Southwest Airlines Community

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: The whole idea was to reward those that were willing to take one flight DURING the pandemic with a companion pass for 2 months DURING the pandemic.  My money would be on Southwest offering the same promotion with new dates instead of extending, although I bet both situation are highly unlikely.   --TheMiddleSeat   They did -- but with a catch. 😉   It was targeted to business accounts. The following showed up in my account under "Promotions," presumably because I have a Chase Rapid Rewards Business credit card.   (FYI: While targeted, it was confirmed by a Southwest rep on another forum that as long as you were targeted and then registered, the bookings could be made through any channel.)   And, yes. It's very unlikely the first promo CP period would be extended.     Fly your way to a promotional Companion Pass® with this exclusive offer, and you’ll be able to bring somebody for free* every time you fly during 3/1–6/30/2021. How it works: • Register for this promotion. • Through your company’s travel program, book two qualifying round trip Southwest® flights for dates within January 18 to February 28, 2021. • After you fly those trips, your Companion can fly free* with you every time you fly from March 1 to June 30, 2021**. ... View more

My recommendation would be to reach out to Customer Relations again (see below) and in a short, clear message state the facts -- you cancelled the round trip, but apparently due to some kind of "glitch" only the outbound portion was cancelled, and you never received any confirmation notification. It's worth a shot anyway.   When you cancelled, was it online or via phone? If you have any supporting records (screenshots, phone logs) include them.   I'd recommend you reach out via Facebook or Twitter direct message.   Contact Customer Relations    Good luck. ... View more

@Drliusd wrote: @chgoflyer @nicoleashley   I have a related issue to above. I received 4 sets of vouchers for 4 members of our family. They are definitely vouchers.    We extended the expiration date to June 2021 because of covid.  We booked tickets for this month using them and have now canceled our flights due to covid. They were returned to our 4 respective accounts as travel vouchers expiring June 2021.   1. Can I be refunded for my taxes and fees to my credit card. 2. Is there a way to extend the current vouchers which are travel funds beyond the current June 2021 date? To further complicate things, I have some money left over in luv vouchers and the rest in travel funds from our canceled flights and they are all in 4 accounts.. 3. Are my travel funds returnable to luv vouchers and transferable? 4. Essentially I just want to be able to use tthese vouchers and travel funds in the future but, or give them to someone but our family isn't comfortable flying and prob won't be until the fall or 2022!!     I'm not certain I completely understand your situation, but I'll try to help:   What is the value of each Travel Fund? That will help decide if your options are even feasible to begin with.   1. When you cancelled, there was an option to refund the taxes and fees back to your credit card. If that wasn't selected at that time, they're incorporated into your Travel Funds. Perhaps contacting Customer Relations may help -- but I'm not positive that's available if not selected originally.   2. Keep in mind that Vouchers and Travel Funds are two very different things, with different terms and conditions, so clarity is important.   For your Travel Funds, depending on their value, it might be worth asking Customer Relations if they can be reissued as Vouchers. (Some people refer to this as "extending" their funds.) However, there's a fee for this of $100 per person/fund, so their value will dictate if this is feasible or not. Again, however, I'm not certain you'll get any help here either, as these Travel Funds came from previously extended Vouchers.   For your Vouchers, it's unlikely they would receive a 2nd extension.   3. See 2 above.   4. If Customer Relations agrees to reissue your Travel Funds as Vouchers, the Vouchers will be valid for 6 months from the date of expiration. You have 6 months after expiration in which to make the request. So, if you wait until as late as possible to make the request, and it's granted, the vouchers should be good until June of 2022 at the latest.   It's might be worth reaching out to Customer Relations now, to ask if your Travel Funds are even able to be reissued at all. Be very clear that you're not asking for them to be reissued now, just clarifying that it's a possibility. If so, I'd recommend you keep a record of that conversation.   Good luck!   Contact Customer Relations  (I recommend via Facebook or Twitter direct message) ... View more

Looks like that service ends in mid-March. I'm not sure why -- perhaps it's only a seasonal route. I'd reach out to Customer Relations to ask.   Contact Customer Relations  ... View more

You can always check the value and expiration date of any Travel Funds, Vouchers or Gift Cards here. ... View more

@wisgary wrote: Thanks I didn't realize that this was not a Southwest response board.  The plot thickens on this.  My original flight that I was bumped off of, now has availability at a much higher fare.  I called Customer Service tonight and was told she couldn't do anything as I already made a change to the ticket and the "waiver" was no longer available.  (I made the change because I only had 3 days to do so).   So she suggests I send a message to Southwest from the "Contact Us" page.  I'm not letting this one go as I had a legitimate ticket which they changed and now I can't get my original itinerary back.         You'll likely need to speak with Customer Relations, not the regular phone line, as they may be empowered to help you. It's worth a shot anyway.   Contact Customer Relations  (I recommend via Facebook or Twitter direct message.) ... View more

I'm not a pilot, but my understanding is this: Pilot currency isn't specific to the MAX, it's specific to the 737. That's one of the main reasons Southwest files a single aircraft type fleet, and that the MAX had to be certified as a 737 and not a new type of craft, which added to the initial problem in the first place.   MAX Training Requirements - FAA   11. PILOT CURRENCY There are no additional currency requirements for the 737, 737CL, 737NG, and 737 MAX other than those already specified in parts 61, 121, 125, and 135. 11.1 Differences Currency Between Related Aircraft. Not applicable. 12. OPERATIONAL SUITABILITY The 737, 737CL, 737NG, and 737 MAX are operationally suitable for operations under parts 91, 121, 125, and 135. The list of operating rules evaluated is on file at the Transport Aircraft Seattle AEG.     ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: @chgoflyer wrote:   I'm not sure I follow your point. I mean, are you trying to say that Gary Kelly is lying?   I'm not playing that game.    As a reference, both  Kelly and the pilots union said they had "complete confidence." in the MAX --- just before the second crash. Kelly doesn't always get it right.   Do you have a reference for this? Your link doesn't help, and I've seen nothing of the sort mentioned   Part 121 Section N     I'm not playing a game, I'm just trying to understand what you're saying. 😉   I'm still not understanding your reference. "Part 121 Section N" of what, exactly?   If you're saying that completing full pilot training by March 11 is optimistic, sure -- that I can agree with. Is that your point? That they won't get it done and will push back the MAX schedule?   Or that only a few pilots will be trained by then? Because that's very, very unlikely.   You previously seemed to be asserting that the slow MAX launch was due to pilot training issues. I suggest that the ramp up is more due to limited demand.   If the schedule gets pushed back, sure. If on March 11 the MAX is flying and only a limited number of pilots have been trained, nah. I don't see that happening.     ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: FAA also requires every MAX pilot to show proficiency. That means  minimum of three take offs and three landings in the aircraft    https://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=93206   So let's see. SW has about 9300 pilots, so that means those pilots will have to complete a minimum 28,000 takeoffs and 28,000 landings before the entire pilot pool is qualified. I presume that touch and gos don't count.   As a point of reference SW completed about 40,000 MAX flights in the entire time the aircraft was in service pre grounding.   Do you have a reference for this? Your link doesn't help, and I've seen nothing of the sort mentioned on any of the pilot forums.   I'm not sure I follow your point. I mean, are you trying to say that Gary Kelly is lying? ... View more

Southwest has always required that every pilot is currently trained to fly every plane in the fleet. This is one reason they're so big on the 737 (and, ironically, one reason they're partially to blame for the MAX fiasco, since they pushed Boeing to limit the amount of training needed for the MAX, including demanding there be no simulator training required at all).   Southwest will complete full re-training of all pilots prior to their first scheduled MAX flight. This includes simulator training.   From Gary Kelly:   Before we return the aircraft to customer service, however, every active Southwest Pilot will complete additional FAA-required flight training in one of our nine 737 MAX simulators and will complete additional FAA-required computer-based training covering MAX procedures. ... View more

@denno wrote: Thanks Chgoflyer, for the info.  Yes, 6000 series flight numbers and 32 of those.  Based on one roundtrip per aircraft per day, it only requires 16 aircraft up per day and higher utilization could do it with as few as 10.  With 34 aircraft delivered pre-COVID and about 7 since, that's a lot of down time considering the much greater operating efficiencies of the MAX over the 737-700s and 737-800s, especially for Hawaii service.  Hopefully WN will boost that up soon and replace some of the older aircraft.   I'm confident that there will be increases from the initial schedule, which is still being impacted by covid.   FYI: Southwest planes don't really fly "roundtrips" -- they fly point-to-point. ... View more

Some detailed info, including all initial routes, here.     ... View more

If you'd have reviewed the flight confirmation email as soon as you got it you'd have been able to cancel for a full refund, and then rebook using the correct name. ... View more

  @dfwskier wrote: SW extended all travel funds created between 3/1/20 and 9/7/20. Unlike "normal" times that means any flight cancelled between those dates.   If I were to guess what is happening, my guess would be that you cancelled your December trip after 9/7/20. Funds tied to that cancellation would expire one year from the original purchase date.   @elijahbrantley wrote: Agreed. This link outlines how different travel (extended) funds might have different dates.   "It’s important to note, while these unused travel funds will be available until September 7, 2022, once the funds are used to make a purchase, the expiration date of the travel funds will then follow our normal ticketing rules and will expire 12 months from the date of purchase."   So, for clarity:   If the December flight used 2022 extended funds, and then was cancelled sometime after September 7, 2020, the new expiration would be one year from the date the December flight was booked -- not the original expiration date in February. This suggests that those funds were never extended in the first place.       ... View more

@DaveB585 wrote: Made original reservation on Feb 23rd for flights in July.     Covid hit.    Cancelled and rebooked a different trip for December.    Covid still around.    Today I tried to rebook for July 2021, and it's showing ~$100 in Travel Funds expiring in September 2022, and $1,300 in Travel Funds expires on Feb 22nd.  How the heck was I supposed to use Travel Funds from Feb 2020 to Feb 2021?     Unfortunately, you're a victim of how Southwest functionally handled travel funds during the time they offered their covid accommodations. But, there may be some help for you. This is a bit complicated...   Travel funds from flights that were cancelled March 1 thru September 7, 2020 were extended until September 7, 2022. Functionally, this happened overnight -- the expiration date wasn't updated immediately, they were all batch processed overnight. Meaning that if you cancelled but then rebooked immediately, before the funds were extended overnight, those funds were never actually extended -- even though they should have been.   When you cancelled that July trip, but then immediately used some of the funds to book the new December trip, the funds used for the new booking were never extended, but the remaining balance was extended, overnight, to 2022. That's how you have $100 that was extended and $1,300 that wasn't.   The good news is that Southwest is aware of this type of situation, and has the ability to correct it.   "Customer Relations are asking Customers whose situations fall within the above scenario to reach out to them for assistance."   Contact Customer Relations  (I recommend via Twitter or Facebook direct message.)   You'll need to be clear: You cancelled your original booking sometime between March 1 and September 7, 2020, but rebooked immediately, so your funds were never extended by the system.   Hope this helps!               ... View more

@JohnAcarver wrote: Last year I booked a Kauai vacation before the virus hit. Since then, I've had to reschedule it 3 times due to Hawaii lockdown changes, and the specific Kauai rules that have differed from the rest of Hawaii. It's been a very frustrating process. All the while I've been using the original ticket's funds and because the original tickets were purchased in Feb 2020, they are expiring in a few days. Can SWA give me an extension since these were Kauai government issues and no fault of my own?    It's worth reaching out to Customer Relations (don't bother with any of the other numbers/methods, as they're not empowered to help you) but, unfortunately, to be frank it's unlikely you'll receive an extension of your total funds.   Southwest offered a covid accommodation from March 1 thru September 7, 2020, that required specific actions to earn. But ironically, those like you who kept rebooking with the good faith expectation of actually traveling received nothing. Southwest currently offers no additional covid accommodations.   (There's a chance you might be offered something if your original flight was cancelled by Southwest, but that's a longshot.)   Once your funds are expired, you can reach back out to Customer Relations and request reissue as a voucher, for a fee of $100 per travel fund/passenger. You have 6 months from expiration in which to do this, and the voucher will be valid for 6 months from the date of issue. Vouchers can be used by anyone, unlike Travel Funds which are tied to the original passenger(s), but are only valid for the airfare portion, not any taxes or fees.   Good luck.   Contact Customer Relations  (I recommend via Twitter or Facebook direct message.)     ... View more

@mgarczynski wrote: They definitely aren't showing any consideration for the COVID travel restrictions.  I've never been fond of them but we have to use them for company travel.  I think I'll go back to them being last on my list for travel.  I would imagine this community isn't monitored and you can't ask questions on their Facebook page.  You can comment on their posts but not create.     This community is monitored, but is basically a customer-to-customer forum. Southwest employees here (always clearly identified) aren't really able to help customers directly, but there are multiple other channels for that.    Southwest's Facebook page is an extension of their Customer Relations channel. Most posts there receive an official reply, and you're always welcome to send a direct message.   Contact Customer Relations  ... View more

@Lesliewon wrote: Was able to call and get an extension on my travel fund without paying the penalty! Thankful for Caroline for hearing me out knowing I was unable to travel due to the pandemic .    Have you received your voucher yet, and verified that there was no fee deducted?     ... View more

@Bshatc01 wrote: @chgoflyer    Please remove the "Solved" description from the original post.  This problem is far from solved.  There are tons of people out there with the same issue (reddit, twitter, Facebook and this thread).  In my case, the 400.00 that I am out of is between four people.  So really, I have four vouchers with a 100 dollar value each.  SW applies the fee to each voucher, so really I will get exactly zero dollars back. @jldunk wrote: AGREE!!! It is far from solved... maybe a new thread needs to be started that this is far from solved! Thank you!   The solution provided is currently the best option available for customers in your situation. Unfortunately, Southwest isn't offering any additional accommodations. This solution is as good as it gets.   Keep in mind that we're all just customers here. Rather than opening multiple threads that say the same thing, consider contacting Southwest directly to make an official complaint.   Contact Customer Relations  ... View more

@jldunk wrote: You really are missing the point! You may live in Vegas- but for those who do not- there were NOT the options available that would be worth risking travel! PLUS- CDC was discouraging travel over the holidays! The point is SWA gave us 6 months to use the funds. Period! You may have a job or no family and can come and go any time- but we can not just drop everything and travel within 6 months! Bottom line is SWA has decided they are going to play hardball and could care less about their customers who can not just drop everything and travel in 6 months.   Sorry. I do understand your position.   I think the point that you're missing is that Southwest has extended your funds well past their original expiration -- the date that you agreed to when you made the initial flight purchase. Southwest didn't give you "6 months" to use the funds, you had until September 7, 2022. Then, when you chose to rebook in the middle of the pandemic, you still had a year.   Your funds expire significantly later than they originally did. Southwest already assisted you. You had funds that were good until September 2022, and the only reason that's no longer true is that you didn't read the text shown when you applied them to a new booking. And then you still had a year.   Look, I get it. I've said before that I think that Southwest should offer additional extensions as the pandemic certainly isn't over yet. There are customers who fell outside of the March 1-September 7, 2020 accommodation period who have received nothing. Literally no assistance at all. Their funds expire one year from their original purchase. This isn't right, Southwest is making a significant mistake and jettisoning years of customer goodwill in the process, and if I were in charge I'd do things very differently. But I'm not in charge of course.   Sorry. ... View more

@jldunk wrote: Actually, shows were not open, nor were most restaurants! We were only given 6 months to use them from the time we knew it was unsafe to fly! Still in pandemic and SWA is forcing people to travel when travel is NOT recommended by CDC!   I live in Las Vegas. Yes, the larger shows like Cirque were/are closed, but many of the smaller shows were/are open. Absinthe, Thunder Down Under, The Rat Pack, Comedy Club, Burlesq, X Country, multiple small revues and magicians.    Except for buffets, many restaurants are open. Every casino that's open right now has multiple dining options available.   Lots of reasons not to travel, but a lack of entertainment and dining options in Las Vegas is not really one of them.      ... View more

@jldunk wrote: OH my... my family had almost identical thing happen! We purchased for our family to go on quick family trip for March 2020. Of course we had to cancel that, so funds were then good until 9/2022. We then thought we could use some of the funds for an anniversary trip to Vegas in December (thinking things would start going back to normal). Of course, nothing in Vegas was even open, so we had to cancel. But now... those funds have to be used by this July! So, 6 months to use the funds!!  We have talked to different levels of customer service and the standard line is. too bad- you have to use by July or lose it! In the middle of a pandemic, travel is discouraged, yet SWA is FORCING you to take time off of work (who can do that?) or lose $800! Even Delta( who always charges a change fee) is allowing change at no cost! Guess SWA is trying to make up their profit loss on the backs of working people!   While I don't recommend unnecessary leisure travel during the pandemic, there were tons of things open in Vegas in December. Generally, Vegas is much less "locked down" than other places. Casinos, hotels, restaurants, even some shows were all open.   Your funds were generously extended until 2022. Using them started a new, one-year clock, which was disclosed upon purchase. In all cases, you were given more time than you agreed to when you made the original purchase. ... View more

@reneepasley wrote: Unfortunately, this has been happening to me every time I book.    Southwest has been making massive schedule changes due to decreased demand because of the pandemic. At some point these changes will decrease, as people receive vaccines and travel picks back up. ... View more

@Tonyaytaylor wrote: The customer service rep said they are only honoring travel funds from the original date of purchased. So, travel funds expire 1 year from the original ticket funds.  Customer Service is very poor concerning this matter.   Unfortunately, unless your funds were extended during the March 1-September 7, 2020 covid accommodation period (via multiple methods), this is true. Southwest is offering no additional covid accommodations. ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: @gsking wrote:  That's the problem SWA has to avoid... people getting around the 1 year rule by buying a new ticket and inheriting a new expiration.   I'm not smart enough to know why having unlimited fund expiration is a bad thing,  but the rule you suggest would allow that.   It does seem to me to not be such a bad thing.  It's an accounting thing. Travel funds and FF points  are accrued liabilities. As long as they are o the books, thee's nothing to prevent a lot of people (many more than normal) from using them at one time. TFs with no expiration could gow to be such a large amount that it could impact the airline financially.   That's why some organizations (I'm thinking hotels) put a expiration date on  hotel points. It's use it or lose it..   That's been referenced before, but my understanding is that it's not completely true. Or at least is more complicated than that. There are ways of accounting for these types of potential unclaimed assets that can be used to avoid the necessity of expiration dates. In general, the revenue is recognized when the "performance obligation" is transferred to the customer. Meaning that the money becomes revenue as soon as Southwest has it, regardless of when or whether or not the customer actually flies.   Another example would be Rapid Rewards points. Previously, what you reference was often cited as the reason they expired after 2 years without account activity -- now, they never expire. Southwest found a way to account for unredeemed points, albeit at a very small cost/liability compared to their customer value, that would allow them to be competitive in the market.       ... View more

@bec102896 wrote: Did you try what I told you? It should help you get the expiration date pushed just a little later so you could take your trip to Tampa. The reason you could do this right now is Southwest has a waiver for all flights in mid March through the 9th of April and once you book the placeholder flight for March you can move your flight a month later and reports I’ve seen show those with expiring funds could still move the flight up to 30 days later. The waiver could go away at any time and your chance to get the trip to Tampa with the truthfully expired funds will go away and you would then have to try the contacting customer relations and hope they will give you a voucher for 6 months ($100 fee would apply) as dfwskier mentioned        My complete guess is that the current waiver will disappear tonight. They seem to start near the end of the week and then are gone after 3-5 days (at most).   Being able to change any flight within in a specific time period to any other flight (same airport pairs), regardless of fare, up to 30 days either direction is 1) caused by covid schedule changes; 2) due to systems limitations that will eventually be fixed; and 3) an incredible tool that can be leveraged to their great advantage by informed travelers. ... View more

Southwest, unlike other carriers, allows you to reuse funds from cancelled flights without any additional cancellation, change or rebooking fees. With the exception of some current temporary covid accommodations, no other carrier allows this. The trade-offs for this are limitations on those funds -- use by the original passenger(s) only, and most importantly expiration dates. It's unfortunate that new money is tainted by older funds, and it's possible that at some point Southwest may update their systems to change that. But frankly it's unlikely. From your viewpoint, you didn't discover this until you tried to get back monies when the fare dropped. (Which, fyi, isn't something you can do on any other carrier.) But in reality, those monies already had the expiration date, and again, that was disclosed to you when you made the purchase (as I showed in the screenshot earlier). Southwest's system isn't perfect, but I'll take it over any other carrier's any day. At lest you now know not to co-mingle cash with older travel funds. ... View more