Southwest service lived up to my expectations with our travel yesterday from balmy Florida to a frigid Kansas City. Erica at the check-in desk in Ft. Lauderdale was friendly and helpful, getting us rebooked on earlier flights (husband and I had to split up but there are only so many seats on the plane... ) that we hoped would get us home ahead of the impending storm.
My flight got diverted to Tulsa just minutes short of landing in Kansas City, and before long we were joined by several planes full of similarly redirected travelers - I'm guessing at least 300 of us! The staff in Tulsa was clearly overwhelmed by the unexpected volume and all the passengers loudly demanding answers that couldn't possibly be known yet given the situation and the vagaries of Mother Nature's fury, but the Tulsa staff remained calm and patient and friendly in the face of all the chaos.
Once the Southwest and airport staff determined a plan, they set about putting it in motion to capitalize on what was a narrow window of opportunity to get hundreds of people to KC quickly. I was on the first plane back so I can't speak for how it went for those who followed, but my flight went flawlessly and efficiently. Your team got the plane loaded, up in the air and back down again with dispatch, and the calm, patience and good humor of the flight crew defused passenger anxieties.
Today the KC airport is closed, we've got 10 inches on top of yesterday's ice, a fierce wind blowing the snow all around and I see that our safe dry haven in Tulsa now has multiple inches of snow. But I'm warm inside my house and grateful to Southwest for all the staff who kept things calm and professional, and got me and 136 other KC-bound folks home safely.
Thank you to all.
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