Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

new policy on changing reservations?

MattRuscigno
Explorer C

Screen Shot 2017-03-19 at 9.04.02 PM.png

 

I got this notification yesterday, which was a bit shocking! One of the great benefits of Southwest is being able to change tickets at anytime an unlimited number of times. I haven't seen any announcement about a change. This further complicates the issue that Southwest doesn't show you your unused vouchers/tickets/etc.

Anyone else find this worrisome?  

1 REPLY 1

Re: new policy on changing reservations?

chgoflyer
Aviator A

Yes.

 

This is apparently caused by a limitation of the new "next generation" booking system. Unfortunately, it's just one of many. 😞

 

More info here. (Choose "Next Generation Reservation System" from the "Select Topic" menu on the left.)

 

Nothing changes as far as being able to modify/change a Wanna Get Away fare. This only affects refundable fares (Business Select, Anytime, Senior, etc.). But it affects them in a major way.

 

Going forward, you should never change/modify a refundable fare. Always cancel and then rebook that fare. Otherwise you'll lose the refundability.

 

This means that you'll have funds tied up with Southwest (until the refund is issued), and you'll lose any EarlyBird Check-In fees you've paid should you need to cancel/rebook.

 

Most importantly, this is completely counterintuitive to how we've always managed reservations with Southwest. I suspect this new policy will trip up many, especially business travelers.

 

Major thumbs down.