Southwest Airlines Community

I'm sorry to hear about your son's medical issues. I'm sure you must have had a lot on your mind at the time, but whenever you make a flight change over the phone, it's of utmost importance that you verify it was made correctly, by checking the email confirmation that is sent immediately after the change is made. Not receiving a confirmation should have been a red flag.   Was the $200 for the new fare deducted from your account? That would be one way of proving your position. (However I suspect it wasn't since the flight change was apparently not made.)   Unfortunately, as you've now discovered, Southwest enforces their no-show policy strictly. Providing the call record was a good faith step on your part, but I suspect that ultimately it may be fruitless.   My recommendation is to continue following up with them and stressing that they should review the recording of the call.   Good luck, and please come back and let us know how it works out in the end.         ... View more

@Bhaynes117 wrote: Do you offer insurance if we are unable to travel? We (members of this community) are mainly travelers the same as you are.   Southwest does not offer an insurance product, but you can get it from other sources. Southwest does offer the ability to cancel airfare on short notice and receive travel funds that can be used up to a year from the original purchase date, so in that regard depending on your flying habits, insurance may not be necessary, or at least provide as much value as for other carriers.   There are also refundable fares if you think the need to cancel may be more likely. ... View more

The Website says   They are currently accepting air reservations through April 7, 2019. On September 27, 2018 they will open the schedule for sale through June 8, 2019. This date is subject to change! Please check back frequently. ... View more

Unfortunately, all points purchase/transfer transactions are non-refundable and non-reversible. (Southwest uses a 3rd party to provide the service -- points.com -- and these are their terms.)   This seems obvious, but perhaps it's a good idea to remember that, generally, commercial solicitations you receive are sent with the sole purpose of generating profit for the sender. 😉 ... View more

@PM2036 wrote: I figured it would be a little more expensive during Spring Break, but not that much more.  I will keep my fingeers crossed and be on the lookout.  Thanks for your input. 🙂 If other airlines are offering lower fares, then there is a better chance that Southwest will eventually match.    If the others are all at the higher rate now, then the other factor that is part of supply and demand is competition won't help you until one or more carriers realizes that supply > demand and adjust.         ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: Additionally, if instead of canceling their flight, the companion pass holder just didn't show up and the companion boarded the flight, the companion would be removed from the flight.   --TheMiddleSeat This must be the main scenario that Southwest is considering when they say the CP ticket passenger cannot fly without the CP holder, otherwise most situations that I can think of would presumably not scan correctly at the gate where the ticket was changed or cancelled...the CP ticket holder wouldn't have a chance to board except in this instance.           ... View more

@fatcake wrote: I have been having this problem since months ago when SWA website got revamped. As a long time A-list customer, I was always able to manage my reservation and travel fund at ease until the travel fund application on reservation was broken. Then I always had to spend extra time with customer service on the phone each time when needing to use my travel fund, which is very inconvenient to both myself as a customer as well for SWA staffs.   I've already voiced this concern each and everytime I called to make reservation but nothing has been fixed.   FYI, I'm always able to use the travel fund verification site (https://www.southwest.com/flight/travel-funds-search.html) to check the fund availability without any problem but just never able to apply it during reservation. I just happened to see this thread posting where another customer was also having similar problem as mine, which leads me to believe that it could be a problem on the reservation travel fund application where it was unable to recognize name with multiple words in either last name or first name.    Please kindly look into this matter. Thanks!   I'd suggest you contact Southwest directly, so that they can look into this. (The forum here is mostly customer-to-customer.)   I'd recommend using the email form on the website: Contact Us.     ... View more

Sadly, the Flight Tracker is kinda useless now (except for the "time to destination" perhaps). A couple of years ago it was much better -- giving you detailed info about where you were. The plane icon is laughably large now, and even when you zoom in you can't enlarge enough for it to be helpful. I'm not sure why the change was made... I really miss the old version.       ... View more

Sorry to hear about the lost iPad.  If you haven't yet, you should file a report online even though you already called.  https://live.nettracer.aero/southwest-paxview/lostandfound/landing.do Unless your iPad was a cellular capable model and wasn't in airplane mode the tracking function of the iPad isn't going to work so don't take that as a sign that someone turned it off or did anything improper with it.  Sometimes these lost and found items take some time to get sorted out, hopefully yours just needs a little more time.  If someone did take it and it connects to a wireless network then you would be able to track it so you might keep trying that too.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote:   Food can be taken on board, but plan on eating or disposing of everything that isn't in a sealed package before getting off the plane in a different country.  Especially any fruits or meats! You can't bring back any apples or bananas or other fruit or vegetables that you got at the resort hotel into the USA when you come back, and having these on you when you come through customs will cause you a delay if they are detected.            ... View more

 I am severely disappointed. I have documented paperwork that he is emotional support. We are inseperatable. Very sad. ... View more

I think this would be a great thing for Southwest to try out sometime.    I bet they could also sell priority bag handling for others say for $5 and they could come out after A List bags and it would probably be a big money maker just like EB check in is now.     Blake  ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: If you go to https://www.southwest.com/html/air/airportinformation.html you'll see check-in at PVD opens 90 minutes before the first departing flight of the day.   --TheMiddleSeat Did this or any other comment in the thread answer your question? Please take a moment and click the "Accept as Solution" button on the comments you found most helpful, this will be a big help to any future Community Members who have a similar question! I was curious about this as well, it's pretty standard that any guide you read says to show up at least an hour early and often two hours early, so it would be surprising for the counters not to be open more than an hour ahead of the flight time.     ... View more

Fixed it!   ... View more

My (limited) experience with the Southwest hotels indicates the Points Plus properties depend strictly on availability for the particular night(s) you are searching for and can change at any time.  Much like a hotel can be available via Priceline or Hotwire on one night, but not the next.  There may be hotels that never get marked as a Points Plus property as they don't want to be listed as a discount property.  I'm not aware of anyone making a list of Points Plus properties as they have with Priceline and Hotwire hotels, but they could be the same list.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

Southwest operates much more like a legacy carrier these days than an LCC. The Ultra Low Cost Carriers (ULCCs) have basically taken over the role Southwest previously filled. Southwest's marketing has been shifting very slowly, from a focus on low-fares to offering "best overall value." Brand identity dies hard. ... View more

I feel better already about flying.  Thank you so much for your responses.  Early Bird check in sounds good!   I will check the liquids rule.  Being able to print at home and go through the airport easily without any counter stops except for TSA sounds wonderful!  Lots of helpful info in both responses for sure.  Thank you both again for your kindness and taking the time out of your day to repond. ... View more

If they are traveling on a domestic flight no documentation is required.  There is a form you can fill out if they are traveling internationally, let me know if you need it and I'll dig it up.  Sadly, the only time I've heard of people having trouble flying domestically is when the child is adopted and doesn't look like the adult they are traveling with.   --TheMiddleSeat Did this or any other comment in the thread answer your question? Please take a moment and click the "Accept as Solution" button on the comments you found most helpful, this will be a big help to any future Community Members who have a similar question! ... View more

I'm afraid that you are out of luck. The reason your search produced no results is that you cannot do what you want to do.   Travel funds expire one year  after the date the original ticket was bought. After that point, one can convert the funds to a travel voucher. The fee for doing that is $100.   If you only have $11.20 in travel funds that are about to expire, then the $100 fee makes conversion economcally irrelevent.   Sorry. ... View more

Just and FYI there is no such thing as a lap item.  ... View more

Sacramento is our home airport.  Eagerly awaiting flight schedule for Hawaii.  How do we get on that inaugural flight? ... View more

My guess is November, check out this post for more details   https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/General-Travel-Policies/April-2019-flights/m-p/78167/highlight/true#M4898   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

Hilarious!  I was howling at some of the things they've had to accommodate in their list.  Lol ... View more

I'm not sure what the issue is, but if you really want to purchase them from Southwest I would suggest calling and completing the purchase over the phone. You can also purchase Southwest gift cards at a variety of other locations such as grocery stores and drug stores (Walgreens, CVS), as well as large stores like Walmart, Target, and Sam's Club.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

Also, be aware that if you use multiple travel funds together on a new booking, all funds -- each travel fund as well as any new money -- take on the earliest expiring expiration date of any of the funds. ... View more

If you're using the term "feature" sarcastically, yes. 😉 ... View more