Southwest Airlines Community

Thank you for sharing about your experience on Southwest Airlines. It is appalling to me to hear about the way you were treated on the plane and within the airport. I highly urge you to contact Customer Service to seek a formal remedy for your concerns, as this is not in any way consistent with the Southwest promise.   Open-seating does have its benefits - however, there are drawbacks. If you choose to travel with Southwest again, an earlier boarding position can help reduce the possibility of finding seats in an already boarded plane. The first solution would be to check-in earlier, perhaps 24-hours on the dot before your flight. If this is an inconvenience, you can always purchase Early Bird Check-in, which will automatically secure a boarding position for you 36 hours prior to your flight. With an earlier boarding position, you increase the chances of having more seats available for you and your family to sit in so that you can be closer to one another. Flight crew are not required to reseat passengers to accommodate families; however, it has been generally extended as a courtesy in part with Southwest employee's kindness and character.   "One child over 14 days old and under two (2) years of age, not occupying a seat, may be carried free of charge when traveling with an adult (12 years of age or older)."   Please note that Southwest employees may ask for documentation to ensure that your child is of appropriate age to be carried as a lap infant. This has been a practice of Southwest (although I am not sure if they ask this frequently), so it is recommended that you bring along a birth certificate or documentation to prove your child's age.   All in all, I encourage you to contact Southwest's Customer Service team. This experience is unacceptable, and the action taken (with the $150 travel credit), I believe, should be refunded to your original method of payment instead. Should you wish to pursue this, you can write to the refunds department at Southwest.   Southwest Airlines Refunds Department P.O. Box 36649 Dallas, Texas 75235-1649   Thank you for sharing your Southwest story, and I truly do hope you will give the airline another chance so that you can experience what the Southwest experience truly is like. ... View more

@jperez0305 wrote: They did the same thing to us and my infant threw a fit since she could not sit with her parents. In addition, they charged us for a ticket for not having the physical copy of the birth certificate. Even though we had a pic of it along with hundreds of pictures with time stamps on the day she was born. Also had multiple social media posts. They said when we got home we could email a copy and get a full refund for her. We did it and they only gave us a $150 useless credit because we will never fly with them again. SHAME ON SOUTHWEST!!! I have to admit that I am confused..   You may need a birth certificate for lap children (those under the age of 2), but for no others.   Someone   anywhere near that young would never be forced to sit alone.   Please explain...   As far as the mask incident goes, mask wearing by EVERYONE age 2 and older is required by federal law. EVERY airline enforces that law. You may not like it, BUT IT IS THE LAW.   As said several times up thread, this is a customer forum, and the airline will not resolve specific customer complaints here. If you want to complain to the airline, click on "contact us" below. ... View more