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Word of Warning to Customers of Size and Early Bird

twinmama
Explorer C

About 6 months ago, on the very first morning the schedule was opened for September, I purchased tickets for me and my children to fly across the country. I also purchased Early Bird for all of us so that I could ensure I would be able to board and sit with them.

 

Fast-forward to a couple of days ago. As a customer of size who stresses about airline travel, I decided to purchase a second seat. I contacted customer service, who instructed me to purchase the second seat and use the guidelines found here https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/extra-seat/index-pol.html,

 

So I bought the ticket, thinking I was doing the right thing. Exact same information, with the addition of middle name XS.

 

Not so, apparently. This morning I woke up to find that my first ticket and early bird had been deleted by the system. 

 

According to the person I spoke with this morning, their instructions to put XS as the middle name are wrong, and it kicks off an error in the system. The only way to fix it is to purchase the original seat again, starting from scratch with the early bird position instead of retaining the position I purchased 6 months ago.

 

Just wanted to let folks know to call instead of purchasing online if you want to avoid an issue like this. 

 

(And yes, I know I can preboard. But I have a bunch of kids with me that I kind of need to be with. And I can't send them onboard alone to wait for me to board later. )

 

 

 

5 REPLIES 5

Re: Word of Warning to Customers of Size and Early Bird

dfwskier
Aviator A
Solution

Sorry to hear that this happened to you.

 

SInce you bought the original ticket 6 months ago, your flight is coming up soon, right? If so,

buying early bird now might not help much - as early bird spots are assigned in the order purchased.

 

If I were you, I'd call customer relations (weekdays only 8-5 I think)  855-234-4654 and:

 

1) explain the situation

2) Given the situation ask to be comped a business select boarding slot (A1-A15)

3) Have them re-instate the deleted ticket  and properly mark the "extra" ticket for you. You;ll need to know your confirmation number.

 

If you don't immediately get what you want, ask to speak to a supervisor.

Re: Word of Warning to Customers of Size and Early Bird

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Totally agree with @dfwskier, if you explain the situation as clearly, calmly, and as straightforward as you did here I'd be surprised if Southwest didn't try to make things better for you. This is clearly a case of the automated canceling of duplicate bookings gone bad. Please reply back and let us know what happens.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Word of Warning to Customers of Size and Early Bird

twinmama
Explorer C

Thanks for the useful suggestions. I spoke with several customer service representatives throughout the day. All of them were very kind.

 

In the end, they were able to reinstate my original ticket, but not my Early Bird position. They did, however, offer to reimburse me upon return if I purchased an upgraded boarding position at the gate for each leg of my flight (assuming availability). That would allow me to board at the same position as my children.

Re: Word of Warning to Customers of Size and Early Bird

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Thanks for the update, it's good to hear they worked with you to find a solution. Hopefully you are able to enjoy the trip. 

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Word of Warning to Customers of Size and Early Bird

dfwskier
Aviator A

@TheMiddleSeat wrote:

Thanks for the update, it's good to hear they worked with you to find a solution. Hopefully you are able to enjoy the trip. 

 

--TheMiddleSeat


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