Southwest Airlines Community

@Rkitch86 wrote: to try and make an already long story short, me and my family had a flight from Birmingham Alabama to Baltimore and then Baltimore to buffalo new York where our family lives. We ended up stuck in Baltimore for 6 1/2 - 7 hours with a 1 year old little girl and a 2 year old little boy. As we all know, flying with and traveling with kids can be very trying and stressful. we Understand delays and things happen this is part of flying and a hidden risk, but the airlines lack of empathy, answers, time,  just to name a few was wild and no cares were given that night with this airline, ON TOP of the full blown lies they fed us were we literally did a quick google search and or made a phone call just to go back to them and say " hey listen we know you just lied we understand delays but you do not have to lie to customers''. All that aside we made the best of a very long airport layover stay and dealt with it. The BIG ISSUE! The reason I am here is to throw caution to all your winds. While trying to entertain 2 cranky and tired kids in Baltimore airport they were having what was one of the heaviest rains I had seen in a good while. these jokers FOR WHATEVER REASON! ( still wondering and waiting to hear this explanation) left everyone's luggage out by the loading area where planes park and our luggage goes underneath. The problem was 1. there was no plane to load and 2. the lack of care of this airline and their staff to have brought the luggage out but to then leave it there IN A MONSOON! needless to say we were supposed to originally be in buffalo around 6:30-7:00 P.M. Instead we all finally got to our destination around 3:30 in the morning.    Several issues going on here:   First off, very sorry this happened, that's horrible  Definitely keep prescription medication in your carry on if possible on future trips, I'm sure you will but that's a rule that more frequent flyers always take.  I wish the did have an exception to the four hour rule for flights that arrive after 10 p.m. or some reasonable time. But as soon as you got the waterlogged bags off the conveyer it should be straight to the baggage office. I know it is extra tough with kiddos that late.  If you had a picture of the luggage cart sitting out on the tarmac that might help. What may have happened is if there was any lightning the ramp workers have to go back to safety and anything left out there has to stay. Under normal conditions they wouldn't be leaving stuff in the rain like that but it sounds like a surprisingly strong storm you had. I'm very sorry that the hiccup here is the 4-hour rule, you can try using the Contact Southwest Customer Service or sending a message to the corporate office describing the reasons you would expect an exception to the four hour rule.     ... View more

@Jack2act wrote: Can Southwest expalin why I am paying $50.00 to get early boarding when 20 seniors all jump ahead and take the best seats? But when they deplane they suddenly dont need a wheelchair. Southwest should board them last ! to the back of the plane and that way they deplane last. I am willing to bet Southwest anything that the amount of Seniors pre boarding drops 90% For the record I am a senior as well and dont abuse the privlage.   Not everyone considers those to be the best seats. The front of the plane is obviously popular that's undeniable, but it isn't universal.     ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: allowed? You can cancel your boarding pass and change your flight, then check back in.   You'll be taking your chances with the boarding position that you get last minute, and also if the flight is full this would be a minor risk of not getting your seat back but it should work if you use the "change flight" function instead of the cancel and rebook approach - the change shouldn't go through unless you actually get your new flight.   I don't see any reason they would offer a voucher for it, but you can get travel credit if the price was lower and you changed your flight.     ... View more

@cadreaming wrote:   This is unfortunate because you as a company really had a chance to make this right.  Now, because of this stunt, all you're doing is giving people another bad experience and another untrustworthy situation as a company.  Shame on you!      Just to clarify, did you try reaching out if there could be an exception? If not, use the Contact Southwest Customer Service options listed down below.   I don't know all of the motivations I'm just a fellow passenger but there is some part of the process that they want you to actively acknowledge claiming the points, as opposed to sending out the deposits automatically.   I'm sorry that for whatever reason you haven't tried to claim them until now.     ... View more

@bsurkein wrote: Thank all of you for your replies.  My problem is simple naivete. For some silly reason I thought that SWA is different; that it is better than this sort of SCAM.  I have used SWA for many years, always with good experiences. I had never purchased reward points before; but I have used reward points accumulated from using an SWA sponsored credit card. In those cases I considered the points to be a free perk for using a particular CC. It never dawned me that SWA would operate with less than honesty and integrity in all phases of its business; that it would sell a product (reward points in this case) that had less value than the cash money used to pay for them.  So, I didn't read the fine print.  Yes, I know - NO REFUNDS - is very clearly posted on the website.  I just didn't think I would ever want or expect a refund. Shame on me. It's a third party that runs this program but I can see your confusion. The service is still useful if you have a block of points and need a little bit more to enable the use of the points you already have.    I'm not sure who would benefit from those major large point purchases though compared to paying for flights up front.     ... View more

@dianaaschner wrote:   My workaround: I called Chase and they are overnighting the card to me free of charge. Still not a great solution but the call took 5 minutes and hopefully flights won't go up too much before tomorrow. Hope that helps someone out there.  Someone had mentioned that you have to write down the info earlier, I agree this should be a lot easier of a process. Glad to hear you got an expedited response - if your flight is for more than a few weeks out hopefully you'll be okay. It's tough when you get within the week. ... View more

@ALibert wrote: Dear WN Forum Members: to say that I’m old school at age 83 would be an understatement. I’m a former TW, SV, CAB, NA, PA, RJ and BDL middle management retiree. I was invited by Herb Kelleher, et al, in the mid 1990’s to spend a day at HQ @ DAL to “Meet the Gang” so to speak.     Great story! Thanks for sharing.  ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: alot of flights 45 minutes apart People are all on a mission to get out of the plane when it lands.    Boarding everyone is browsing the seats, putting stuff up, taking it back down, putting it back after getting their item out, getting safety briefing, exit row safety briefing...the process is naturally a longer one.     ... View more

@kmatthews812 wrote: I guess simpler question - if this service existed, would you use it?    It would save you the effort of manually checking in and would click faster than humans can so it would get you the best seat possible.    Follow up question - would you pay a couple bucks ($5? $10) if it got you a guaranteed aisle or window seat?  If you are proposing this as a business venture I think you have a couple of obstacles that the most frequent and knowledgeable flyers end up getting A-list eventually, and also that Southwest offers an equivalent product with EBCI that would always be in front of your own offering, the airline would also potentially have the ability to block your service through technological or legal means.   I'm sure there would be a few takers if you can reach them without attracting too much attention.    In practice the customers might get aisle and window seats often, as far as guaranteeing them that sounds a bit strong as there are some odd cases every once in a while. Someone posted recently about a flight that seemed to be 100% A-list and EBCI, if that last passenger had instead been on the auto-check-in system they would have still gotten a high C-number.     ... View more

@floridaguy wrote: I looked for the same thing and never found anything.   I set a reminder on my phone for check in and the moment the minute arrives, I check in.  Sometimes the system rejects it as the clocks are not in perfect synch and it sees my check in as early.  Redo the check in and it goes through.   Nearly all times I receive a B boarding position, B20 or close.  That tells me that the flight is probably full and also that a lot of people used the same technique.   I wish that Southwest would end the madness and just sell the ticket and price it on the boarding position.  That way, your check in had nothing to do with the boarding position.   Because the price of the ticket often gets more valuable as the flight time gets closer so you can't price solely from boarding position.   Southwest also likely doesn't want to discourage last minute purchases by having promised all the early boarding positions nor stop people from buying early by reserving the early boarding positions.   If people showed up and all that was left were "C" positions they might not buy those tickets and planes start flying at 2/3 capacity.     ... View more

@kmatthews812 wrote: I'd rather not pay for Early Bird, but I do like checking in exactly 24 hours in advance to get the best seat possible.    Does anybody know of any third party apps that do this for you? Have you used them and if so, how was your experience?   It seems like somebody should just make a bot that does this really quickly to always beat the humans and avoid having to pay for Early Bird, but I can't seem to find any and don't know what happens if I use one.    Thanks! Also how would a bot work if a bunch of people subscribed, but then they all tried at the same time and you aren't any better off.     ... View more

@kmatthews812 wrote: I'd rather not pay for Early Bird, but I do like checking in exactly 24 hours in advance to get the best seat possible.    Does anybody know of any third party apps that do this for you? Have you used them and if so, how was your experience?   It seems like somebody should just make a bot that does this really quickly to always beat the humans and avoid having to pay for Early Bird, but I can't seem to find any and don't know what happens if I use one.    Thanks! If these came from one IP address I suspect it would be blocked very shortly.   Otherwise this is pretty easy to take the link that checks you in with name and confirmation and put a calendar reminder.   Tripit and other third-party software does give you a reminder with five minutes notice, but doesn't actually do the check-in.     ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: ty They are sometimes low-cost, but not in the ultra-low-cost category, and also no change fees, two checked bags included, etc. it works out in my favor.          ... View more

@SoCalFlyer97 wrote:   And now for that special moment: This trip--specifically the inbound flight--was SoCalFlyer97's 25th Southwest flight for 2023! Can anybody who has A-List guess what that means?     Congrats! And always book one-ways, so you can get A-list on that return leg instead of waiting for the whole trip to process at the end.   ... View more

I don't know if it is written anywhere but always allow for a flight that is delayed to be moved back up.   There are a few reasons for this:   I recommend FlightRadar24 to check "where is my plane coming from?" and you can track the inbound flight to see if the issue is a delay occurring previously on your route. Then especially if the flight continues on throughout the day it's likely to go as projected with the delays - plan to be at the gate around when the inbound flight is arriving. Doing the same thing you may see your plane is already there, but there isn't crew available - this could change on the fly, if crew suddenly becomes available due to some other delay or cancelation the flight time can be moved back up in an instant. Then also Southwest can arrange for a plane swap and leave earlier with a new plane taken from some other route and move the departure back up. Probably not if there is a big continuing group on the other flight - see if the flight number originates at your airport or if it continues throughout the day. I think this is less likely if the continuing flight will be coming within 1-2 hours.  In fact if the announcement was early enough, head the airport early, if your flight is delayed significantly you can maybe move up onto an earlier flight for free.  I hope this helps!     ... View more

@thorny wrote: Hi all;    I purchased a Business Select fare and expected my Companion to receive a consecutive boarding assignment.  I have searched through the online terms and conditions and can't find text indicating this scenario.  I also looked through other discussions and see others have stated that the purchase of a Business Select fare does not receive the consecutive assignment for the companion but I'd just like to see where the text is located.  Anyone have a correct link?     Appreciate it. I found it @thorny :   Rapid Rewards Updates - Southwest Airlines     ... View more

@jksobonya wrote: I wish!! Imagine getting complimentary pizza with every flight. I’m here for it.   I don't think it is complimentary, I did have a chance to fly them recently to MEX and had a nice chicken entree, no pizza.      ... View more

@CindySac wrote: We use a stroller wagon (folded dimensions are 29Wx20Dx45H), and will also have our two carseats. Can all 3 of these items be gate checked so we have them available to us immediately upon deplaning at our destination? We have bags for them, and the bag for the wagon fits over it such that it can still be rolled for convenience. I'm very nervous of them being damaged and still being safe to use at destinations (especially the carseats so we don't get stranded at the airport), but am reminding myself I've always had great experiences with Southwest!   You will have to sign a liability release where if Southwest loses your item you can be compensated, but as long as they return to you all the pieces damage wouldn't be covered. This is mostly CYA language but I'd be careful about checking anything that was delicate or had pieces extending off of itself that might be vulnerable. Hopefully the bag provides some protection from scuffing.    Southwest blue bags may be for sale at the ticket counter for $17.   Each kid can have two items of baby gear checked so you are good on the quantities.         @CindySac wrote: During the flight, are there restrictions on our seating arrangements, other than needing to avoid the exit row? I've been told some airlines limit one child per row due to oxygen mask availability. I'm hoping we can sit together as being separated will make things more difficult.   No exit rows, and then there is one extra oxygen mask in each row so you can have two adults and two kids, except that as the kids are lap children if someone takes that empty middle seat then it would be too many people.   So although I'm hopeful for you, it would be possible on a completely full flight that you can't all be in a row if someone from the public joins you in that same row.   You might be asking yourself who would sit down between two lap children...those crazy people do exist, especially if the seat is desirable (towards the front) so I'd maybe try further back so there is less competition for that empty middle seat.   A more foolproof way would be if each parent takes an aisle seat across from each other.    One workaround here would be to buy one kid a seat in the future and then you'd have three ticketed passengers taking up a three seat row.       @CindySac wrote: Also, are the children restrained at all in the parents' lap? Back in the day, I've seen attachments to the seatbelt, but I don't know if they are a thing anymore or what today's standards are. They basically were a seat belt that was its own seatbelt, attached to the outside of the adult's, but not inside so that the adult wouldn't crush the child in the case of a jolt.   Those aren't FAA approved, the FA will want you to simply hold the children and not use anything that modifies the existing seat belts.   We did get one of these CARES harnesses for when the kids were older, they didn't really fit these until they were no longer lap children though.   https://www.faa.gov/travelers/fly_children##Cares   I hope this helps!         @CindySac @CindySac @CindySac ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: If the left 2 fair boxes show prices is the flight not sold out? No - in rare cases I've seen BS apparently sold out while there were still WGA fares left.   1-15 - get them while they are hot!   I don't think there should normally be any limit on Anytime though - if Anytime is sold out, the flight is sold out.   All of the others could be blocked from sale for one reason or another but still have seats open.       ... View more

@Jennie1984 wrote: I am traveling this month with my 8mo old foster baby, I do not have access to his birth certificate so what are my options for age confirmation since he will be flying as lap infant? I have his foster placement papers that the state gave me.  We've also used doctor's checkup records.      ... View more

@SoCalFlyer97 wrote: @Erik_R wrote:     For now, I'm not sure whether a short-haul flight from BFL to American's hub at PHX with a separate booking via Southwest to your final destination would be feasible. I would explore this option further to see if this would work.   With minor risks by swapping airlines I did this before flying to PHX and then US Airways to Flagstaff for a project.    Using only carry-ons this would be a a snap to change gates airside. Minor inconvenience if you have checked bags and need to recheck and go through security - definitely invest in TSA Precheck in that case.   Especially if you are traveling light this can be a good option if the fares for the feeder flights are low. Certainly better than driving to LAX (through the whole metro?...no way)   Sometimes on the feeder routes it is $90 and sometimes it is $400 though, see what you can find.      ... View more

@CupCrusher40 wrote: Time of day? Weekend? Season? For me no traffic is 30 minutes to ORD and 45 minutes to MDW.   Rush hour is 45 minutes to ORD and 90 minutes to MDW.    TSA with PreCheck/Clear is usually 5 minutes.   Either way at most times of day the traffic will be longer than TSA except during major surges.   ORD T5 has a rush of international passengers in the late afternoon taking flights overnight to Europe and Middle East - it might be longer then.      ... View more

@CaitAlain wrote: I'm planning to fly with an infant and am wondering if it's advisable to bring a nursing pillow and/or if it will be counted as a personal item. The wording on this changed, there used to be an additional item for baby gear onboard but now the diaper bag seems to be counted as one of your two items.    I’m not sure about a pillow, I think people bring their horseshoe shaped neck pillows without counting them but I’m not 100%.   Can you fit it inside the diaper bag while boarding? That would take care of it for sure.      ... View more

Love these ideas for A-list! ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: Assuming you are at the gate, it should be listed on one of the electronic boards. I think the recent news said it would be available on the app as well, but I haven’t tried it myself yet. I’ve seen it posted at the gates though on other flights.       ... View more

@RubyGrace wrote: I've run into a bit of a snag with my Southwest Airlines booking and was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar. I recently made a reservation for a flight, and upon checking the details, I noticed a discrepancy between my booking confirmation and the flight itinerary displayed on the website. If you have your booking confirmation in your hand and it shows one set of information and then you go online and it shows just slightly different information, then they have made a schedule update that had a minimal impact on you.   For any significant change they would have sent you a notification of the change and allow you to choose another flight if you wanted to.    So I think 1) discrepancy is possible if they tweaked the schedule since you bought it, and 2) if the change doesn't work for you or you want another flight go ahead and ask them to change it. There would have been an automated message to self-service your change if it was a big modification - I forget the threshold but "arrives more than an hour later" or adds connections, etc.         ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: Whenever you cancel a flight you get one travel credit regardless of how many travel credits used to buy the ticket.   You are allowed to use up to 3 methods of payment when buying a ticket, thus you can use up to 3 travel credits. This is the "loophole" in order to self-service of combining travel credits so that you can use more than three.    I say loophole, there's nothing really against doing this and it will save Southwest hassle of people calling about trying to use four travel credits.    They don't want you buying tickets you don't plan to use of course but if you can do it further out in the schedule and then cancel it fairly quickly so it doesn't sit around looking like a real flight it is probably fine and saves everyone effort in the end.         ... View more

I had mainly seen them as "Priority" or "Fly-By" and not advertised by fare type in the past, although I haven't been looking lately since I'm going through PreCheck anyway.     ... View more