Southwest Airlines Community

You simply need to contact Southwest and request the refund after your flight. I'd recommend doing so via Twitter for the quickest response.   Here's the complete instructions for booking (and refunding) the 2nd seat:   Customer of Size ... View more

Unfortunately, Southwest has never been know for exemplary IT services. One hopes this issue will be addressed soon, but keep in mind that Southwest was one of the last carriers to offer mobile boarding passes in the first place. ... View more

When you cancel a flight, the funds are available for use towards new travel for the original passenger for one year from the original date of purchase (all travel bust be completed by then). They are held under the original confirmation number (this is not a voucher).   Once those funds are expired, you can request reissue as a voucher, minus a $100 fee. You have 6 months from expiration in which to make the request and the voucher will be valid for 6 months from date of issue, usable by anyone (but only for air travel, not any taxes or fees). Requests are granted on a case-by-case basis, and this unpublished policy is subject to change -- including the amount of the fee -- at any time.     ... View more

Unfortunately, that's a known issue, and a common complaint. From what I understand, it has to do with the databases that hold inventory getting out of sync with those that hold fares. Despite the recent booking system upgrade (which one hoped might address the issue) and frequent customer complaints, this frustrating situation continues.   If you contact Southwest, they'll just point out that no fare is guaranteed until it is purchased.   Southwest's fares change frequently, so it's likely the last seat at the previous price was purchased before you, so the system offered you the next highest price. Your best bet would be to keep checking back to see if the price drops at any point. If so, you can change to that fare and will be given the difference to use towards future travel (up to one year from date of purchase, original passenger only). ... View more

Does your point total span multiple years? The CP counter resets each Jan. 1. ... View more

The direction requiring strict enforcement of the no-show policy was the first time discretion was taken away from individual agents and they were tasked with applying policy verbatim. This was reportedly handed down from upper management, possibly GK himself.   It likely won't be the last one, as Southwest moves towards the "industry standard" in areas where their customer-friendly policies used to be a point of differentiation.   Luckily, it's easy to keep yourself from being in this situation, since Southwest allows cancellation up to 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure.     ... View more

Short answer: 4 hours.  😉 ... View more

Keep in mind that it will be no better -- and possibly worse -- on "someone else." No carrier allows transferability on regular tickets. In fact, many charge fees to even re-use funds from a ticket by the original passenger.   In the future, you can either buy a fully-refundable fare (and make no changes to the itinerary, just cancel for a full refund) or book flights for others using Rapid Reward points, which will be redeposited into your account upon cancellation, regardless of passenger name.   There is a way you can recover some of your lost funds. Once those funds expire (one year from date of purchase), contact Customer Relations and request reissue as a voucher. The fee for this is $100. You have six months from the date of expiration in which to make the request, and the voucher will be valid for 6 months from the date of issue. The voucher is usable by anyone, but only for air travel (not any taxes or fees). Note that everything about this "unpublished policy" is subject to change at any time, including the amount of the fee. Good luck. ... View more

FYI, this forum isn't a customer service channel. Your best bet is to contact Southwest directly, via the email form on the website. ... View more

You never have to state to a Southwest employee what your disability is. The questions they will ask when you request a pre-board slip are, do you need assistance boarding the plane, or do you need a specific seat. If you answer yes to either you pre board. If you simply need more time getting to your seat, you are asked to board after the A group and before the B group. ... View more

The third party points.com operates the points sales and transfer function as a profit center for Southwest.  ... View more

A full refund within 24 hours is required by law. Unfortunately, you must cancel to get the refund (not change).   Unfortunately, at this point you are likely out of luck. You could try contacting customer relations to see if anyone can understand your problem and try to help. Your best bet for a quick reply is via Twitter.     ... View more

Southwest's unfortunately-named "Business Select" is nothing but a dressed-up fully-refundable* fare. Southwest only has a single class of service, so Business Select isn't in any way similar to other carriers' "Business Class" offerings.   That said, Southwest details pretty clearly exactly what you get when you buy Business Select.   Sorry you learned this lesson the hard way.   *Note: Not even full-refundability is guaranteed. If any changes are made to the itinerary, astonishingly you lose the ability to receive a full refund. Yes, this makes absolutely no sense. ... View more

FAA regulations require alcohol to be served by a flight attendant and consumed while onboard. Southwest's interpretation is that alcohol must be given opened. In rare instances an FA may stray from policy. ... View more

Sercice to Hawaii is still very far away. Tickets will likely go on sale sometime in late 2018, with flights beginning likely in 2019. This time, Southwest has not given any indication of which cities will service Hawaii. ... View more

Keep in mind that it will not automatically populate to existing reservations after adding it to your account. You'll need to go back and add it to each existing reservation. ... View more

Officially, Southwest doesn't have a published policy. They allow ops agents to do as they choose, and most generally require military to be in uniform to board between A and B., when they offer military boarding at all. ... View more

Southwest did offer this in 2016, the cost was 9,000 RR points. It wasn't a good deal vs paying the $85, and I don't see it being offered again. ... View more

I'm not sure what you mean. For Companion Pass and A-List qualifying by flights (not points) each one-way is counted as one flight, and a round trip counts as two flights. ... View more

Contact Chase. They may have your account assigned under a different offer. Hopefully you saved some proof of the offer you applied for (screenshots, confirmation message, etc.). Good luck. ... View more

On a Points-based booking, don't cancel/rebook -- simply "change" your itinerary and select the same flight at the now lower price. The difference in points will generally be deposited back into your account immediately.   If you've cancelled and your points aren't redeposited within an day or two, contact Southwest. Your best bet for a quick reply is to reach out via Twitter. ... View more

Unfortunately, A-List Preferred members unable to access the free wifi has been a long running complaint, seemingly unaddressed. 😞 ... View more

As for the "reason," the best guess is that IT no longer wanted to support the function. Given how many issues still plague the website following conversion to the new booking system, one suspects the Southwest IT Department, often already stretched beyond their capabilities, had to make some sacrifices just to keep things running. ... View more

@lgb1 wrote: Yes, not too quickly. October 2017...still not working. Great airline, seems odd this is an issue in 2017.  I would have figured SWA to have a strong IT department...but maybe since they have their roots as a "no frills" type of airline... Sadly, no. Southwest is notorious for antiquated IT implementation. ... View more

With one exception: Connecting flights.    Southwest's systems don't allow anyone to have more than two boarding passes at any given time. So if you have a connecting flight you'll have to wait until you complete the outbound. (Or you can have a gate agent print them for you at your departure gate.) ... View more

Advice: Never trust what a rep tells you on the phone. Always verify in writing. ... View more

Did you enter your son's name and birthday?    If you were logged into your Rapid Rewards account it could have autofilled your information.   Luckily, if you noticed this information upon receiving the confirmation email that is immediately sent, you could cancel for a full refund. In fact you have 24 hours after booking in which to review the confirmation and do this.   The Southwest website is very buggy, but I have not seen any other reports of passenger information being replaced. ... View more

To be clear: This test applies only to flights departing from Denver or Dallas. Here's the official notification:   As a loyal Rapid Rewards® Member with Companion Pass, we're excited to share with you that from October 18 through November 8, we're conducting a test in your market that allows your Companion to board with you on your flight. Here's what you need to know: Have your Companion stand with you at your assigned boarding position You must present your valid Companion Pass card along with your boarding pass to the gate agent at time of boarding Your Companion's name and the name on their boarding pass must match your Companion card Only flights between October 18 and November 8 are eligible Only flights departing from Denver or Dallas (Love Field) are eligible We look forward to seeing you and your Companion onboard soon!   Sincerely, Your friends at Rapid Rewards® ... View more

Rapid Rewards points expire after 24 months with no point earning activity -- perhaps that's the reason?   Your best bet is to reach out to Customer Relations directly, via phone or Twitter. ... View more

@giga74705 wrote: I called and they told me I can’t change my name on my ticket, so I have to hold off on the excitement of updating my driver’s license to my new married name. First time I’ve been upset with Southwest. You were told incorrect information. Try calling back. Or better yet, reach out via Twitter for the quickest response. ... View more