Unfortunately, my understanding is that Southwest isn't breaking with policy in this situation, so they continue to not reimburse for alternate travel or lodging costs. Their position is that the grounding was out of their control, similar to a weather incident. I do have to wonder if they themselves will be seeking compensation from Boeing at some point. Reports are that some affected customers are being given vouchers towards future travel as a goodwill gesture ($100 to $200, depending on circumstances). If you are initially denied (as many are reporting) it may be worth following up with a written letter. It remains unclear how the decision to offer a voucher is being decided. It appears that the MAX aircraft will be grounded for quite some time. Southwest is now trying to rebook passengers thru June 1, so hopefully that will reduce the damage done by last-minute cancellations.
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