Southwest Airlines Community

Hi @ag4596,    This is a known issue, and our Technology Team is working to address it. A fix was implemented in June, and it significantly reduced the number of cases we saw of this happening per day. We're taking closer looks at the incidents that continue to occur - I've shared screenshots of yours in particular to hopefully help diagnose the cause. Very sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for taking time to post so we can put the info to use!   ... View more

Yeah, there's really no difference between A61 and family boarding unless you have a dozen other family boarding people or a stray A-Lister who didn't get an A boarding pass squeezing in front of you.  I'm not the type of person to ask for something like this and would just go with the flow and use family boarding, but I wouldn't see a problem with someone asking either.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

@ihightow  I would be completely frustrated as well. Just for understanding... you did attempt to check in 24 hours before the later flight?    I never call SWA... all my questions/interactions are done through Twitter. Immediate response and service. Try that next time.  ... View more

@AndSoItGoes wrote: It's not that the Contact Us does not work technically, it's that I sent messages using it three times and never received a response that addressed my issue. Sorry, you said "not substantive" before, not that it was unanswered. I would probably call, or if wait times are unbearable then maybe start a twitter converstation, don't send any personal details until the rep asks you for a direct message.   Live Chat within the app may also be a way to try and reach someone if you are a rapid rewards member.      ... View more

Booking one way flights is actually my preferred approach, there is no cost difference to book the one way flights versus as a round trip.  Book away using those points! ... View more

We have a Diono Rainier - we bought it due to the fact that it was approved for flying, and it's a narrow convertible seat that folds for carrying. Best purchase I could've made, especially since we are starting to fly more.  ... View more

The 24 hour legislation is not an across the board full refund, but it's too complicated to bother explaining here, just be aware other airlines might have slightly different policies. Thankfully Southwest keeps it simple. And the autofill could be a function of the phone, not just based on who was logged into the app. Again, not a simple across the board answer to this.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

@StaticLine life is crazy, thanks for posting the update and glad you had a good flight. ... View more

@chgoflyer wrote: If it's important to you to have a specific seat when you fly, your best bet is to fly a carrier who assigns seats. This was our situation for several years.  Happy to be back. ... View more

The idea is sound, however I've found that Southwest tends not to allow super-long layovers in most cases. If you find one available, go for it.    2.5 hours won't be enough to see much of Vegas though. It sounds like you've been to Reno before so there wouldn't be much attraction for getting offsite to gamble. Maybe you'd have time to uber to Mirage, eat a Carnegie Deli sandwich or some other favorite outlet, and then head back to the airport.   Instead if you wanted a longer layover, book your day as one-ways, you should be able to re-check bags to Reno four hours in advance which would give a little more time. Being able to dedicate a couple of hours would be worth walking around one of the resorts of your choice.   Attractions in the airport - if American Express customer take the tram to D-gates and visit the Centurioun Lounge if you like food and drinks, it is included with Platinum but I belive if space is available you can purchase a pass which would be about the same as two taxis to the Bellagio and back.   There is another lounge right in the same area of D-gates as well. Ruby's diner there is also an upgrade over anything in the B-C concourses that Southwest inhabits. Allow 20+ minutes to get back and forth from D-gates to the B/C concourse.     ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: Do NOT check a laptop. As @CareforNOLA said carrying on should be ok.   --TheMiddleSeat Although the risk of losing a bag, or having an item go missing is very small in percentage terms, you'd need to weigh the benefit of checking it vs potential for loss.   Anyting worth high-dollar is recommended to carry-on, or with irreplaceable information same thing.     ... View more

Oh, I've never used it. Too bad it's gone 😞 ... View more

Just noticed this was a duplicate post.  Replies were given at https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Community-Outreach/Passenger-deleted-during-online-booking/m-p/92136/highlight/true#M637   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

@gandswest wrote: When I checked in for my flight, I didn’t see an option to get my boarding pass.  I’ve tried both the mobile site and the desktop site.  I tried calling Southwest Airlines and was on hold for 20 minutes before I gave up.   I still can’t view or find an option to even email it to me  Hello. After checking in, Both should give you an option something like "get boarding pass" (don't remember exact words, and can't get them now becasue I am not checking in for anthing today). Click on the button and you should be able to see your boarding pass. ... View more

Southwest sells 3 main fare types, Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select, plus a few others like Senior and Child. While Wanna Get Away fares are the cheapest, they lack the full refundability of the other fares. Anytime fares are cheaper than Business Select but lack the priority boarding and free drink Business Select fares have. As you move from Wanna Get Away to Anytime to Business Select you also earn significantly more Rapid Rewards points. Those are the basic differences. If price is your main factor, Wanna Get Away is your preference. If being able to cancel your flight and get a cash refund is important than Anytime or Business Select would be your preference.    Full details about all the fare types can be found here: https://www.southwest.com/html/air/fare-information.html   --TheMiddleSeat   ... View more

@christihamon92 wrote: I just purchased a large  suitcase where the dimensions add up to 62.6 inches. The size allowed for free luggage is 62inches. Does the $75 charge begin at 63inches or 62.1inches? My guess is that you'll be fine. The official line is 62.00001 inches would be subject to the fee. The reality, IMO, is that .6 inches is a rounding error  that no one will notice..   As others have said make sure you aren;t counting the wheels in your measurement. They don't count towards the 62 inches. ... View more

This is definitely an issue for your credit card company to resolve. They would see a commonality if Southwest was really the problem, but as @DancingDavidE said, that's probably not the case. No reason for you to get involved once you report it to your credit card company. Frankly, credit card companies don't care too much about fraud either, it's just part of the cost of business.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

@chgoflyer wrote: @DancingDavidE wrote: @chgoflyer wrote: Southwest announced quite some time ago that they were discontinuing Flight Status Notifications, I actually thought they were already dead. This was the system by which you would actively sign up to receive a single email or text at a set time (1-4 hours) prior to a flight's departure or arrival. Useful years ago, it's necessity has long since been replaced by other methods.   What hasn't changed: When you purchase a flight, you select your preferred notification method -- email, text or call -- and Southwest continues to use this to notify you of any changes to your itinerary. (In theory at least. As many have mentioned for years now, this system is pretty abysmal in practice. Updates are often never received, contain outdated information, or are received too late to be of any use.)   Ironically, Flight Status Notifications seemed to work flawlessly. But their usefulness (as a single notification) was limited. The surviving flight change notification system absolutely needs significant work. IMHO it should be a major priority for Southwest.   I recommend proactively checking flight status via google (just enter "WN" + your flight number) or websites like FlightAware. I've really enjoyed App in the Air for an added layer of notification, including gate changes.       I need to check that out. I tried a similar app a while back (I can't remember the name for the life of me; I uninstalled it after a few weeks) and I had mixed results at best. Do you happen to know where they get their data -- especially things like gate changes? I found earlier that an app is really only as good as the data is, and if Southwest isn't updating their systems (or, more often, the airport ones) with things like gate changes, the app isn't helpful. I wondered if there was a crowdsourced solution, but that doesn't seem ideal since there would be a lag in updates (and the obvious problems with crowdsourced data).   I had used TripIt before which was nice, but the way they import Southwest flights they end up with a lot of duplicate trips, since that's my primary airline the service was not useful.   I think some from there was on the community and maybe could answer some questions but I don't recall the name right off hand.           ... View more

One additional item to note is that some locations may have periodic resitrictions/"baggage embargo", especially during the holidays.  One is planned to be in place for Montego Bay from August 16, 2019 through September 16, 2019 (see the link provided by @TheMiddleSeat) -- if that is your destination and timing then boxes are not allowed. ... View more

If you have searched these discussion boards, you have probably seen some tips.  You have to maintain the confirmation numbers and the name of the ticket holder.  The Airline will not provide them to you in any situation (so hopefully you can search emails if you didn’t write them down when you cancelled the original flights).    The funds can only be used for the ticket holder (cannot cross to a new person).   When you book a new ticket, choose Travel Funds as the method of payment.     Finally NEVER think that you can extend the expiration of the funds by booking a new ticket, then canceling it.  It has the opposite effect.  Any funds added in the newly cancelled tickets now have the old and earlier expiration date.     Hopefully this helps.   ... View more

@jenniferg70 I replied to your question in your other post at https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/General-Travel-Policies/Flight-funds/m-p/92376/highlight/true#M7803   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

Is your supply already frozen? If you choose against dry ice and some of the milk thaws, I’m fairly certain it’s okay to refreeze as long as each bag has some ice crystals remaining. I’ve carried on frozen and liquid breastmilk without trouble much trouble (even coming back from Mexico), places like Starbucks will give you ice. Good luck!  ... View more