Southwest Airlines Community

@mikegrant wrote: I agree. I just filed a complaint with the DOT and FAA. I am also writing to my US congressional representatives. I had a flight scheduled this week and due to travel restrictions needed to cancel. I asked for a refund due to a flight being unavailable on my return. They told me the flight was unavailable because the flight was full. Southwest is lying to customers and playing games with their flight schedules to force people to cancel a flight before they do. There are flights tomorrow that are showing "unavailable" that are cancelled. I am not letting this go. If my return flight is cancelled I will be filing another complaint with DOT and FAA.   Southwest accepting Billions in public money 💰 to stay solvent but refusing the refund peoples money that they may need to pay for food and other necessities is abhorrent.   Unfortunately, it is true that carriers -- including Southwest -- are playing a game of chicken with customers right now, hoping the customer will cancel before the carrier does.   Here's an article with some examples. It's euro-centric, so the flyer rights section doesn't apply, but the rest translates well to current domestic carrier actions we're seeing.   The Evil Cancellation Game Airlines Are Playing With Passengers…   I was recently on Euro News discussing airline cancellation issues, and there’s a key distinction when it comes to your passenger rights. If the airline cancels, you’re entitled to a refund. If you cancel, even if travel isn’t possible, you’re left with nothing more than a voucher, at best.   This conundrum is leading airlines to play evil games with passengers, refusing to cancel flights until the last minute, in hopes of coaxing passengers into cancelling on their own. The reasons for doing so are huge, but the ethics behind it are questionable at best…   All around the world, airlines are intentionally not cancelling flights until the very last minute, or informing customers of “schedule changes” rather than cancellations, specifically to avoid refund rules.   In recent weeks, The United States and European Union each reiterated legal guidance to airlines that if a flight is cancelled, a refund must be offered – not just a voucher. Following the guidance, too many airlines are now choosing to play games with their schedules, to avoid the ruling.     Remember that, with Southwest, you have up until 10 minutes prior to departure in which to cancel and not fall victim to the no-show forfeiture. With phone lines jammed and reports of being unable to change or cancel some itineraries online, I wouldn't wait that long myself... I'd recommend checking on the morning of travel.     ... View more