Hello Everybody!
SoCalFlyer97's April '24 line up of Southwest Flights and Hotels continues with a 3-night weekend stay in Norco CA which is a short distance to ONT. As most travelers know, both airfare and hotel rates during the bookends of the calendar typically price higher and my place of business was no exception.
Thankfully, Southwest Hotels powered through Booking.com allows me to shop around for deals. Most cases, I can lock in terrific rates combined with huge Rapid Rewards payouts. Other times, the deal is not so great. And I had a small case of that when I booked this stay.
When I did the initial search of the area for the nights required and reviewed the Free Cancelation booking options, a top-tier, independent regional hotel located just south of Norco popped up as a Points Plus property for $580.75 after taxes/fees for the weekend with 5,000 points. I was tempted buy this; 5k is a lot of points. This hotel had solid ratings. However before I finalized the booking, I do a price comparison just to make sure--and I was glad I did:
Ayres Hotel Corona East (All prices include Free Cancellation, taxes and fees): SW Hotels: $580.75 / 5,000 Points RocketMiles: $589.82 / 4,000 Points Direct: $493.62 Trivago Lowest Price: $493.62
While the 5,000 points was generous, so was the mark-up which added up to $87.13 more than booking direct which appeared fair at first considering 5k CP-Eligible Points is a nice payout but the tradeoff was a bit on the high side in my opinion. RockMiles' deal had even a higher mark-up; a $96.20 mark-up than booking direct for 4,000 points. I opted not to buy this and went back to the Southwest Hotels search.
Travel Tip: Make the time to price-compare not only different hotels but the different booking portals to lock in the best deal.
Time for Round 2. The next hotel that popped up on the list that grabbed my attention was a Fairfield Inn & Suites for $483.07 after taxes/fees for the weekend.
Upon reviewing, the location was more convenient, rated well, supported free cancellation, and the hotel amenities were right on par with my first search:
Fairfield Inn & Suites Riverside Corona/Norco
(includes taxes/fees): SW Hotels/Rocket: $483.07 / 3,000 Points Trivago Lowest Price: $483.91 Direct: $545.97 w/ Loyalty
You read that right...for this listing, Southwest Hotels had the lowest price of the booking site competition and offered 3,000 Rapid Rewards points. SOLD.
Check-in at the Marriott's Fairfield went smoothly. Incidentals deposit was nice too...Only $20 per night; $60 held for the stay. Free guest parking was on the honor system; no need to submit plate numbers or place a ticket on the dash.
And nice hot breakfasts too for free.
Between this stay and my previous stay at the Corona Holiday Inn, the combined points received was enough to redeem a one-way flight from SAN to LAS to take place later this summer. I would consider the Southwest Hotels Points Plus deals if you're looking for points. Just remember, the points credit into the Rapid Rewards account after the stay and normally takes about a week for Plus Points properties.
Next on the Line Up: SoCalFlyer97 has training in Corona once again with another good deal locked in at another nearby Marriott property followed by a separate upcoming Southwest trip to LAS. Stay tuned for those reports.
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@65gt350 wrote:
I applied for a Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card through Chase over a month ago and their customer support is horrible. I never heard after about two weeks, so I contacted them by phone. After going to several support personnel they asked me to send additional verification documentation to verify my identity, which I did. Still no follow up from Chase. I called today and got passed around several times without resolution as they told me I need to reapply. I have been using Southwest for 10 years and have excellent credit, so the only issue I have is with Chase and their support. I am hoping this gets to someone with Southwest and find another credit card company to support this program as I will not apply with Chase ever again.
Hello!
I would try this page: https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/education/basics/how-to-check-credit-card-application-status
Go to "How else can I check my credit card application status?" and try the phone number there instead of their general customer service number. If Chase still comes back and advises you to re-apply, I would first try to verify if the first application was even received and processed. If Chase is unable to verify this for you, you can also check your credit report for the hard-inquiry regarding this application to be sure. The same article shows you how you can check this for free or you can go here.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/free-credit-reports
If you applied through the mail, I would give them at least another week to respond as it does take the bank some time process paper applications.
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4 weeks ago
4 weeks ago
@cardmary wrote:
Yesterday, April 17, 2024 i was on a flight from LAS to MDW. We landed at approximately 3:45 pm. our baggage was not delivered to the carousel for over an hour and one half!! Clearly something went wrong from the time we landed til baggage finally showed up.
we were told a person handling our plane's baggage had just walked off and no one took
his place!! that's rather hard to believe, but if so, it's rather incomprehensible.
is there anything Southwest will be doing to compensate?
thanks
Greetings! I would email or send a DM via Twitter/X to Southwest Customer Service directly and see what they can offer as this message board is a customer-to-customer forum and we are not equipped to process customer needs.
The local area weather in Chicago reported thunderstorms and high winds which could have impacted ground crew operations; persons working outside are normally directed to take shelter inside if lightning is detected at or near the airport which may have described why the persons handling the luggage left the area. Not sure if that was the cause of the delay of your luggage but worth checking.
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us Click on "Comment/Question", "Baggage", "Delayed Baggage".
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a month ago
@h2obio wrote:
thank you! I'm flying business class so I hope it won't be an issue.
Business Select gets A1-15 boarding; thus, you should be all set and be one of the first to board.
Safe travels!
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@SWMegan wrote:
Is there a way to determine what flights a promo code applies to without randomly picking destinations and dates? I've never managed to use a code because I always get the "not valid" banner and I can't figure out if it's the dates, routes, or what.
Greetings!
Make sure that you are first logged into your Rapid Rewards account, then go to Southwest.com homepage. From there you should see the SAVE25NOW promo. From there, click on the "Book by Monday" button to select the city pairs and dates. Note that there are some blackout dates, the promo is restricted to Continental US travel only, and the flight must be booked with Rapid Rewards points only with the taxes/fees paid for by cash.
On the "Select Flights" page, the green highlighted cost reflects the flights the promo code is applied to:
E.g. In this screen, a Friday flight from SAN-LAS on June 7 has the first three morning non-stop flights discounted. The three midday options starting at the 9:35am departure are not.
Hope this helps.
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a month ago
1 Love
@h2obio wrote:
will my 4' rod tube fit in the overhead?
Greetings!
This was asked before a few years back. See: https://community.southwest.com/t5/Travel-Policies/Fishing-poles/m-p/51914/highlight/true#M825
It is addressed in the Contract of Carriage:
Oversized articles of reasonable carryon size that protrude from only one side of the sizing box or chart and, because of their fragile nature, would be at greater than normal risk of damage if carried in the cargo hold (e.g., blueprints, map tubes, fishing poles, artwork, media cameras/video equipment) are considered personal type items and may be carried in the passenger cabin if remaining onboard space permits and the item fits in an overhead bin without depriving other Passengers of sufficient overhead bin space.
With that being said, in reference to the linked thread, you'll want to make sure you'll have early access to the overhead bin to ensure there is space available. If you don't have A-List, the thread suggests ensuring that you check in right at the 24-hour mark, or purchase Early Bird Check-In or Upgraded Boarding if available. The Agent working your gate should also be advised to let them know about your need.
Hope this helps!
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Greetings Everybody!
SoCalFlyer97 continues his April '24 line up of Southwest Flights and Hotels. The next leg of this journey takes us from ONT-OAK and back for some business with same-day return, booked during a Wanna Get Away Sale--$39 each way. I was able to lock in this sale at my convenience airport at ONT which is a rare treat.
The departing flight was aboard Plane #N8578Q, a 737-8H4. On time with two pre-boards out of Gate 404--don't get yourself caught with "File not found" here.
Flight was only 34% filled; that meant everybody spreads out. In fact, only ten people were permitted to sit in the first ten rows of the plane; everybody else in the back. What was really nice was the plane had blue beacon lights indicating where passengers were allowed to sit. That meant if the seat offered the Blue Light Special, it was up for grabs.
The San Antonio Reservoir gleams in beauty near the Dublin area during final descent.
After taking care of some business, I took the BART into San Francisco and went into Fisherman's Wharf, thinking, "Hey, it's mid-morning in the middle of the workweek...This place won't be at all crowded...". I was wrong.
It turns out that not one but two cruise ships made stops in the bay and flooded the zone with tourists.
With the Ruby Princess docked at Pier 27 and the MS Europa 2 at Pier 35, it looked like a typical weekend crowd. And I took a glance at both of those ships and there were some tourists onboard both; thus both boats were in full service.
BART's train status monitors in downtown San Francisco getting modernized...My ride back to OAK will be an 8-car train due in four minutes...Nice!
Taking the BART Beige Line cable APM into OAK costs about three times than it would taking AC Transit Bus 73 from the Coliseum BART Station. Ordinarily, I would take the bus to save on ground transportation expenses...
Except...in this case...let's spend the money and take the quicker route! By, the way everything looked peaceful from above Oakland's Hegenberger Road. Back in January, this area was receiving all kinds of national media attention and business closures due to widespread property and vehicle crime at the gas stations and restaurants back then.
The return flight was on a 737-700 aboard Plane #N202WN. On time departure and about 65% full. Four pre-boards.
It was not cloudy above San Francisco. That meant great views at the 10,000' mark.
Up next: My 3-night hotel stay in Norco CA...not too far from ONT which involved some questionable Southwest Hotels Points Plus deals that originally popped up during the booking phase. Stay tuned for those reports...
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04-12-2024
02:24 PM
04-12-2024
02:24 PM
Hola!
Sorry to hear this happened. As this forum is customer-to-customer, we as fellow travelers unfortunately cannot follow up on your lost baggage claim nor process how Southwest responded. I assume your husband received File ID number as you mentioned that he reported the missing bag immediately upon noticing it missing:
Below is the link to the portal via the SW Help Center: https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/article/lost-damaged-delayed-baggage
If your bag is still not found after the fifth day, I would go ahead an initiate a full claim through the portal.
Regarding how Southwest responded to your inquiry and possible misinformation or miscommunication received about the police search of the video footage, I would forward your comment to Southwest Customer Relations so that it can be processed:
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us
Click on "Comment", "Baggage", "Lost/Delayed Luggage"
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@lammeldj2024 wrote:
I took 4 flights in 1 week this April. I used to be a Business Select customer since I travel for work over 20 weeks a year. My business had slowed last year so I lost my Business Select status. My complaint though is, on all 4 of my flights, there was no Wi-Fi. 2 of the aircraft I was on were 737 Max 8's. You would think being newer aircraft, WiFi would work. I even asked the flight attendants each time if the WiFi wasn't working and they said they would look into it but never gave a response. I am thinking about changing airlines since I have heard that most flights with United have WiFi and tvs in their seats. For not being Business Select anymore, I think having Wifi would be a better flight experience.
Hola!
Sorry to hear of the Wi-Fi failure on your last four consecutive flights. As this forum is customer-to-customer, we as fellow travelers will not be able to process your comment here. However, Southwest Customer Relations may be able to help you:
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us
Click on "Comment", "Inflight Experience", "Entertainment/Services"
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@jacoblas wrote:
Hello travelers,
I'm gearing up for an upcoming journey with Southwest Airlines and could use some insights from those who have flown with them before. I've heard great things about their service and flexibility, but I'm curious to hear firsthand experiences.
Could anyone share tips or advice for a smooth and enjoyable flight experience with Southwest? Whether it's about check-in procedures, onboard amenities, or navigating their website and mobile app, I'm all ears! Additionally, if there are any standout features or hidden perks that I should be aware of, I'd love to know.
Your input will be invaluable in ensuring that my trip with Southwest Airlines is nothing short of fantastic. Thanks in advance for your help!
Hola!
I've had numerous positive experience about the LUV airline.
For the general procedures, I would check out the official information here: https://www.southwest.com/flying-with-southwest/
Here's a few links for some of my firsthand, recent Southwest trips which included how I handled flight delays.
https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/March-24-Southwest-Flight-Photo-Trip-Report-Sacramento-Airport/m-p/170034
https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/March-24-Southwest-Flight-Photo-Trip-Report-Final-Tropicana/m-p/170508
A few travel tips:
Before your trip: Keep an eye on the follow-up emails, specifically the ones that say "Your Trip is Almost Here" and "What You'll need for your Trip". These will have some handy tips. If you don't have the Early Bird Check In benefit, I would set your alarm to ring and check in at 24-hours prior to your scheduled departures as the timing determines your boarding order. If you're on a full flight and are placed in the late B or C boarding group, you'll have the option of checking your carry-on bag to your final destination at no additional charge.
I found during my early days of flying with Southwest that upgrading the fare to Anytime gave me some great "training wheel" benefits such as Priority Express Lane access at the check-in counter and TSA. Also comes with Early Bird Check In and free Same-Day Confirmed Flight Change. You'll also likely secure either a late "A" or early "B" spot with this fare if purchased 36 hours or more before departure. Not having to worry about these things made the first of my travel experiences that much greater.
I would bring a portable charger with you if you plan to use your personal device for the inflight entertainment. Most of Southwest's fleets don't have charging ports but they're working on it...
Bring an empty water bottle with you and refill it after clearing TSA and before getting on the plane. That way, you'll have a drink with you for your flight in case the inflight beverage service is disrupted due to turbulence.
If your flight posts a delay, still show up at the airport as if the flight is on time. Delayed flights can recover time or be replaced with a different aircraft/crew.
If you plan to fly Southwest (or fly in general) regularly and you qualify for these, consider enrolling into a trusted traveler program such as TSA PreCheck or Global Entry to speed your passage through the TSA checkpoint. CLEAR is also a good alternative too to bypass the ID-check line.
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04-12-2024
10:44 AM
04-12-2024
10:44 AM
@klepham1014 wrote:
I am so frustrated with SWA hotels. I booked 2 rooms specifically, Cottages with 2 queen beds as a non-refundable because I know that I won't need to cancel because that is the hotel and the dates that I will be travelling. I need a total of 4 beds (hence 2 cottages with 2 queen beds). Unbeknown to me, I checked my confirmation and the confirmation show me 2 premium king bed and it's not even cottages. It's inside the hotel. I called the concierge but they were not help. All they said was the relevant team confirmed there were no system issue when I booked the rooms. I even show them several screen shots and also a video if I select the cottages with 2 queen beds the price matches my charge amount and then I select the premium king, the price was totally different. And yet, they said I booked premium king. I was on the phone with them for over 1.5 hours. The last thing they offer me was that they could cancel my reservations but there is no guaranteed that I will get that amount back...I paid over $5500 for those bookings!!! I am beyong frustrated at this point. The only reason why I booked with SWA hotels for the points to build up for the companion pass. If I booked straight with the hotel it would have been cheaper.
Greetings:
I'm a frequent customer of Southwest Hotels. Booking.com operates the booking process. What you describe here appears to be unusual. It looks like you did the right thing by capturing the screenshots as you made your booking. At this point, I would compile and organize these to document that your intended purchase was booking the cottages.
I would capture the posted total price for both the Cottages and the Premium King rooms on the page where you fill out guest details and confirm the room descriptions are correct on this page. Next, capture the amount of the transaction posted to your credit card statement which should document the actual charges.
Now compare: If the charges match up with the posted price of the cottages but your receipt calls out the Premium King room but with the cost of the cottages, it is evident that the reps were incorrect and a serious glitch occurred on the Booking.com system that has to be rectified. Otherwise, if your statement posts the cost of the Premium King rooms, it's likely an incorrect room selection was made and submitted (if that's the case, this may not be changeable).
If however it turns out you actually paid for the cottages but were booked for Premium King, I would do a final verification with the hotel to see if you were actually booked for the Premium King in lieu of the cottages. If the hotel has you booked for the cottages, you should be good to go.
If otherwise you are booked for the Premium King room, I would gather all of the documentation and submit it to the Southwest Hotels concierge email address.
Also mention in the email that you attempted to rectify by calling the concierge line but they were not able to resolve. I would give them a few days to respond before escalating this to a dispute should they not resolve. At that point, Booking.com has an internal dispute form that you can try:
https://secure.booking.com/dispute_resolution.en-us.html
Going forward, I would always book with the Free Cancelation option, even if there's a minor upcharge. This is especially true if involves higher-cost bookings and something comes up. I usually don't buy into traveler's insurance but do pay the extra few dollars for the free cancellation option as I've needed to use it a few times due to lock in price drops.
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@Jmh0523 wrote:
Good morning,
I'd like to book a hotel with my rewards points but for over a week when I try to navigate to the website, it says it's down for maintenance (https://hotels.redeemrapidrewards.com/). Does anyone know when this went down and how long it'll be before it's brought back up? This isn't a new feature, right? Thanks!
Greetings:
Try this...Log in to your Rapid Rewards account and go here:
https://www.southwest.com/rapid-rewards/points/how-to-redeem/
Scroll down to "How to Redeem More Rewards with Points" and click on "Explore Rewards". Note that when I clicked on this link, it went through a number of redirects before taking me to the awardhq.com host which I assume is hosting this service on behalf of Southwest Rapid Rewards.
Next, go to "Travel", then "Hotel". After a few more redirects, you're taken to another host under the qrttravel.com URL on behalf of Southwest Rapid Rewards. From there you should be able to book a hotel with points. However, before you do this, I would consider my opinion...
My take on qrttravel.com: I have an upcoming hotel stay next weekend for job training and did a demo booking to check the value of this booking portal. The hotel that I'm staying at was not listed; thus I checked pricing for a nearby Holiday Inn which I stayed at last week:
Rates include taxes and fees:
QrtTravel.com: -38,895 Points (Refundable less $35 Cancellation Fee if made > 72 hours)
Southwest Hotels/Rocket Miles: $190 (Free Cancelation > 72 hours; +2,000 CP-Eligible Points)
Trivago Lowest Price: $184 (Free Cancelation)
Direct: $174 w/ Loyalty Membership (Free Cancelation)
For the market in my specific area, spending nearly 39,000 points for this hotel would not be worth it for me as the points value is about $580. In contrast, using Southwest Hotels, paying $190 cash, and earning 2,000 CP-Eligible points would be far more worth it as the mark up from booking direct in return for the points is only $16. I would use the points toward a flight or something else with a better trade-off value. I can't speak for other markets (maybe my area is expensive) but just a heads up...
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@wpfmsu13 wrote:
Why have all flight options for business travelers been eliminated? First the Monday morning option to arrive before afternoon is gone and now the direct flight Sunday evening is no longer available.
Greetings!
I can confirm that Southwest posted a schedule change last week as I had a return flight booked later this summer that was adjusted. Several other members of this board also confirmed the changes:
https://community.southwest.com/t5/Reservations/is-summer-schedule-being-adjusted-friday/m-p/170978
I assume your question is related to this. As this forum is customer-to-customer, we won't be able to confirm the definitive reason as to why your desired flight departure times were eliminated but can understand the frustration of not being able to fly out to be somewhere Monday when both the Sunday evening and Monday morning options are gone. I assume it could be either aircraft or staffing resource-related but I could be wrong.
A call to customer service may be the best option to confirm this and explore alternative rebooking options: https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/article/More-phone-numbers-contact-options
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@Felixbball wrote:
I recently booked a RT fight to qualify for the companion pass offer to be used between Aug and Oct. Today, the flight I used to qualify was delayed so I got on standby for an earlier flight. Would that void my eligibility for the companion pass?
Greetings!
Here is the clause in the promotional terms and conditions:
Changes made to any itinerary after purchase of a one-way or round-trip revenue flight may eliminate qualification for this promotion.
There appears to be no definitive answer published either way as the keyword is "may". I would assume any serious flight disruption would be cause for consideration for an exception but would need to be confirmed by an agent.
When you listed for standby due to the delay, did you advise a Customer Service Agent that your original booking had the Promo Companion Pass offer active? Otherwise, I would contact Southwest Customer Service on this and describe the situation. They'll determine whether you're still eligible as I think the gravity of the disruption of the delayed flight would be a key factor.
Give them a call:
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/article/After-Your-Trip
or send a private DM through Twitter/X.
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04-11-2024
04:35 PM
04-11-2024
04:35 PM
I had a morning return nonstop flight booked for later this summer that was moved back a little more than two hours...Works for me as I can sleep in a couple extra hours. Originally 7:35am. Now at 9:55am.
Regarding cost...a very strange thing happened. Today is the last day for the "Low as $39 sale". When Southwest first launched this promo last week, I did a price check for this very flight and noticed the WGA airfare for the original 7:35am flight dropped from the $189 regular price to $120. I re-priced it last week to lock in the $120 fare.
Today, this flight, under the same flight number 4647 is now pricing at $235.
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Greetings!
SoCalFlyer97's April '24 line up of Southwest Flights & Hotels is underway. To start things off, I fulfilled a single-night Southwest Hotels stay in Corona CA at a local Holiday Inn for job training, booked through Southwest Hotels in return for 2,000 Rapid Rewards points.
This location for the second consecutive time assigned me a room that turned out to be an 'upgrade' to their King Suite at no additional charge. I get the 'news' upon entering the room...nothing mentioned at the desk. Not sure what the causes this perk but...Free Upgrade...Nice!
Perhaps IHG knows I'm an A-Lister and wants to give me some extra perks--just kidding. I think the hotel wasn't able to rent out these suites and decided to place the single-nighters into the suites so they can rent out the remaining available standard rooms for those staying longer--my guess as I don't work in the hotel industry; I could be wrong.
Had no issues at all with booking and check-in. Incidentals deposit was $100.
A gorgeous sunset provided a key highlight of this stay.
LUV'n the free hot breakfast too:
Next on the Line Up: A Southwest flight from ONT-OAK and back combined with a 3-night hotel stay in Norco CA...not too far from ONT. Stay tuned!
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04-11-2024
01:32 PM
04-11-2024
01:32 PM
@srockgibson wrote:
Formerly a Southwest regular, I took my first Southwest trip today since I got caught in the Dec 2022 meltdown.
I had a online Southwest transfer in San Diego. I arrived at Southwest Gate 5 and departed from Southwest Gate 13. I couldn't believe that in the year 2024 you have to go to security again to complete a Southwest online transfer.
To add to the pain, the Southwest monitors only show the flights for each gate "hub" So if you arrive at Southwest gates 5-8 and are departing are are departing from Southwest gates gates 13-18, your connecting flight will not even show on the monitor. You're totally on your own to figure out what's going on.
Third world operations in San Diego.
Greetings!
SAN is my primary home airport (ONT is my 'convenience' origin).
I would submit and guarantee that both Southwest and SAN airport staff are very well aware of the inconvenience of Terminal 1's current layout that not only impacts connections but also gate changes.
Last September, I experienced this too--and it involved lucky Gate 13: https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Sept-23-Photo-Trip-Report-SAN-LAS-with-2x-TSA-Screening/m-p/163651
Regarding your connecting departure at Gate 13, you arrived at Gate 5 which is on the eastern concourse of Terminal 1. Being a frequent SAN flyer, I've noticed that the Customer Service desks and monitors at that concourse all use the older model counters and tv's. E.g. from Gate 7:
These TV's rotate between a full view of the next scheduled departure (as pictured) and departures/status of flights from nearby gates that exclude flights that take place on the Gate 11-18 western concourse to your point. However, there's two sets of vertical status monitors (pictured below) in each concourse that show all the gates:
This would be your go-to place to check for flight status. If for some reason your flight was still missing on the monitors, the Southwest App or website is the next best place to check:
https://www.southwest.com/air/flight-status/
Regarding the airport getting all this straightened out...Not sure if you saw the construction activity either from the terminal windows or from the plane but SAN will be replacing Terminal 1 with the New T1 which on schedule to open sometime next year.
When that happens, all of Southwest's gates will be linked together airside and we can bid good-riddance of having to go through a TSA checkpoint twice for both SW connections and/or gate changes.
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04-11-2024
12:56 PM
04-11-2024
12:56 PM
Hola! Several weeks ago, I had repeat issues with the spam bot and a number of false-positives with the bad-word filter.
For the spam bot, this happens specifically whenever I post any kind of phone number (even if it's an official Southwest number); or when I make a quick edit to a post or prep a post in a separate text editor, copy+paste it into the form, and submit it too quickly.
Both reasons are completely valid: I assume it would not be good for the public to post scam or phishing phone numbers. Same with any bot-generated posts.
Unfortunately, when a false-positive occurs, the spam bot does not disclose the reason for the flag other than "This Post/Reply has been marked as spam" which makes troubleshooting a matter of trial-and-error to resolve. A few months ago, I posted content and called out a Boeing 737-(Eight Hundred) aircraft and the post got automatically flagged. It took me numerous tries to figure out what was causing the spam bot to trip. I found that writing "Eight Hundred" in number form tripped the bot as the AI thought I was typing a phone number. I was able to rectify by keying in 737-8H4 as the plane which is the technical suffix. I think the IT staff was made aware of this bug.
For the bad-word filter, I had my share of false-positives too. E.g. Whenever I call out the world-wide tourist destination along Las Vegas Boulevard by it's proper name (Las Vegas [blank]), the filter trips. Same with using the most-simpified synonym of the word difficult.
Hope this helps.
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04-08-2024
11:19 AM
04-08-2024
11:19 AM
Hola-
I'm a frequent traveler aboard short-haul flights including the SAN-LAS route and usually there's a significant chance that a possible bumpy ride will end up scrapping the in-flight snack/drink amenities. The keyword is possible. If questionable weather or possible air turbulence is reported to the Flight Captain, they will then make the call on whether the Flight Attendants can serve or to remain seated. This is similar to the fasten seatbelt light being left on during cruising.
More often than not on short-hauls, the Captain will feel that the seatbelt light needs to remain on during the flight through the cruise altitude even though there may be limited or no actual bumps. It's possible that a bumpy ride was reported but there have been times that the real bumps never actually showed up. However if the weather or wind conditions reported to the cockpit is questionable, then safety comes first. The captain would decide to leave the seatbelt light on and may direct the Flight Attendants to remain seated. I don't think lack of service is done willfully. Trust me, I've been on flights where the Flight Attendants were asked to remain seated but the actual bumpiness of the ride was less bumpy than riding on a train but the injury risk would be too high to just "go for it" unlike walking through a moving train car. Best to play it safe and don't mess with the weather.
If you have a drink coupon that went unused due to an airline-initiated action, it doesn't hurt to give Southwest Customer Service an email or DM via Twitter/X to describe the situation and see if its value can be applied toward a future flight.
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us
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04-07-2024
04:55 PM
04-07-2024
04:55 PM
@Estebanjr61 wrote:
On March 21, 2024 I was flying from MCO to Philadelphia with my grandson Noah, whose 8th years old to have a surgery from his hips and knees at Shriners Hospital in order to stand him and start therapies so he can walk. Upon arrived from SJU we moved to the gate 121 and wait in there for some time before our flight. Later this lady in the Southwest Uniform and with a kind and warm heart approach my grandson and on her knees she start asking where his going, his name and after he answers the questions, she ask me and I explained the reason of our trip. Just before she start the boarding process, She grab the microphone to announced the boarding and she just said the purposed of my grandsons trip, and she start expressing some amazing, beautiful and touch words that we all got stone. Her name is Shali Lopez from Southwest in Orlando (MCO). Shali, we don't have the words to say how THANKFUL, and GREAT we felt with your sweet words were heart touching. Those words and Your heart is one that shows the passion for your job, customers and more important You Truly represents the Hights Standards and Core Values of Southwest. If you're reading this message and have Instagram you can watch the video under (Shalilopez78) in Instagram recorded on March 21, 2024. Shali, THANKS so much for your truly care, make us feel like family and just let know that some passengers recorded the video and now we just expand our family with new friends who are praying for his recovery, which by the way the surgery went as it was plan and his now in therapy and making great progress on his standing and walking. Also the Captain and Crew were wishing all the best on his surgery. THANKS SO MUCH SHALI LOPEZ FOR YOUR CARE, and GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE that demonstrate your passion to GO ABOVE AND BEYOND with your CUSTOMERS. Here's a photo when Shali was making the announcement.
Blessings,
Esteban Sanchez and Noah A. Rivera.
Great follow up story and glad to hear Noah is doing well. The Instagram account appears to be private but thanks for sharing this experience to the community anyway. These are tremendous stories to hear. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to send this follow-up compliment to Southwest Customer Service in conjunction with your original story 😎
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us
Click on "Compliment", "Customer Service"
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@Estebanjr61 wrote:
On March 21, 2024 I was traveling from SJU to Philadelphia with my grandson for a surgery on his hips and knees at Shriner's Hospital. Upon arrived at the Southwest counter the Employee Manuel Maldonado jump and without questions he started to assist us with our bags and the rest of our luggage. Mr. Maldonado not only assist us with our bags but he also assist with the wheel chair, he provide the boarding pass with a pre-board to make sure our grandson will be one's of the first inside the plane and the wheel chair was manage by the ground personnel, he also instruct his fellow partner who was the one to work the flight to assist us on the particular needs we had. I can say that all instructions given by Mr. Maldonado they all were follow to the dot and the experience was a smooth one. Mr. Maldonado did not know anything about the surgery or the reasons of our flight but his sense of helping others became an experience not to forgot. Mr. Maldonado is a True Employee who value his customers, is focus in Customer Service and employees like Mr. Maldonado carry the Southwest Core Values to the Top. Thanks Mr. Maldonado for the experience and the well care in all details to ensure everything was cover as it was with no missing details until we complete our trip to Philadelphia. A JOB WELL DONE.
Great to hear travel stories like these on this board! LUV it!
As @dfwskier suggested, forward a copy of your compliment directly to SW customer service so that it can be processed and Manuel can receive is due praise.
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us
Click on "Compliment", "Customer Service"
Prayers for your grandson!
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04-05-2024
08:54 AM
04-05-2024
08:54 AM
@Trsolis wrote:
Joni V (111271). Andrea P (146286)
Donnie O (62025?) and Alex B (185445)
specifically made my flight an incredible experience. Flight#477on April 3 to Dallas. I am in a fearless flight program and working hard trying to overcome my fears. I keep booking Southwest flights so I can work my program. The above people on this flight really took an interest in me and checked in on me and asked me questions about the program which helped me reinforce my tools. These folks went above and beyond with excellent communication and LUV!!!
Tracy Solis
Tracy: Incredible story and it takes courage to overcome any kind of fear or worry. It took even greater courage considering the current widespread negative media press on Boeing lately. Congratulations on your program.
If you haven't done so already, I would send a copy of your story directly to Southwest Customer service as a compliment so management can process it:
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us
Click on "Compliment", "In Flight Experience", "Onboard Experience"
Also I would provide a copy to your program coach. Things like this can transform air travel anxiety into excitement.
Keep sharing your experiences on this board; we as your fellow Southwest customers love to see stories like these. Once again, congratulations!
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04-04-2024
02:04 AM
04-04-2024
02:04 AM
@epcot wrote:
There is a cargo interline with Westjet https://www.swacargo.com/swacargo_com_ui/ship/facilities/interline-destinations/
Interesting to know.
I guess the statement "Southwest has interline agreement with Westjet" may be true but it would be for cargo. However, the discussion context on this thread appeared to focus on making name changes to reservations and booking non-SW flights with points. No mentioning of cargo. Thus, it would be way too easy to misinterpret this statement.
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@Ann4077 wrote:
I would love to know when they will come to Sioux Falls? I would love to see this airport have more options but I would also love to see another option to den, phx, Texas, and more options for the snow birds in this area.
is it true that they are taking over frontier? If so will they stay in Sioux Falls and how can a person apply?
Greetings: Feel free to submit your suggestion for service to FSD directly to Southwest Customer Service as this forum is customer-to-customer. This is a small airport, appears there may be gate capacity limitations combined with an overall small market, and it also appears that Frontier doesn't service this airport on a daily basis. However, it doesn't hurt to put in a suggestion:
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us
Click on "Comment/Question", "Customer Service"
Regarding the rumors of a merger with Frontier (or any other carrier), there's nothing definitive reported at this point. What is already published on the internet appears to be speculation. Yes, there were a few internet articles written about the pilot's union taking measures to ensure proper legal representation is present and ready to go should Southwest ever proposed an acquisition. We also know that the federal government closely watches proposed airline mergers too as we know the JetBlue and Spirit merger failed; these are the facts that we know for sure. Everything else is speculation.
Lastly, should Southwest ever decide to serve FSD and one wanted to apply (I assuming to work for Southwest), a visit to the Southwest Careers website would be the place to go to:
https://careers.southwestair.com/
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Greetings Community Southwest!
Starting this weekend, SoCalFlyer97 has a marathon line-up of Southwest Hotels Rapid Rewards Points Plus reservations all booked up through the end of April. Seven hotels, Eleven nights to be exact...a third of the month spent away from home. Two hotels involving a pair of roundtrip Southwest flights.
To those who frequent my posts, I stay at all kinds of hotels and different brands with just about all of them booked via Southwest Hotels or RocketMiles with the Free Cancelation option thanks to the thousands of Companion Pass-Eligible Rapid Reward Points that I can redeem toward flights. I do have scheduled business at all of these locations; I'm not just racking up airline points here.
Just like my marathon run from last October...
https://community.southwest.com/t5/Rapid-Rewards/Oct-23-Southwest-Hotels-Five-One-Night-Trips-at-Five-Points-Plus/m-p/164506
...there's a mix of both big chain and smaller independent inns that have my name on it.
In the coming days, I'll be posting updates in this thread of both the fights and the hotel experiences ranging from the booking process, value of points received versus money spent, and the actual stay experience. I've done several bookings through Southwest Hotels in the past year and have not had any serious problem that went unresolved. The only goof-up I experienced thus far was when I booked a room via Southwest Hotels only to learn on check-in day that the hotel relocated literally one parcel to the west and the computer booked me at the old property's location which was operating under another brand upon arrival but with the same advertised amenities.
Other than that...I've had zero issues with SW Hotels. Will this continue?
Hotel #1 will be in Corona CA. Which one will it be? Hint: SoCalFlyer97 has stayed there before and published the experience here on this board. Stay tuned.
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04-02-2024
04:18 PM
04-02-2024
04:18 PM
@cdness99 wrote:
I absolutely LOVE the new ability of anyone to join a flight's stand-by list, at NO COST, and see the # of available seats in real-time. However, I have used it a few times now and have some ponderings. I understand the explanations that I have found, and been told, about the prioritization of passengers on this list and that not every SW passenger is created equal (i.e. A-List, Military, Fare Class, etc.) when it comes to getting a spot (priority) in the queue. And I am ok with that. Where I am struggling is how this list seems to change, even up to the last minute of boarding. Allow me to explain my experiences. In two instances I was the first person to join the stand-by list for a flight, many hours before the flight (I know that does not matter, just wait). In two instances, folks joined behind me and in front of me (assumably due to their status). For my first flight I remained in the #1 spot until 30 mins before departure and for the second flight I had been bumped down the list a few spots throughout the day (again, I thought due to status). What transpired next is what has me baffled and the gate agents could not make heads nor tails of it either. In both instances, folks who were behind me the entire time suddenly jumped over me in the queue. Going back to my first example, I was in the #1 spot (for 10 hours) until 30 mins before departure and suddenly the party directly behind me jumped me. Then, 10 mins later I fell to 15th in the queue. After explaining to the gate agent and showing screen shots I had taken he spoke to a supervisor and got me on the flight. In my other example a similar thing happened, I had started out 1st in the queue in the morning and throughout the day fell to 5th. Suddenly, right before they were about to assign seats for stand-by folks who had been behind me for hours jumped over me and I fell to 11th and did not get on the flight. I (as well as the gate agents) am just thoroughly baffled at how and when the prioritization is supposed to work on this stand-by list. Can someone from SW please way in and not only explain the overall stand-by process/algorithm and maybe also lend some insight into my situations? In both my cases I arrived at the airport hours in advance of my original flight based on the hopes of getting on the stand-by flight based on my position in the queue vs. the number of available seats. I certainly would not show up if I am 20th and only see a couple of seats available throughout the time I am monitoring it. But, when your #1 in the queue until 30 mins before take-off and you suddenly drop to 15th, there seems to be a glitch somewhere.
Greetings:
Southwest defines the priority order on this page:
https://www.southwest.com/airfare-types-benefits/sameday-standby-change/
See the last FAQ toward the bottom of the page.
Priority Order:
Customers who are re-accommodated following flight disruptions
A-List Preferred and A-List Rapid Reward Members prioritized based on fare (Business Select, Anytime, Wanna Get Away Plus, Wanna Get Away)
All other Customers prioritized by the same fare order
It's possible for both instances the group who came up during the last 30 minutes may have been those who were re-accommodated from a disruption such as a missed connection or cancellation. Also possible that there were some A-List/ALP's in the mix too.
Given the volume of people who were prioritized before you at the 30-minute mark, it appears a disruption of some sort generated a last-minute surge in prioritized standby's ahead of you but I could be wrong...It wouldn't hurt to follow up with Southwest Customer Service just to confirm there wasn't a glitch involved in your case but if I had to guess, I would predict that these surges were due to passengers being re-accommodated as they get first priority by rule.
https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us
Click on "Comment/Question" and then "Customer Service"
Hope this makes better sense.
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@pjkbk wrote:
Just purchased rt tickets to receive the companion pass for travel 8/24-10/24.
My question is do I need to wait til the pass is activated to book for me and my companion OR can I book a flight tomorrow and then just add them when it is activated?
Couldn't find clear answers
Thank you!!!
@05bardic is correct.
During past promos, approximately 24 hours after I completed my required flights, I got an email saying "You've earned promotional Companion Pass®! You did it!". This email explains that travel can be booked anytime but the Companion feature gets added on the actual start date of the period.
On the first day the Companion Pass goes into effect, I got a second email saying "Your Promotional Companion Pass is in your account and ready for takeoff" with the instructions of how to designate the Companion to the Rapid Rewards account followed by directions of how to add the Companion to either existing or new reservations.
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Greetings All:
This page may help if you're shopping around:
https://www.southwest.com/find-best-flight-deals/
If you have flights booked for the summer or beyond, I would recheck pricing, even if the quoted fare is not even close to the lowest threshold of $39. You may still find a better deal.
Example: Back in February, I booked a one way flight for later this summer at regular price for $189 from Texas back to SoCal as it's usually sound advice to book all summer travel plans before the springtime in case prices later surge.
During a prior recent sale, the fare dropped to $160 and I re-priced it via the "Change Flight" module and collected a $29 credit. After the sale, the price went back up to $189. Today under this sale, it was pricing at $120. I re-priced it and I collected an additional $40 in credit. I would not call saving $69-off my airline bill 'bait and switch'.
While this flight is certainly still nowhere near the $39 territory, I believe that SW is in fact having a Wanna Get Away Sale now as advertised through Thu 4/11. If you see a Low Fare Sale, best to check your reservations and re-price if needed...and thank goodness for No Change Fees!
One exception: If you booked a flight during the recent Promotional Companion Pass promo, I would not touch those bookings that as re-pricing those flights would void the Promo CP deal.
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@kristiolive0208 wrote:
As someone who is a bag checker, I never put anything in the overhead bins. How about the people with nothing in the overhead bins get to deplane first so we don't have to wait for the many travelers with luggage in the overhead bins. I could be off the plane in less than 10 seconds.
Interesting idea; however, as a frequent flyer, I'm not sure how Southwest (or any other airline) would be able to execute this on a full-sized plane.
For just about all my trips, once the plane arrives at the gate and the captain turns off the seatbelt light, I see many people get up to get their bags from the bins and wait standing in the aisle as the crews dock the jet bridge. Once crews dock the bridge and open the door, passengers usually exit very quickly.
Having the passengers with overhead bin luggage wait in their seats until the bridge is docked so that passengers with no overhead bin belongings could de-plane first would most likely add excessive unproductive gate time to the exiting process (a big no-no in the industry)...and asking people to sit back down to clear the aisle after they collect their bags would not work from a practical standpoint as there would be very limited space in the seat area for the baggage.
A possible remedy for anybody desiring to exit the plane quickly who are not A-List is to purchase Upgraded Boarding (or Business Select) and pick an open seat toward the front of the plane. That way, you'll be near the front and one of the first to get off. However, that benefit may be negated if one has checked bags as I've sometimes seen the baggage merry-go-round doesn't even start until most everybody is off the plane and in the claim area.
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Greetings Community Southwest:
SoCalFlyer97 took a day trip from SAN to LAS and back last week for a personal trip combined with a final visit to the historic Tropicana Casino Resort which is scheduled to close effective next Tuesday, April 2. Several folks from social media have recorded hours of combined streams and video footage documenting the hotel's final days of operation. I took a bunch of pictures too but will share some of the more unique moments of the trip.
We begin by documenting how the outbound flight went aboard the MAX8. Despite the news media painting a negative picture on Boeing lately, I felt completely safe aboard this plane. One can see from the terminal window ground crews hard at work doing their routine work and inspections. Being a frequent flyer, I can state for a fact that Southwest does a thorough job in quality-checking its fleet before each departure. For this trip, I managed to lock in a $39 fare each way from a prior "Super Low Sale Fares: As Low as $39" local promo.
Plane: 737-MAX8, N8748Q Full Flight, On Time Preboards: 14
For the record, this trip had several wheelchaired passengers and their assistants; hence a high pre-board count. However it appeared they were all entitled to use the benefit; thus everything appeared fair and square; so no complaints. Upon pulling out of the gate, I soon discovered that San Diego had some visiting 'dignitaries':
N280WN 737-700 Missouri One:
N8619F 737-8H4 Illinois One:
N945WN 737-700 Florida One:
And the Disney Wonder too:
Arrived in LAS with no troubles. Took care some personal things in Vegas including a visit with a close friend.
Later, I saw that our pal Leo the Lion was getting a nice treatment:
Arrived at the Tropicana for a final farewell as this is my last trip to LAS before it closes. As mentioned, I'm not going to repeat what many other social media folks are publishing; if you want the whole tour of the resort, feel free to search for those. Here were some of the more unique moments:
The Tropicana has a vintage stained glass ceiling spanning a large section of its casino. When I went upstairs to tour the public areas of the mezzanine level, I had a unique opportunity to photo-document the back-end of this feature as I found the door from the public hallway leading into the 'backstage' area was open:
I waited for the crews to come back to the public hallway and they were gracious enough to allow me to peak in from the hallway and photograph the behind-the-scenes of this fabulous piece of art.
Standard lights beam on reflectors to give the window its soothing glow from the casino floor below. As lots of people are petitioning, I hope the building inspectors and workers can find a safe way to move and salvage this piece of Las Vegas history. I think they can and can speculate that's the reason why the workers were in this area looking at the back-end of this stained glass window piece, but I'm not an engineer and I can't state whether or not they will be able to save this feature. I hope they do.
The next piece I would like to spotlight are some of the hotel's vintage interior design features including the floor and low ceiling.
They don't make brown tile floors like these any more in Vegas hotels.
Totally 70's interior in the mezzanine hallway near the hotel offices and the stained glass window backstage room:
And the low popcorn ceiling which in some areas can be touched.
The Tropicana allowed the general public access to the guest floors, even to the very top floor where the high-end suites dwelt. Here's a few shots of both the 'regular' and the glass Otis traction elevators with that unique Tropicana interior design:
Pressing and holding the Ground Floor and the Door Close buttons at the same time for the entire ride down granted me a non-stop descent from the top floor down to the ground floor aboard this glass lift. The trick is not guaranteed to work every time as they all say.
Some more of Trop's elevators: This one links the casino/lobby area to the bridge that connects to the Club Tower and convention area:
And this one takes guests and the general public from the Casino to the Tropicana Blvd pedestrian bridge to the MGM Grand:
It looks like the hotel just recently spent a good amount of money modernizing this lift. Not sure if the fixtures or the elevator as a whole can be re-purposed or moved elsewhere before they knock down the building.
...And I just had to do some more bird watching from the 21st floor of the Club tower.
Lastly, I had a chance to share a meal with my friend at Robert Irvine's Public House, located at the pedestrian bridge entrance.
There's no official word just yet of when or if the celebrity chef will relocate his pub elsewhere. The food was great and prices were decent considering the quality and large portion sizes. I'm sure Irvine likely spent some good money on the interior design of his restaurant which appears to be in great shape; sad to see it go.
Time to head back. Flight was running a few minutes behind upon arrival at LAS but still in the 'Green'. When I got to the gate area, I saw that the convention of newly produced Boarding Position Poles have just arrived.
Return Flight: Plane: 737-MAX8, N8901Q 67% Full, Originally about 15 minutes behind Preboards: 7
So everybody at the gate was ready to board until we realized that the plane that is actually docked at our gate was for another earlier flight that was delayed pushing back, thus the MAX8 plane pictured above was the aircraft that would take us back to SAN but had to hold in this area for an additional 20 minutes until the gate cleared.
Once we boarded, I noticed this MAX8 had the new larger overhead bins installed with a sign to turn carry on bags on their sides. Nice!
Final glimpse of the Trop before it closes.
Plane had about another 30 minute combined tarmac hold: about 20 minutes at the gate and a 10 minute hold on the taxiway, likely due to high air traffic headed into SAN.
With the delay came the greater good of another beautiful sunset landing into SAN.
Plane also recovered some good time in the air thanks to a direct route from wheels up to wheels down.
Prior Trip Reports: https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/March-24-Southwest-Flight-Photo-Trip-Report-Sacramento-Airport/m-p/170034
https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Feb-24-Flight-Southwest-Hotels-Trip-Report-Hotel-Apache-Westgate/m-p/169582#M7816
More Info on the SAN-LAS Flight Route: https://www.southwest.com/routes/flights-from-san-diego-to-las-vegas
Safe Travels,
SoCalFlyer97
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