Hello! I'm actually a Southwest Airlines Employee. I work as a Customer Service Supervisor in one of our major airports and I thought I could provide a little bit of insight into your question about being automatically rebooked on the next Southwest flight. (Caveat: The information and perspective I share is my opinion only, and in no way represents the opinion or stance of Southwest Airlines.) Right now, Southwest Airlines is in the midst of a major transformation of our reservations systems, and this should be on-going well into 2017. This 'modernization,' if you will, will allow Southwest Airlines enhanced capabilities to service our domestic and growing international Customer base. Essentially, we need a more robust system to reflect the size and scope of Southwest Airlines. Our current system no longer fits our current and future anticipated operations. One of the things that this new system may allow for is 'auto-reaccommodation.' Our existing systems don't have the capability to automatically rebook you on the next available flight when your flight cancels or incurs a lengthy delay. A human being, whether it be a Southwest Airlines Employee in an airport, a Customer Representative in a call center, or yourself through Southwest.com, has to physically rebook your ticket. I know how problematic this can be when you're driving to the airport, waiting in a line at the airport, or even on another Southwest Airlines flight. Believe me, I know how convenient and satisfying this feature is because I've experienced it myself on other airlines. (Before I worked for Southwest Airlines, of course!:) In summary, we don't have the capability to auto-rebook at this time. Once our technology 'revolution' is complete, this is probably something that is being evaluated. It pains me to read about your previous experiences with cancellations on Southwest Airlines, and for those I really do apologize. One suggestion I have is to make sure that your travel agency is inputting your cell phone number into your reservations. Every single day, I help Customers whose companies use travel agencies to book their tickets. In most cases, the travel agencies input their own phone numbers into the reservations, which does the Customers themselves no good when flights become delayed or cancelled. Additionally, until we offer this capability, I recommend that if you experience a cancellation or lengthy delay, you use multiple options to reach a Southwest Airlines Employee, as fast as you can. This might go without saying. Nevertheless, what I mean is that if you're in a long line at the airport to talk to someone, also place a call to Reservations while you're waiting. Or attempt to rebook on Southwest.com while you're waiting in line. I've seen many Customers 'save their own bacon' by doing this and finding seats they wouldn't have found had they simply waited. I hope this is somewhat helpful! Let me know if you have any questions! Brandon
... View more
