Alterntively, you could fly from Dallas to Milwaukee, and there would be a charge. Hint: you may be able to sweet talk a reservations person in to letting you make that change at no  charge, but that is not assured. That is more llkely if you have to be in Chicago TODAY, your flight TODAY was cancelled, and the best you can do is get close to Chicago TODAY.

3)You can cancel the reservation. If you do it yourself, you will get travel funds. If you do it with a reservations person you can ask for cash back to whatever method used to pay for the original reservation. Alternatively, you can ask for travel funds. If you used a gift card to pay for the original reservation, your only option is travel funds.

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I've had no experience rebooking a canceled flight (unprotected by a Travel Advisory) for one "up to 14 days later" -- I'm just aware that the Southwest Contract of Carriage guarantees accommodation on the next flight with available space. Are you certain that is the policy on non-protected flights?

If you cancel a non-refundable reservation electively you will only receive Travel Funds, calling will not generate any kind of refund. If Southwest cancels a non-refundable reservation you are due a full refund upon request (with any Gift Card funds being converted to Travel Funds).

[dfwskier]

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@chgoflyer wrote:

---

@dfwskier wrote:

---

@chgoflyer wrote:

---

@dfwskier wrote:

---

@Reb7990 wrote:

All airlines consider the cancellation of a flight an act of god. Southwest is no different. It wouldn’t be feasible for airlines to offer hotel accommodations but maybe they should offer insurance for such cases where the passenger agrees to pay the insurance while purchasing their tickets. Most airlines will waive the fee to change flights but it’s not mandatory. I have always found SW very accommodating. 

---

Actually, Southwest always waives any change fee on flights it cancels. The rule is the you can get a seat on the same routing within 14 days on any flight that has an available seat -- at no additional fee. Getting cash back (even on non- refundable fares) is also an option. I'm going to travel Tuesday on a ticket issued for a flight that was cancelled last Wednesday.

To be clear: Southwest never charges change fees. They do however charge the fare difference if you electively change your flight to a different one.

 Let's try to clarify that further. Example:

If your flight from Dallas to Chicago was cancelled (insert your real itinerary)

1) You can get a seat on any Dallas to Chicago flight that has an open seat within 14 days at no addiional cost.

2) Alterntively, you could fly from Dallas to Milwaukee, and there would be a charge. Hint: you may be able to sweet talk a reservations person in to letting you make that change at no  charge, but that is not assured. That is more llkely if you have to be in Chicago TODAY, your flight TODAY was cancelled, and the best you can do is get close to Chicago TODAY.

3)You can cancel the reservation. If you do it yourself, you will get travel funds. If you do it with a reservations person you can ask for cash back to whatever method used to pay for the original reservation. Alternatively, you can ask for travel funds. If you used a gift card to pay for the original reservation, your only option is travel funds.

---

I've had no experience rebooking a canceled flight (unprotected by a Travel Advisory) for one "up to 14 days later" -- I'm just aware that the Southwest Contract of Carriage guarantees accommodation on the next flight with available space. Are you certain that is the policy on non-protected flights?

If you cancel a non-refundable reservation electively you will only receive Travel Funds, calling will not generate any kind of refund. If Southwest cancels a non-refundable reservation you are due a full refund upon request (with any Gift Card funds being converted to Travel Funds).

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From page 13 of the contract:

Delays or Involuntary Cancellations. If a Passenger’s scheduled transportation is

canceled, terminated, or delayed before the Passenger has reached his final

destination as a result of a flight cancellation, Carrier

-caused missed connection,

flight delay, or omission of a scheduled stop, Carrier will either transport the

Passenger at no additional charge on another of Carrier’s flights, refund the fare for

the unused transportation

in accordance with the form of payment utilized for the

Ticket, or provide a credit for such amount toward the purchase of future travel."

And every text message I've received from the airline after getting cancelled reads:'SWA Flight XXX on Feb XX from DAL is cancelled. To rebook OR REQUEST A REFUND call 866 XXX XXXX."

I beleive the 14 day rebook rule is a federal rule all airlines must adhere to.