Southwest Airlines Community

Points from hotel stays can take up to 8 weeks to post. In my experience it is much shorter, but in can take that long.    --Jessica ... View more

You clearly haven't flown at all during the pandemic aka the past 2 years - planes have been nowhere close to full and Southwest still flew them.   --Jessica ... View more

It keeps getting worse - I just checked the PHL site and they are upping their parking rates starting on April 21 and the parking garages which previously had a pandemic cost of $24 or $16/day if parked more than 72 hours WILL NOW COST $28/DAY. But oh if you stay a whopping *96 hours or more* you get a "break" and only pay $20/day. Good night. And they are not reopening 3/4 of the Economy Lot so what CHOICE will people have?! This is horrendous and going to be a s#itshow of epic proportions.    https://phl.org/parking/garages#Rates    --Jessica ... View more

I have definitely noticed this and made a thread about it myself: https://community.southwest.com/t5/Routes-Destinations/Cutting-WGA-fares/m-p/139190   I believe what the airlines are doing is increasing fares to make up for some of the lost profits from the past 2 years and also to offset rising fuel costs. Delta even admitted to hiking fares 10%: Delta executives believe pent-up demand for travel will help offset soaring fuel costs and allow the airline to hike fares by up to 10% from April    So as the consumer we are sort of in a lose-lose situation right now.    --Jessica ... View more

Months after PHL insisted they would never reopen the Economy Lot again ... they are, because of situations like this:   PHL parking garages are already full ahead of Easter, Passover, spring break weekend    Who could have predicted this? (ME!)   This is a disaster that could have 100% been avoided. And the problem is not going away, because they are only opening 1/4 of the Economy Lot *after Easter*, meaning less than 2,000 of the 7,000 spaces will be available, and people traveling this weekend likely have no idea and oh, it's going to be a cluster this weekend for many people traveling.    I never had to worry about parking at PHL before, and now I have to add it to my list of worries and what-ifs. Thank you PHL.    They say "find alternate methods of transportation" and I just laugh. Even SEPTA which I take regularly into the city, isn't going to work if you have a flight that leaves before 8AM or arrives after 10-11PM due to train unavailability (they don't run 24/7).    Parking aside, the final nail in the coffin is that the city of Philadelphia is re-instating mask mandates *indoors in the city* starting on April 18. As far as I know they are the only city in the whole country to do this. Disaster after disaster after disaster. 😂   --Jessica ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: I know @jksobonya will be thrilled   --TheMiddleSeat Oh yes ... thrilled 😄    My next flight isn't until May 14. Let's see what happens then 😅   --Jessica ... View more

@katheek77 wrote: They now have my connecting flight leaving before my original flight, so, that's obviously not going to work.     I cannot make this up.  My connecting flight from las vegas leaves at 11:05 am.  My original flight from my home city does not leave until 1:05pm.  Yes, I have double checked the dates.   This happened to me too! I was able to move my first flight to an earlier time, albeit with *another* stop, to make the connection. Should be fun lol   --Jessica ... View more

Story of my life! I fly to Vegas regularly from Philly and they discontinued nonstops in 2019. *Very recently* they started adding "1 stop - no plane change" flight options but the vast majority are 1-2 stops with plane changes. And a lot of the flights either leave at 5 or 6AM, or they leave much later and arrive at midnight. There's only 1 or 2 flights out of any given day that arrive at what I would consider a decent hour in the early to-mid afternoon.    --Jessica ... View more

@Bethanybroom wrote: Airfare Experts is the third party app selling SouthWest tickets.   I have literally never heard of any 3rd party selling Southwest tickets, so I had to look this up for myself. Doesn't look like a very reputable company, BBB gives "Airfare Experts" an F rating: https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/carrollton/profile/travel-agency/airfare-experts-0875-90940154    However, it does look like they specialize more in international flights / trips around the world so how or why they are somehow offering Southwest fares is beyond me. I just tried looking up a few routes from Philadelphia to Vegas, LA, etc and it says "No flights available" at all. Very puzzling.    --Jessica ... View more

If your reservation did not complete it's possible an auth went through and will not be finalized.   --Jessica ... View more

@Loops0404 wrote: BUT, we found out SW had been emailing this wrong account trying to tell us we had points that were expiring (from canceled COVID trips).   Southwest does not do this.    --Jessica ... View more

This is the first time I have ever heard of a "plane whisperer." I am sorry the fear of flying gives you anxiety, but there is no reason to be afraid. Flying is very, very safe.    --Jessica ... View more

Fares are still wildly expensive in addition to few/no WGA fares available. It's really hindering my potential trips that I have planned. I might have to cut out a trip entirely whereas in "normal" times this wouldn't be an issue.    --Jessica ... View more

@sandybeachs1981 wrote: Agreed Jessica which is why I’m reaching out.  I hope to hear something from a southwest representative today. A formal complaint has been filed.  Southwest does not resolve customer complaints via these forums, you will have to use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page to contact them via the usual methods (phone, social media, etc.)   --Jessica ... View more

My only word of caution is be careful cancelling a flight right now just to pay a different way, because flight prices have generally gone up and you might end up paying more than your original flight price.   --Jessica ... View more

@Blasiandale0 wrote: Thank you so much oh on the return flight I pay for check bags again? On Southwest your first 2 checked bags are always free!   --Jessica ... View more

@sandybeachs1981 wrote: we received a threat from the south west employee that they would call the police and have them come to our house in the middle of the night if we did not immediately get back into our car and drive back to the airport.  We live 2 hours away from the airport and this was at 11:30p at night.  This seems ... highly unusual.   --Jessica ... View more

Southwest didn’t try to rebook you on another flight? Strange, but if they cancelled your flight you are entitled to a refund.   — Jessica  ... View more

Reddit has noticed, so it definitely isn't just me: WGA Fares completely gone, what's with that?    --Jessica ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: Could be a glitch, but demand for air travel is very high right now.  I'm guessing Southwest thinks it can sell the flights at higher prices and doesn't need to offer discounted fares.  You could compare prices booking the legs separately, there seems to be more WGA flights available that way.   Here's commentary about the demand being "insatiable" https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2022/03/14/airline-industry-heads-back-to-normal-as-analyst-sees-insatiable-demand/?sh=4c6e97088f37   --TheMiddleSeat I read a similar article, and it's worth noting that a competing airline (United) essentially admitted to holding back cheaper seats and selling them at much higher fares:   “Airlines also limited the number of their least expensive seats earlier in the year in anticipation of strong summer bookings.   "We didn't pre-sell the summer at lower (fares), we saved the seats and are now selling them at much higher (fares) and we're happy about that," said Andrew Nocella, chief commercial officer for United.   Source: Airfares are going up. Blame full planes, not fuel prices    This seems to be what Southwest is doing, too, in some high-demand markets. I mean, even if demand is "high" I still don't think it's pre-pandemic level high - and no one is going to pay $1200 roundtrip to Vegas, not even me lol.    --Jessica ... View more

I find it hard to believe that Southwest did not contact you in *some* way to notify you of the cancelled flight.   --Jessica ... View more

I stick with good ol' Diet Coke most of the time - if it's early, I'll get coffee. If I'm feeling ^fancy^ I'll get vodka or rum with my Diet Coke 😉    --Jessica ... View more

I have an iPhone XR and have never had any problems added boarding passes to my Wallet, and I have had this phone for 3 years and keep the IOS up to date.   --Jessica ... View more

Click the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page - it lists every way you can contact Southwest.   --Jessica ... View more

It's difficult to know for sure. At present Southwest is actually cutting flights over the next month due to the fuel crisis / labor issues. If fuel / labor doesn't improve, this might continue to happen in the summer, so there would be less flights available (and probably more expensive) than more flights available.    --Jessica ... View more

@VulcanFlyer1956 wrote: As a business traveler, I feel we have become the subsidizer's of the airline industry. And while I recognize we are living in extraordinary times, i was truly shocked to see a regular flight I've taken many times before now cost $1,172.95. And that isn't even non stop. Its 2 stops outbound and 2 stops inbound. A total flight time of 13hr 50min. Flying out Monday and return Friday.  I read an article yesterday that airlines were increasing prices across the board  - not because of high fuel prices, they claim, but because of fuller planes. I don't necessarily believe that, but I did find this part interesting:   Airlines also limited the number of their least expensive seats earlier in the year in anticipation of strong summer bookings. "We didn't pre-sell the summer at lower (fares), we saved the seats and are now selling them at much higher (fares) and we're happy about that," said Andrew Nocella, chief commercial officer for United.   Source: 6 ABC News    Make of that what you will ...    --Jessica ... View more

@joannec1965 wrote: Due to a serious situation, I needed to cancel the vacation. I was ASSURED by SWV that my former travel partner's travel credits would be mine to use since I paid for the trip fully. This assurance seems misguided, as Southwest Vacations does not do this. Per their FAQ:   What are the Travel Credit details, restrictions and new booking policies?  Travel Credits*:  Are valid for travel commencing 12 months from date of issue of the Travel Credit. Are non-refundable, non-transferable, not redeemable for cash, and must be used for travel commencing by expiration date. Will be issued in the names of each passenger on the original reservation.    Can I give my Travel Credits to someone else to use?  Travel Credits are non-transferable.    Source: https://www.southwestvacations.com/general/customer-care-and-travel-information    Whoever told you that you could use anyone else's travel credits for yourself was misinformed.   --Jessica ... View more

@Benhill384 wrote: i am short on neither time nor money, FYI. This thread is hilarious 😂   First of all -- 22 phone calls? Seriously?    You'd have much better luck contacting Southwest via social media anyway - I get pretty  immediate responses via Twitter Direct Message.    Second of all -- if you're short of neither time nor money, cut your losses and move on. Bags get lost. It happens all the time. Unfortunately, it happened to you. If you did the proper thing and filed a claim within 4 hours of arriving at your destination, that is the correct course of action and wait for a response to your claim. If they have not responded in 5 days:   What happens if my bag is never located?    Instructions on how to file a claim for lost baggage will be provided to you at the time you make an incident report with one of our Employees at the airport. If your bag is not located by the local Baggage Service Office after five days, you may download the form necessary to pursue your claim with Central Baggage Services from our Baggage Claim Web Portal. Please have your incident number available in order to access the portal.   More info: https://www.southwest.com/faq/lost-damaged-baggage   --Jessica ... View more