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Max 8 Cancellations

maggie1954
Explorer C

If American is advising their customers weeks in advance  of Max 8 cancellations why is Southwest not doing the same?  It is such a disservice to your customers to cancel their flights 5 days prior, leaving them without much recourse.  I love WN but this is not good CS or planning.

23 REPLIES 23

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

ZevSupport
Frequent Flyer A

Hey there,

 

Southwest has pulled their 737 Max 8s from service, and are offering to rebook customers with no transfer or change fees, and that includes no difference in fare. You can check your reservation if this waiver is in place for your trip.

 

Hope this helps, 


Community Champion | PHL based | ex-Companion Pass Holder | Southwest Passenger

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@ZevSupport wrote:

Hey there,

 

Southwest has pulled their 737 Max 8s from service, and are offering to rebook customers with no transfer or change fees, and that includes no difference in fare. You can check your reservation if this waiver is in place for your trip.

 

Hope this helps, 

 

Unfortunately, that general waiver has ended. Currently, you can change your flight with no additional cost (per the published reacommodation policy) only after your flight is cancelled.

 

Southwest is cancelling flights affected by the MAX aircraft grounding about 5 days in advance, so it's a good idea to check and see if your flight is affected as that timeframe approaches. Cancellations are not limited to MAX aircraft, and a flight that was originally scheduled on a MAX plane may not be cancelled if a plane swap is planned.

 

The best advice is to check your flight status as it gets closer to departure. That 5-day timeframe may change if Southwest is able to be more proactive with cancellations, and/or are able to bring in additional aircraft to help fill the gap (although I've not heard anything officially).

 

 

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

WindyIsle
Explorer B

Well, it would help if the system actually worked that way.  I received notice on Saturday (23MAR) that our flights for Friday (29MAR) were cancelled.  As you described, SW claimed that they would re-book us on the next available flight.  Problem is, the next available flight isn't until Monday (01APR).  THREE DAYS LATER!!!  This is nuts.  I don't understand why I'm not hearing/seeing more outrage about this. 

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@WindyIsle wrote:

Well, it would help if the system actually worked that way.  I received notice on Saturday (23MAR) that our flights for Friday (29MAR) were cancelled.  As you described, SW claimed that they would re-book us on the next available flight.  Problem is, the next available flight isn't until Monday (01APR).  THREE DAYS LATER!!!  This is nuts.  I don't understand why I'm not hearing/seeing more outrage about this. 


 

 

You must not be looking at Southwest's social media accounts.

 

Sorry to joke -- I know it's not funny. But there are many customers upset right now, and unfortunately, there's not really much that Southwest can do that they aren't already doing.

 

The 737 MAX8 aircraft have been grounded. In general, planes are booked close to capacity, so there's just not that many seats in which to put all the displaced customers. Southwest's operations people are trying to minimize the disruptions as best they can, but until the grounding is lifted (likely months away), or unless Southwest is able to lease some replacement aircraft in the interim (a possibility, but I've heard nothing official yet suggesting that's happening) passengers will continue to be displaced. Sorry. 😞

 

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

SWDigits
Aviator A
Additional context in this article:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/27/investing/southwest-airlines-growth/index.html

According to the article during the quarter, "2,800 of the cancellations were because of the Boeing (BA) 737 Max grounding."

Customer | Home airport DCA

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

WindyIsle
Explorer B

Thanks for the reply.  I understand what you're saying.  That being said, what SW could and should do is either assist us (financially and logistically) in re-booking on other airlines, or provide some form of compensation for our trouble (free round-trip tickets).  This is a HUGE deal; having your flights cancelled and being told that there are no other flights available for three days!  SW has literally done nothing, except refund those tickets.  In the past, airlines have done far more for their customers, for much lesser offenses.  We are so frustrated right now...

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@WindyIsle wrote:

Thanks for the reply.  I understand what you're saying.  That being said, what SW could and should do is either assist us (financially and logistically) in re-booking on other airlines, or provide some form of compensation for our trouble (free round-trip tickets).  This is a HUGE deal; having your flights cancelled and being told that there are no other flights available for three days!  SW has literally done nothing, except refund those tickets.  In the past, airlines have done far more for their customers, for much lesser offenses.  We are so frustrated right now...


 

I understand what you're saying, I really do.

 

However, Southwest has no interline agreements with any other carriers, so they will never put you on another carriers flight. That's just a reality of flying Southwest.

 

Southwest also doesn't reimburse for alternate travel expenses, although Customer Relations may provide vouchers towards future travel in cases like these.

 

Southwest is losing huge amounts of money due to the grounding of the planes (and other operational challenges they've faced recently). Reportedly $150 million in the first quarter.  And the situation is far from over, so it's unlikely that they will offer anything special in this situation (like they did, for instance, when they suffered a brief IT meltdown some years ago).

 

Sorry. 😞

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

rissag
Explorer C

Believe me....I know your frustration!  Not only are we asking Southwest the following questions....which remain NO answers!

1) Why can't you send me a copy of the full page memo you said you sent out to certain accounts (MINE) and 3000 customers that were affected by the grounding?  

2) Why did you choose my plane for another destination?  And if you did .... why wouldn't you find me another plane so I could go on my cruise?

3) Why did you wait until 2 days before my plane departed to inform me of the cancellation of my flight?

4) Why did you send me a letter telling my flight was cancelled due to mechanical failure BUT it was really rescheduled for another destination?

5) Why did you send me  another letter 10 days later telling me it was maintenance?

6) While 30+ countries were grounding their planes....why weren't you working on rescheduling your flights to accomodate ALL your customers?  

7) Why would you not help someone to find another flight so she wouldn't miss her cruise?

     Sidenote-Cruise insurance will only refund for weather related issues of a plane!

HEY!  MAYBE IN ANOTHER 10 DAYS I MIGHT GET A DIFFERENT LETTER TELLING ME MY FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER RELATED ISSUES!

 

Re: Max 8 Cancellations

WindyIsle
Explorer B

chgoflyer, I appreciate your empathy.  I'm well aware of the interline agreement situation, and I think that most of us with these complaints are.  This may technically be Boeing's problem, but I can't deal directly with Boeing; SW is the middle-man here.  The interline agreement argument in extenuating circumstances situations such as this, is frankly ridiculous.  Guess who else doesn't have an interline agreement...me!  SW can just as easily book my family and I on other flights as I can.  The difference is that I'm not at fault here.  I don't own an airline.  I didn't purchase faulty aircraft.  I should not be incurring this extra expense or hassle.  I had to re-book last-minute, spring break timeframe flights with United on my own, which cost us an extra $1300!!!  SW should absolutely be covering that cost.  The issue here is that SW has truly hung some of us out to dry.  As livid as I am right now, I cannot even imagine how upset I'd be if I was already at my destination, and my return flight was cancelled (and I couldn't get another flight for three days).  I would incur major food, lodging, and rental car expenses, plus, have to take more days off of work (costing us even more money).  SW would reimburse NONE of those costs.  We'd just be screwed.  I simply cannot understand how SW is getting away with any of this.  In regards to SW losing money; again, not even remotely my problem.  I may have an incredibly limited understanding of business, but I'm guessing that when this is all over, SW will be doing just fine.  I'm also certain that SW will be receiving some form of compensation from Boeing. How could they not?..  Please understand, my tone of frustration is not at all directed at you.  My anger is with SW.