Southwest Airlines Community

Thank you once more. You provide good advice. I will follow it.   Cheers! ... View more

Dear Nicole Ashley, I followed your suggestion and contacted SWA customer service. Might as well have saved the effort. I got a form letter (a flea letter) from a Mr. Jonathan at SWA customer service. He went on to explain that SWA always had a policy of allowing a free change of flights, that SWA presumably is aware of the latest CDC and WHO recommendations regarding COVID prevention, and how they will not refund my money essentially because they can.    Mr. Jonathan missed the point that CDC and WHO guidelines include maintaining social distance, avoiding crowds, and washing or disinfecting hands. SWA changed boarding policy to business as usual (before COVID) of boarding in groups of 30 guarantees a crowded gate area and aisle, and passengers pushing and shoving for their place in line. I was actually prevented from boarding the flight to Chicago even though I had boarding A31, and the A1-30 group had already boarded. The bullying gate agent wanted me to line up. Silly!   United Airlines asks passengers to remain seated until the rows ahead of them had deplaned. That means no shoving and no crowding. Why can't SWA do the same? I guess that every second of delay means less revenue. SWA's interest is rushing the planes back and not keeping passengers safe and healthy.   What a shame! ... View more

Thank you wiskler for your kind and clear advice! I did contact SWA Customer Service and explained precisely that the boarding protocol changed, and that SWA had gone to business as usual regarding COVID. I received an answer that reads more like a "flea letter": some generic explanation of SWA kindness of allowing change of flights without charge, and some nonsense about SWA following CDC and WHO guidelines. They also refused to give me a refund.   Of course maintaining social distance and avoiding crowds are part and parcel of CDC and WHO's advice. SWA ensures that people will not maintain distance, that they will push each other getting on and off the planes, and otherwise ignores the CDC guidelines.    Holding on to my money is very important to SWA. Rushing the boarding and deplaning process by shoving people into confined spaces at the gate and in the aisle is also important to SWA. My health concerns are not.    Something as simple as boarding in groups of 10, or asking passengers to wait in their seats and not crowd the aisle until the rows ahead of them have cleared are not in SWA's (money) interest. Now that I now that I will avoid SWA. When I last bought my ticket I thought SWA was a reasonable airline. They are not. ... View more

Thank you Nicole. Very kind of you to read my note and respond in such a useful way. I did send my comments to SWA customer service. I wish SWA would maintain the health and safety qualities that made me choose the airline in the first place. ... View more

Dear dfwkler:   FA get infected at a lower rate than the general public although they spend more time in a confined space in close contact with random strangers, some not wearing face masks. FA are younger, more physically fit and take better care of their hygiene than the general public. That would explain the observation, right? There might be many other factors at play: women less prone to infection than the general public (50% men), FA don't test as much as the general public, or they have milder symptoms. The alternative, that airplane cabins are safer towards infection than the world at large seems farfetched, do you agree? It is difficult to extract any other conclusion from the observation about FA not getting infected. If you are interested we can look more carefully at the data, for example in sources other than  USA Today.  ... View more

Dear Dougherty,   FA are infected at a lower rate than the general public although they spend more time in a confined space in close proximity to random strangers. One conclusion could be that flight attendants are younger and in better physical shape than the general public, right? The alternative is that airplanes are less dangerous planes for infections than the world at large, which seems farfetched. Would you agree? ... View more

Shouldn't a person who doesn't fit in one seat buy 2 tickets to get 2 seats? It seems fair. Otherwise they could pay you to use part of your space.  ... View more