My family and I were scheduled to fly out of Baltimore on Wednesday January 5, 2022 at 2:20pm heading to New Orleans to attend an event on Thursday at 7pm. My flight was initially rebooked to Thursday, January 6 at 8:30am with a different connection city. That flight was then delayed until 9:45am, then rebooked to a different 8:30am flight with a new connection that had me arrive in New Orleans by way of Austin, TX at 5:00pm. Upon arriving in Austin i was greeted with two more texts delaying the flight out of Austin by an additional 2 hours with a new arrival time of 7:06pm. The flight was then delayed further to 6pm and subsequently 7:30pm arriving in New Orleans at 9:15pm. I had to scramble a book my family on a different airline at additional cost to arrive in New Orleans on time. I initially spoke to an agent who attempted to tell me that there were weather issues in Baltimore (which there were not) and other cities which caused delays throughout the system and there was nothing he could do. After two more delays i called back and waited in queue for over 30 minutes and did not speak with anyone. What was supposed to be a two day trip for my family will end up being a trip of less than 24 hours if i cannot manage to change the return flight.
I bought a ticket that says they would auto check in for me 24 hours ahead and got an email confirmation that I was checked in. I was assigned an A number, and downloaded my boarding passes to my phone for my flight as well as my connecting flight. When I went to check in my bag, the attendant scolded me that I had not printed a bag tag and told me “look at everyone else they have tags on their bags“ and I offered to leave the line and go to the kiosk and print it. She printed it for me and told me I should’ve already printed it. On my incoming trip, they printed your bag tag when you brought your bag to the counter. My bag left and I went to the gate with boarding pass in hand, but they would not let me board and said I hadn’t checked in. Too bad for me (and rude). I had to go to the attendant and could no longer board with the A’s despite paying for business class. She printed me a boarding pass and scolded me “don’t get stressed out, everyone’s getting there at the same.” That’s 3 rude Southwest employees within 30 minutes. You’d think they would be trained that sometimes traveling is stressful for customers, and being unkind doesn’t help. I was so scared I wouldn’t get home that I was in tears by the time I boarded. My connecting flight was announced it would board in 5 minutes and we all got up. Five minutes later we were told it was delayed over 2 hours and sat back down. These things happen, but there’s no need to be unkind to customers.
For many, many years this was my go to airline. Circa summer 2018 it became very unreliable (I take the same trip several times a year). My trips always include a layover and it’s been YEARS since I’ve been through all four flight segments w/ out a delay. The boarding system is a pain. No matter how diligent I am at checking in exactly 24 hrs prior to flight I still get stuck in end of A or B group and much worse than this is being stuck w/ a middle seat because 1st flight gets delayed to the point you cannot make it to the gate for 2nd flight until boarding is either over or almost over. I will give them props for holding connecting flights so as to not strand me and others but ideally wouldn’t have so many delays to begin with. Back in the 90’s and early turn of the century they were a clean, mean machine when it came to reliability. And, unless you’re taking a short flight (which I believe they still excel at) their prices are no longer competitive. And my biggest beef w/ this airline is sitting at the gate w/ no AC running so you melt & feel miserable. Then in air it’s frigid to the point you cannot get comfortable no matter what. This last one is what had really driven me away from this airline. I cannot stand being stuck on a plane that cannot regulate its cabin temp. No one wants this. Hoping they turn around and become as great as they once were.
Be careful repricing existing reservations when your flight price has gone down
I love SW in general, but recently when there was a fare sale, I thought I’d check to see if my current reservations had gone down in price/points. I checked a round trip flight with the same days and times and saw that it would save me 5406 points. Great. So I went to “manage my reservations”, brought up my reservation, clicked change, and it indicated that the same days and times would only reduce my total points used by 1544 points! That’s messed up. To get the 5406 points savings, I had to create a whole new reservation and then cancel my original reservation. Of course, that only works if you have enough points to do the new booking (I was too afraid to cancel the original before booking the new cheaper flight in case it would somehow sell out in the few minutes while I did the rebooking). I called SW about this to report the discrepancy and have them just make the change properly to my original flight, but the wait was 60 minutes, so I did the rebooking method (sale ends today and I didn’t want to miss it or have it sell out while on hold), but stayed on hold to report the problem. When the rep came on, she said it should have showed the same price/point reduction with both methods - but it didn’t! Always check!
Southwest is my Goto Airline! Southwest (SW) has been my Goto airlines for the past 14 years since my oldest daughter starting traveling for Debate competitions and my other children followed. SW’s customer service has always been on point, helpful, and quick service-faster than most. They are a passenger friendly service with luggage + carryon, airfare + exchanges! They still put the passenger/customer needs a part of the equation when you are PLANNING a trip! Keyword here “planning.” Most of us don’t always know what outcomes of our trips may be. Take a college student athlete graduating.. that student could have a date for you, so you purchase the tickets in advance in order to get the best pricing. Four weeks later the college changes the date of graduation, and you are left with only 2-3 wks before the new graduation date, having to change all your plans! SW, has always helped us with unexpected changes w/o penalizing with outrageous fees for things we couldn’t prevent or needed to change. Thanks Southwest for being our No.1, Goto Airline Service. I am grateful for all your service. I am grateful you service the needs of your customers where possible and being there to help. Denise
The service I experienced in the last 48-72 hours has been horrific. My daughter is a chronic asthma patient and her rescue pump is in our luggage. Our flights were canceled Christmas Eve in Chicago. I requested our luggage and made all management and staff aware of my daughters medical condition. We waited for 12 hours and was told come back Christmas Day. We had to stay at a hotel and Uber back and forth. I went to the airport 4 times on Christmas Day and was told to pick my luggage up Tuesday morning. Well Tuesday morning I’m being told my bags are in New York and they can fly them back but can’t guarantee when they will arrive because my baggage weight size. I asked to be flown to get my bags because my daughter has not had her lump since Christmas Eve at 6am. I was told it’s the weather fault and I will not be able to receive a travel voucher or anything I would be fully responsible to fly myself to retrieve my luggage. I had to book with multiple airlines just to possible retrieve my items. I have spoke to over 30 Southwest employees all told me something different and never offered any real solution. I’m a single parent and taking my daughter to New York for Christmas is something I saved for over the last few months. To having to exhaust our resources to attempt to retrieve her medication and Christmas gifts which are in our luggage. I haven’t even received a simple apology. Please do not check your luggage if you must fly southwest.
Margot in your Bozeman gate agent was absolutely a lifesaver. Although we had to rebook to another flights April 4 to April 5 as it was totally my fault. At some point in time in early December I must have mistakenly pressed the spam button and any correspondence from Southwest Airlines went into my Spam file. I therefore never received the flight change Southwest sent to me. We arrived at the Bozeman airport for the 10:40 am April 4th flight Denver then on to IND. Margot told us we were scheduled on the 5:55am flight which obviously had departed. I thought she was giving us an April Fools Day (late) joke! No joke! Although my husband and I now have plans disrupted as we are going to our grandsons wedding in Indianapolis, Margot was a breath of fresh air and rebooked us for April 5 at 5:55am. Unfortunately I had to spend another $160 to get us the Early Bird “A” seats as we lost those due to my error! My husband has trouble walking so we need to take care of him! There are gate agents and there are gate agents…Margot is definitely a Southwest Airlines asset and should be commended for great attitude and outstanding customer service! Thank you again Southwest! Thomas and June Russell
I purchased early bird check in to retrieve a good position on my flight. I have usually checked myself in 24 hours before my flights and always have gotten a A position. I purchased early bird in hopes of getting a good position without me having to check myself in. The day before my flight I went to see my boarding pass positions and my app said “time to check in” . That wording alone had me raise a eyebrow…???? I hit that choice and my boarding positions are B and the other in A54…if I was to get checked in automatically 36 hours before my flight automatically those were the best positions when in the past on completely full flights I have checked myself in and received A positions. I waited over 30 minutes to speak to someone only to hear “There is no guarantee of a good position with early bird check in“ ….wait…. I had to check myself in … I was told no…I got checked in early…if that was true…I suggest reword from “time to check in”to “we have checked you in please retrieve your boarding pass”…. I don’t believe I was checked in because 36 hours before my flight I should of gotten a message on my app to see my positions…. I was ripped off never flying again with Southwest. PS I would always tell people that when someone takes the time to write a review good or bad something definitely happened for someone to spend their time writing a review. Extremely disappointed with Southwest…
I am unbelievably just made by the way I was treated by Southwest Airlines. My mask slipped on my nose because I have a very small face. Stewardess did ask me to put it up and I did. I had my mask on the entire flight except when I was eating.I deep boarded the plane and our connection and then go back on the plane. It was very hot and I was having a hard time breathing. I asked for some water and they told me they were not serving any beverages on the flight. I was having a really hard time so my friend asked the flight attendant again for some water. They did bring it over and I drank it and I put my mask back up. Then I was approached by someone who works for Southwest and asked me if I was having a hard time breathing. I told her I got some water and I was OK. Then another Southwest employee asked me to get off the plane. They kicked me off the flight with nothing. An airport in a city I know nothing about. I had to tell them I had medication on my checked bag and they finally got my bag off the plane. I went down to baggage claim and had to ask a cab driver where I should go. I’m at the Holiday Inn express now and I’m waiting for my flight for the morning. Thank you Southwest for ruining my vacation and I will never fly your airline again.
Hello This is the first time I have used online boarding passes. So far this has been great. It is a shame that I cannot use my drink coupon on this flight. Considering I have purchased it in my flight pricing. I think they could use anti viral spray to sterilize the drink cans if anyone worries about this sham going on. Hopefully everything will go according to plan? This is the first time I’ve flown in over five years. The enforcement of rules that aren’t law has prevented me from being comfortable spending my hard earned cash with companies that blindly follow communist agendas. But, that is for another topic another day. I am looking forward to my trip and seeing my family. Southwest prices are fair and I love! That this company has gone against the trend of charging for bags that are normally expected for a trip. I know some people try to be cheap and take advantage of companies by over stuffing their carry-ons. It’s not right. That’s why I have chosen Southwest to be my favorite airline. Because they are helping the American people make more things possible by not being greedy with charges. Thank you for being the best. I am a Texan also. Thank GOD!!
It was our domestic airline of choice because of flexibility and rates. I travel a lot. In the last 2 years there has been a lot of issues, mostly delays causing connection losses and stay overs in hotels. The worst was a delay that caused a connection in Atlanta to be boarding when our delayed plane was landing. I was in the back rows, there was no mention of the gate we arrived at or any information on connections. I asked the SWA attendant at the arriving gate if my connection gate was the same, her answer was it’s 20 gates down and they are closing the doors and she told me to run! This was late in the evening, no more flights. I am in my mid 60s with a bad knee, I ran as fast as I could, with my carryon in tow. My name was being announced, I would yell as I ran to other SWA gate attendants to tell them I was coming. I was having trouble breathing and my knee was hurting. It took me awhile for my breathing to subside, I received no assistance, no offer for ice for my knee. Once seated, we waited over 10 minutes for doors to close…REALLY? I did not have to rush? They waited for more passengers after I arrived. This was unnecessary. I am currently stuck on the runway for another flight that I received 8 texts for delayed takeoff times, then pushed up to cause a rush to the airport. We have been on the runway for an hour. Consideration to passengers is what is lacking on the new SWA. I hope the company realizes that real soon.
Quick and convenient flight checks credited me over 12,000 pts!!
Having quick access to me booked flights and updates saved me over 12,000 rewards pts as I was reviewing my holiday travel plans. While checking a booked FLT from 2 months ago, I investigated any options to change my FLT time on that date. In doing so I noticed my EXISTING reservation had the lower fare tier open up (which was not the case when I booked) …I was able to change my tier with a touch of my screen and keep my same FLT while getting over 12,000 reward points credited to my account. I am an A List Member because I choose SWA over any other company for my travels and those of my family’s. I HAVE FOUND THAT They are the most CONSISTENT airlines on EVERY LEVEL..customer service extraordinaire, flight times without major disruptions and 24 Hr live Customer service agents at the ready…kind and helpful. Sticking with a proven airlines company who’s decisions from STEM to STERN have been A+. Wise leadership and forethought purchasing/locking in 2yr ADVANCE fuel prices during fuel cost hikes lead to them providing a level of security for offering fairly priced fare costs.
I love flying Southwest. I usually am one of the first to board and I prefer a seat in the back. However, my biggest complaint, is when there are delays. The delay is not the problem so much. But, when I have a connecting flight, and now only have a short window to get to my next flight, perhaps the airlines should consider letting connecting flights people off first. My last flight I paid extra for early boarding. My flight was so delayed that I made sure to sit in the closest seat near the front. Even so, by the time I got off, I was literally running to the opposite end of the airport to get my connection. The plane had already started boarding when I got there. What’s worse, the flight attendants knew I had a connecting flight which started boarding before the door opened on the flight I was currently on. Perhaps, when delays happen, it would be polite to let people who have connections get off first. Especially when the connecting flights are that close to leaving. Delays are going to happen, I’m good with that, but show some appreciation to those of us who have connection and a short window to get to them. ❤️
Needed to change a ticket; departure airport and date. I initially called Customer Support. There was a wait period and the system offered a call back. Since I was on my landline with the information needed on my mobile device. I contemplated waiting for the call back but while looking at the mobile I saw that I could possibly do the changes (modify) myself. I declined the call back and proceeded to MODIFY my flight requirements. The process was GREAT including paying the delta of the fare with my card that was on file. Additionally I could have paid with other options such as Apple Pay and Paypal. In this case the need for human intervention was not needed. However there have been times that is has been needed. So Southwest please do not eliminate your human access/contact for your customers even as AI becomes more prevalent. This will be a major differentiator for your airline. As a cost of doing business. Your overall profits will be rewarded. In summary- instead of waiting 16 mins for a call back. I was able to handle my business with Southwest in under 5 minutes. Again the process was Great!!
I received a Southwest 100 voucher from Southwest after spending several hours delayed in the airport. I was pleasantly surprised until a attempted to use it but needed to cancel due to family emergency. What they FAILED to tell me is the voucher number changed to the flight I cancelled thus when I attempted to use it utilizing the voucher number it wouldn’t let me. I attempted to call southwest but this was during the hurricane emergency and several of their customer service locations were not available. I certainly understood that so I went ahead and scheduled my flight WITHOUT the voucher credit. Finally I got ahold of someone who said they could extend for another year because of my trouble and they could see where I had flown again with the voucher but they encouraged me to wait a couple of more months to call and extend since they could only do it once. I did so but the person I got said no. I explained to numerous phone calls and what I had been told but again was said no and no dialogue had been entered into my record. Be careful with your voucher IF you receive one. Southwest does not have the customer service it use to have.
SWA is always my first airline of choice. The customer service is the highest, in my opinion, in the airline industry. I once lost my wallet on the flight. Not only did they find it and contact me, but it was sent to the headquarters and mailed back to me with everything in tact!!! Including all the money!! Southwest Rocks!!! Please; never go out of business!!! In contrast, I once left my beautiful leather jacket on a Delta flight. The plane was still at the gate and when I realized, almost immediately, that I had left the jacket in the overhead bin, I reported it to the gate attendant. I got no help and never got the jacket back. One other time with Delta, I had to check my bag at the gate because the overhead bins were full. That had valuable personal items in the bag. The bag was stollen, no ID put into the computer and I never got it back. For at least 5 years I have put Delta airlines out of business, in my mind. Again...Southwest is the B E S T!!! Every other airline and many other industries can learn a lot by paying attention to the SWA business model. Dr. Sue Pressman Licensed Professional Counselor Certified Career Counselor Board Certified Coach
I have flown for your airline for 20 years and never had an experience like this. First your airline boarding person decided to early board with no notice or change to your app boarding time. When I showed up on time almost the whole plane was already boarded at 10:25. I then questioned him and he told me to calm down and he had no idea what the policy was. I told him I had A boarding and when your app took time to download the boarding pass (due to it doing one at a time and I was with my family) he was an absolute jerk and said well it is not ready and let others go who were the last stragglers of C boarding. He did this two other times as I was waiting for your app to download my children’s boarding pass. I said to him “you are now being a jerk” to which he said well it wasn't going fast enough. I told him this is your app and how you have people board. He did not care and said oh well. Absolute horrible service! Your flight attendants on the plane did a fine job of helping me after this occurred and calmed me down. Due to this I had to split my family. And get jammed in the back.
I love the business model of Southwest. People are treated equally based upon needed. There is no classism built into the business model of Southwest. Those with greatest needs are serviced first and then everyone else has an equal chance to sit anywhere in the cabin of the plane they choose. No curtains being pulled to divide customers based upon class. I love this! At the most, you can pay up to $50 to improve your number in line for entering the plane. This fee is not so high that only a few can afford it and it’s the max fee, your fee could be as low as $15. The pilots and flight attendants are friendly and seem to enjoy their job. They deal with passengers who out of compliance with federal regulations (such as being on a phone call after the door has closed when pushing away from the gate) in a friendly and gentle manner. If there is a Southwest flight available for my trip, I will always choose Southwest over any other airline available. Thank you, Southwest. We see the efforts your company is making to do good business. You’ve earned a loyal customer in me!
First, we had a flight canceled on our departure which delayed our arrival to our vacation destination by one day resulting in significant cost to our family…..an extra hotel night and food with no assistance or reimbursement provided by SW. We were told it was canceled due to weather which must be questioned because other flights still left Denver and our luggage made it to our destination before we did. We were told there were no other flights available that night so how did our luggage beat us to SLC? Then our return flights were again cancelled and we received no reimbursement for two extra nights in a hotel, food and losing a day of work for two of us and a day of college for our son. Again, we were told it was due to weather which has to be questioned again because SW was still flying east bound. In the future we will pay more to fly another airline and avoid SW. Our money will not go to an airline that makes promises of services/flights and then when canceled calls it “weather” in order to avoid reimbursing their customers. SW advertises a “fun” flying experience. This has been our first and last experience with your airline. All our friends, colleagues, and social media contacts will be told of our horrible experience with SW.
I was disappointed with booking a flight. I am planning a trip to Chicago, and there was an option to sign up for a credit card and receive $200 dollars credit on the flight that I was booking. So I applied and qualified for the chase credit card. I went through the entire booking process and when I got to the last step there was an error that said that the phone number I entered was in the incorrect format. I tried like 20 times, and know that I put the phone number in correctly, there’s no other way to put it in. I kept getting the error and eventually the offer had expired 15 minutes later. I am very frustrated that this happened. The next morning I called SWA, and the representative told me that there was nothing they could do about it. She told me that I could call chase and try to figure it out with them. After I called chase, the representative told me that I would have to call SWA and they could help me figure it out. Sadly there was no resolution. I applied for the credit card to gain some points on future flights and I can’t even use the incentive that they promoted on the bottom of the screen. My credit card doesn’t even arrive until a month after I get back from my trip. Please fix this problem so another person doesn’t get as upset as I am right now.
Management failure with billions in federal support
Having to rebook and takes several days vacation more just to get home would have been completely avoidable had SWA invested the billions it received in federal pandemic funds to modernize crew scheduling and internal systems to avoid the near-complete shutdown of its schedule this month. SWA also imposes turnaround times for aircraft and crews that cannot pass a stress test and leaves tens of thousands of customers stranded—not due to weather, but due to cost-cutting “efficiency” measures. Not pleased. Lost confidence I once had in SWA over other major air carriers. My family is now four days behind schedule and worried that we’ll either be canceled again on Thursday in the last hour while waiting in line at the airport or left stranded without our bags at our connection point hundreds of miles from where we sit now and where we live. We now lack confidence in SWA. FYI, when we rebooked with the desk agent at 04:30 on Monday, the first thing she said as we wondered when we would fly from Portland Int’l to San Diego was not that SWA would get us home, but that we would be better off driving the 1,200 miles to get there than wait for our flight arrangements to be made. She was only trying to give dependable advice and that is sad.
My family and I have been a loyal customers of Southwest for many years. We have been consistently very satisfied with the product and the service we have experienced and always encourage people in our social circle, family and friends to fly Southwest Airlines. Although, as of today, I am not able to have that same feeling and energy as I once had. The failure to properly plan and prepare for the necessary level of Human Resources/staffing needed to service your valued customers/passengers is extremely disappointing. Aside from the inevitable disruption of trip planning, and the resulting anxiety, there of, I personally have losses of wages/income. I realize that things happen and some situations are out of your control. Such as extreme weather conditions leading to irregular operations and travel disruptions. I also understand and appreciate that you’re doing your best to put things back on track. However, I believe that most of your valued customers/passengers would greatly appreciate some form of restitution or compensation from Southwest Airlines to soften the impact of their experience and salvage their remaining loyalty and faith in Southwest Airlines. I thank you for this opportunity share and hope that this is helpful. Sincerely, John F King II “GO SOUTHWEST!!✈️
I tried to book a trip for my wife and myself at the same time (2 travelers). When it got to the payment portion I tried to use travel funds from another trip that was cancelled during COVID last year. We had booked that other trip together (2 travelers) and consequently we both had the same confirmation number. I was able to only apply the funds from my half of that other flight, but when I tried to add the funds from my wife’s half of that trip using the same confirmation number but with her name, the app wouldn’t allow it and said that confirmation number and those funds (for my half only) had already been applied. I eventually had to cancel the reservation, go back into the app and book my flight separately, then book my wife’s flight separately before I could apply the travel funds. Not a very user-friendly app, especially when you have to go back and re-enter ALL of the passenger info again. I’m not impressed with the app!
The app is great if you’re booking your standard one way or roundtrip fares. It would be nice if you could book multiple destinations and legs of a trip within one booking in the app the way you can on the website. Also, it would be great if you could purchase inflight wifi from the app since our credit card and info is already attached there. Currently, you go through the website and browser. Also, if southwest could figure out a sign-in situation for the wifi to use on more than one device you own, that would be great. I had to pay $8 twice because I purchased the wifi on my phone first and then realized I needed to get work done on my laptop but could not use the same connection on more than one device. I believe Delta has figured it out, but it would be a great enhancement so I’m not double-paying or have to change my phone plan to use that as a hotspot for my laptop. If we’ve paid for wifi, it’s fair to be able to use it on multiple devices you own through some sign-on feature.
I was on Flight 760 out Buffalo, NY non-stop to BWI on August 10, 2023. My wife and I checked 3 bags at the counter, with one being my golf clubs. The only bag that did not make our short trip was my golf bag. I immediately filed a claim at the SW baggage office in BWI. 4 weeks later I am still without my relatively new Callaway clubs, bag, rain gear, special head covers from my daughter, brand new unopened golf balls, gloves, towels (from the Masters in Augusta, GA), golf shoes, umbrella, and other nostalgic items that can never be replaced. SW wanted receipts! Who saves receipts on golf clubs that are 2 years old? I spent hours trying to Google comparison prices for similar products and the bottom line is they offered a reimbursement that is not even half the value of these items. My question is why should I be penalized for their incompetence? Why should I have to settle for less when the mistake rests entirely with them? It’s terrible customer relations and I will never fly Southwest again unless they make me whole with my claim amount submitted.
Recently we purchased tickets to flight to California for a family trip. We had one reservation but 5 travelers total. When we tried to check in outside the 24hr window, the app gave some odd error message stating that this reservation was not eligible for check in, which is not true... we were outside the check in window, but we were eligible for check in. Once inside the window we were able to check in, but we were not able to download the mobile boarding passes. Instead we were directed on the app to go to kiosk and print them. In doing web search on SWAs website about multiple boarding passes with one reservation it apparently is doable, but when I called customer service to inquire they state that it’s not doable...so which is it? We recently flew with American Airlines and I was able to do this with their app. We simply checked in, downloaded the boarding passes and airdropped them to my family. Since SWA prides itself on its innovative and progressive approaches, I wonder why they can’t get with the times and fix this seemingly simple issue. As a long time customer, and someone with a large family, traveling can be a hassle, so if SWA can make our lives easier by fixing this we ALL would be much appreciative!!
I am beyond disappointed. I called day before yesterday to change my flight because I was concerned about the weather. I specifically asked the customer service representative if my early bird would transfer. She kept me on hold for 10 minutes then told me that she had to do some investigating and it did transfer. Even sent me a second email showing me it transferred. When I checked in this morning to my surprise I did not get early bird. So I call and the next customer service rep I talked to gave me the run around and basically the first customer service rep had lied to me!! So after paying an additional $126 to change my flight I now how no eRly bird that I paid for and was told did transfer. Then I was told to call another customer service number to address this issue and I was on the phone waiting for someone for 30 minutes!!! If I had known Southwest was going to be so cavalier about taking care of their customers after the money has been spent I would have never given them my business. Just a suggestion, pay the extra for a more professional airline. It’s worth it!!
The customer service was very rude. I have been on a plane over 10 times and Ive always had great friendly/funny Pilots, flight attendants, anybody working on the plane that Ive encountered customer service with. And to me thats one of the most important things. They were EXTREMELY rude while I started to feel sick on the plane which has never happened to me before I always have great flights with no problems, but usually I fly through Delta. I will NEVER fly with Southwest again because of how rude the workers were to not even just me. They were also super slow on getting our drinks out and no snacks were offered, which I thought all airlines offered snacks. And when I was using the bathroom I had forgotten to lock the door, one of the ladys working knocks and then OPENS the door to tell me I need to lock it. Luckily I wasn’t in the middle of going to the bathroom I was just about to wash my hands...I didnt notice if maybe the door was slightly open and she saw that I wasnt going to the bathroom so she opened it..but either way I thought it was rude of her to just open the bathroom door knowing I was in there. I didnt happen to catch the girls name that I had bad experiences with but she had short blonde hair, slightly bigger.
I got to the gate and my flight had been canceled. I received an email stating “you have canceled your flight”, - both the departure and return had been canceled without me being on the website or app and after I had already gotten through security. The operations attendant was the rudest individual I have ever encountered with Southwest, as customer service and being upbeat is generally the priority with this airline. They were unable to get me on my flight or rebook me until it had already departed and my coworker also had to get off of the flight so that we wouldn’t be separated. This is a business trip, and we fly frequently and have never encountered such an error. I am fairly certain that all of my rapid rewards points are now misadjusted, and this has been an overall awful experience- minus Ashley Sanchez at customer service, who finally got us on a new flight, after battling back and forth with people on the phone about what happened with my tickets for about 35 min. Bless her.
Hi. My daughter was at work when she realized her mistake of ticket dates. She called me with her flight number and asked me to change it because she was so worried tickets will be sold for the weekend she really wanted. There was a real sense of urgency and I have never done this before, so I was kind of nervous. I have to say it was a lot easier to do, than I thought it would be. I appreciate that. I was very disheartened to see the difference in ticket prices. She was so happy to get to come home for $147. The price what kind of shocking to me, but I guess that’s what we get for our mistakes. Also, I think the policy stinks when it comes to being in this frequent flyer club. I bought several tickets for my daughters, but I don’t get the points when I pay for someone else to fly. I feel I should get the points, whether I’m paying for my own ticket or for either of my daughters. I would’ve had a lot of miles by now, but I didn’t realize I wasn’t collecting them when paying for others to fly. Just my two cents. Thank you. Christine Griffin
Always thought this was a fine app. Nice to have everything in one place. But here’s what to know... flights are cheaper on the website. Even as I type that I don’t even believe it would be true, but yesterday the same exact flight in the app was $536 total for two people, but on the website it was $386. I was in the middle of checkout in the app when I thought maybe there was a flight leaving a little later. So I searched in a web browser and the same exact flight I was about to purchase, came up but for nearly $100 cheaper per person! I really didn’t believe it. I quit the app, reloaded the website in a private tab... re-did the search on both places and again: same exact flight was almost $100 more in the app than on the website. Not all the flights were priced differently (in fact, only 1 other in my quick search), but needless to say I bought the flight on the web instead of the app. Also, it’s currently 11am and I just got a notification from the app about my flight which landed 3 hours ago. Soooo, don’t rely on the app for timely notifications or best prices.
I had made a round trip coast to coast reservation. A confirmed email was sent with the right itinerary but when I logged into my SW app account it showed a different return itinerary that was clearly incorrect. Had to call SW to make sure my trip was correct before I flew. Had to be on hold for 15 min before I could talk to someone. Very inconvenient and didn’t want to have problems if stuck in another state halfway through my trip. Also paid for Early Bird check in and although I got A39 boarding for the initial 1.5 hr part of my trip, the second part and longest 3.5 hr ride, had to change planes and boarding was a B04. Personally for that Early Bird check in money you should get A boarding assignments even if you have to change planes. I have gotten better boarding assignments when checking in on my own and didn’t have to pay a fee. I do always travel with SW and enjoy the airline but have had problems with their online app more then once. I have flown other airlines and they have always changed my seat assignments which is absolutely a “no no” to me, since when I booked they give you a choice to pick from available seats and not always the seats that we were changed to my family was not able to sit together.
I travel for my Company and have the choice of airlines. My choice is Southwest. One great example of WHY: on February 17 on flight 5, I was waiting to call for boarding. I was sitting at the end of a row of seats - one empty seat in between myself and an elderly couple. Here comes the captain (Captain Mark) - got his name when he announced it after we boarded - and sat down with the couple to speak with them to explain that it was not normal to have to change planes but he assured them they would get to their destination on time. I was listening as it was so touching - the man was so grateful that the captain took the time to come talk to them as his wife had a doctor appt and could not miss it! He even took the time to pull up the layout of the airport destination on his iPad so they would know where to go. (Made my eyes leak 🤗). The Flight Attendants have a tough job on every flight keeping everyone happy and safe. Kudos to all of you! Love the positive energy and sense of humor. Respectfully,
Awaiting the boarding of my most recent flight. I was so happy that I was able to get such an early boarding spot, but then watched as around 15 people boarded when pre-boarding was called. These were not individuals with obvious health challenges, in fact quite a few were together and as they stood and waited beside me, we joking at how they asked and were given pre-boarding. I fully understand that not all health issues are obvious, but then they are joking about how they got it, and then what really troubled me, is that the gate person boarded them before at least four individuals who were in wheel chairs. Customers who walked on board, were boarded before individuals who were in wheel chairs and probably needed the front seats more. This ain’t the first time I’ve actually been sitting and speaking with individuals who have been given pre-boarding, when they had no medical condition. It’s just frustrating, that things are not being handled fairly for everyone.
I made a reservation for my 50th class reunion for the end of September from Tampa to Baltimore. In the meantime, I had monitored the health of my sister-in-law who had early onset dementia and was not doing well. I changed the flight first to the 13th. Then I changed it to the 3rd as she was getting worse. Finally, on the 26th of August I was informed he had a few days left so I looked at the schedule and decided the 27th would have cost me too much to fly so I called to schedule for the 28th. I called as I also had to change the destination to Philly instead of Baltimore. When I told the gentleman on the phone the situation, he asked me if I wanted to fly the next day and I told him I would love to but could not afford the expensive flights. He said hold on a minute and came back and said he arranged for me to go the next day at no extra charge. I couldn’t believe it and was in tears. Because of him and Southwest caring, I made it in time to see my sister-in-law before she passed.
I was not accustomed to flying when I first boarded your airline in 2017 I think it was. And I need assistance to and from the gate. I was helped and treated so respectfully by the airline except for one person who helped me with the wheelchair in the airport at Chicago O’hare. He didn’t want to spend his time pushing me and he made it quite clear. He was very rude to me. I have since flown into Midway as suggested by a friend. He said they were much better there and that is true. I was treated very nice every time I have been through there. I love flying Southwest. Everyone is so courteous and helpful to me. Believe me it really makes a difference how you are treated. The first experience almost made me just stay home forever rather than ask for help. But my friend encouraged me to try Midway and I’m glad I did. My friends live in Monee, Illinois and I was able to attend ones’s wedding and about to go to another friends wedding. I love Southwest Airlines and the free two bags is a huge perk. Thank you all for making this airline the best!!!
Originally had trip dates of 15-24 Oct. I decided to change, but ONLY the departure date. In the process I must have changed also the return flight (although when prompted I only checked the departure flight box). I called reservations right away. Seconds after I got the confirmation and noticed the wrong dates. I got absolutely nowhere with your person. He could not or would not help me at all. I think if you make it to where the customer has to check a ‘box’ conforming the dates are correct or show the new dates in big bold letters - that will go along way to help us avoid mistakes. Anyway, he quoted me another $242 to get the dates I wanted after having just paid $35 minutes earlier. Of course I declined and went in the app again and found the same dates I asked him for, but for only $41. In the end this whole ordeal cost me about 1 hour of my time and a total of $76 ($35 the first change and the addition $41 for the second change all within minutes of each other). The person I spoke to was definitely not helpful. He kept saying he understood, but didn’t offer any good solutions. I rather he helped me and not tell me he understood. Thanks for letting me comment. Abe Vega
If I pay extra for early checkin I expect to board before 6 year olds. If two announcements are made to not store coats in overhead or put both your carry-ons in overhead until boarding is complete I expect the flight attendants to do their jobs during boarding and shut people down who do it. Even just supporting me when I point it out and move the coats so I can stow a roller board would be appreciated. Instead they shrug their shoulders. Ridiculous. What constitutes a disability for this airline seems to be the personal decision that one is entitled to board early. Is all of Phoenix disabled? If you need more time to board you need more time to deplane. These people should sit themselves down after the plane lands so those of us who wait our turn can get off first. How do these people reconcile their right to board early for free when they don’t check their roller bags and manage to get them up and down without difficulty? I will never fly on this airline again if I have another choice. You have completely lost sight of why you became popular with people who are frequent flyers. Paying for early checkin should not be “got lucky”. Families should wait until ALL people who paid early have boarded.
I have flown Southwest for years and their service has improved steadily. Their personnel are friendlier, polite, and go the extra mile to accommodate their passengers’ normal requests and needs. Their prices are reasonable and the no change fees are wonderful. I also love the 2-bag limit at no extra charge. Seating is easy with their no assigned seats by their first-come, first serve check in policy with the choice to purchase the Early Bird option. Their vacation packages are a good value, also. It’s really not complicated to book flights and earn points with their Rapid Rewards program. However, since the pandemic, they’ve lost personnel so getting customer service via phone involves a much longer wait. I hope they restore their 24-hour phone service as it used to be. They’re truly helpful with their special needs passengers, too, from the check in all the way to boarding. I plan on continuing to fly Southwest in my travels. Vicki Payne
The Customer service, attention to detail, and personalized care for each passenger is second to none. One forgets that they are traveling at a discounted price. Cocktails are served for $5.00 (pre and post Covid) and soda is, of course, free. Two different passengers commented that they had used another airline, but found that the discounted rate was just a base rate before being charged for other “essentials.” At Southwest, two checked bags are free. The biggest significant difference that one finds in first class, on other airlines, is that they have larger seats. My brother is 6’4”. But, he is quite comfortable in the first row on Southwest. Frankly, most airlines have “skinny” seats. I am 5’2” and lean, but, I miss the extra room that flights once had. Of course, I remember when we used could order our meals in advance which were served with metal utensils! Thank you, Southwest, pilots and crews. You are the airline with a heart and true “transfarency!”
Southwest has always been really good to my family. We are a family of 8. 2 adults and 6 kids. Always super stressful traveling with so many kids and the people at southwest have always been good to my family. But now most of my kids are grown and I’m divorced now. But southwest is still the same caring people they have always been over the years. Thank you I will always fly with southwest. And one other time I can really think of is when my father pasted in 2012. I had to fly there on a days notice and then when flying back home with my fathers remains the TSA staff was very respectful when it came time to pass through security. They had the utmost respect for my fathers ashes. Then I get to the gate and I was stopped by one of the southwest employees and I was told I would be boarding early because I had my fathers remains and they made sure that I had a place to put my father next to me while we flew home. So for the long review but it’s 100% true. Thank you for helping others.
Reasonable to navigate, but some functions are hard to find. It seems my flight is easy to find, but I cannot directly check in my companion fare person by direct link. The checking in the underage kids linked to my reservation requires me to exit app and check them in separate. The web page makes this simpler by at least showing their reservation numbers, but the app only shows the companion after some searching. And the dogs? Why can they not be checked in online? Just like a TSA document, flier status, etc, why can I not post their medical certificate and until it expires (assuming it’s not renewed), check them in online? You already charge me $95 each way for each 4# dog, take away my right to bring a carry on (22#), and then make me see an agent to add what extra review? Try to be a leader - change the process now, do not wait until “the industry” makes the move. Serve your customer needs first where it is a reasonable request.
I’ve flown southwest so many times that I got spoiled. I had to fly Jet Blue one time and it was very nearly a disaster. Don’t risk it. Just fly Southwest, and you’ll be treated with respect, and they’ll try to work with you to get you onboard if a problem comes up, instead of trying their hardest to throw their metaphorical weight around and keep you from boarding. Southwest is very pro-vet / pro-military too, and they’re very generous with their baggage policy. I would also recommend Southwest over Frontier, who I have also recently flown. Frontier is sometimes half an hour or even nearly an hour late … and other times they call you late (even when you’re there more than 10 minutes before takeoff). Southwest is still my preference even now years and years later after I wrote the 1st half of this review, which I guess was saved in here from my last bad experience with Jet blue almost a decade ago.
I love coz they are affordable. The only negative I always encountered there every time I used this airlines is their Staff/Crew on the Counter. Rude and They don’t have proper management what they’re doing. As long as they can take all their passengers in the Aircraft that it. Lacking of Customer service Care, they do not know how to alleviate the concerns or issues of their customers. It’s was my first time with them. My last trip their was I missed my flight with them not only once but twice same day and time. Coz the instructions of the Crew in the counter was not directed to my question. She just said catch the next flight and she didn’t told me that I have to update my flight ticket. coz she seem so busy on the computer etc. Anyway it was terrible and horrible experienced if I remembered those. All the Staff in the terminal counter of SW are lacking of proper training. Inside the aircraft it different they’re Friendly and Professional crew.
I love SWA and the app is great. My only bit of criticism is the ability retrieve a forgotten password/username. I am just now getting back into traveling and haven’t flown SWA since before the pandemic. Needless to say, I had forgotten both my user name, pass word and Rapid rewards number. It appeared you needed to RR# for pretty much everything and had I had it to begin with this process would have been easier. My email address was and old work email so my verification process was limited. With out the RR# I couldn’t even get to my security questions. My only suggestion is have the ability to set up a phone verification by voice or text. My email has changed but I have had my mobile number for 20+ years. It would have simplified the process. I even tried setting up a new account but couldn’t because my email had already been used and luckily when I restarted traveling my email from 3 years ago still works now with Hyatt so I got lucky and was able to authenticate myself. The process was a little cumbersome;however, with that said, I appreciate the security of my account. Just a friendly observation but overall I will fly SWA as much as possible. My hotel is the host hotel for the crews in When they overnight in tulsa and I love working with Aaron Karen’s and Sonya. They are fair and decent people and so are the crews that they represent. Keep up the great work!!!
My daughter purchased us tickets as a surprise to visit her. We wanted to return in an earlier flight so we logged into my husband’s SW account to change out flight. The system allowed me to go through the entire process, until the end where it showed a message that we did not have enough points for the change BUT we could purchase additional points to complete the transaction. So, we purchased additional points, went back into the system to make the change and at the very last step, we got a message that we could not make the change since the tickets were purchased on our daughter’s account. We called and verified that, yup, this was true. We asked the agent to void the transaction that we had just done purchasing the extra points, since those were useless now, she refused! I messaged SW with the same request, they refused! If the system was not going to allow us to make the change under our account, we should have received that message early in while trying to make the change! Instead, we were prompted to purchase additional points and THEN told we couldn’t make the change! Unethical sales tactic!!!!
After being restricted from travel for over a year it was refreshing to hear the upbeat help when calling into southwest for help with my companion ticket. Employees who were proud of Southwest 50 years in business and thru the covin pandemic that they did not lay off employees. This did not stop at the phone call. when arriving at the airport I was not familiar with the smart phone check in. I question another southwest employee regarding the lack of our TSA Pre check on the screen, she was happy to show us that it was there on another screen that we were not aware of. Upon boarding the plane the crew chief and the pilot had a very good entertaining dialogue that exhibited a up beat and positive attitude that is hard to believe after a year of uncertainty. Upon arriving at Ft Lauderdale the pilot came out and thanked everyone for flying Southwest. From my first time flying in over a year I must say you are doing something correct and it is showing in your Employees. Russell Wantz
Prior to this trip Southwest was my go to airline. However after this trip it may be a long time for them to regain my trust. It took 18 hours to fly from San Antonio to Las Vegas. Which included loosing my luggage until the last night of my stay. I had my tablet in my bag so I showed the baggage folks where my bag was but they said it will come in the next day. I called the next day and talked to corporate and they gave me the number of the airport. I called that number it went to voicemail and said it was full then routed me to another number where it just hung up. So for two full days my bag sat at the airport but no effort to call or deliver my bag. Finally I ubered to the airport to get my bag before the wedding but at the same time they finally sent the bag to the hotel with no notification. So more wasted money on Uber for a unnecessary trip. Not to mention having to buy a shirt to be able to attend the rehearsal dinner. I have not talked to southwest about this other than the baggage team but will do so.
My job requires that do a lot of traveling, the majority by air. Southwest makes flying easy for me. The Mobile App is quick and easy to use. If I need to change a flight, that is so easy and I really appreciate no change fee! I don’t have that with other airlines! The No Baggage Fee is the reason I started with SW, but the convenience of flying with them has kept me as a customer. I love the no hassle boarding and open seating policy. If they flew more routes to the Northeast, I would never fly any other airline. But the real reason I am a true SW Flier is their employees. Whether it’s the Sky Cap, the Counter Agents, the Flight Attendants, or the lady in the Lost Baggage Office (yes, it does happen) I have found all SW employees to go above and beyond what I experience on other airlines. They seem to really enjoy their job. And for the pilots (of which I’m a member of the club and tend to grade landings) you are the best! Keep doing what you are doing and I’m a Southwest customer for life!
While planning for this trip to see my Sis in Washington, I must have looked on every site and looked up every travel carrier there is. A very slow and tedious process. I was so done and about to give up because I could not find what I wanted which was a cheap trip from Seattle, WA to Long Beach, Ca where I live. I did not want to be anywhere near LAX’s chaos, I just wanted to get home quickly. My Sis suggested Southwest which I was surprised that I hadn’t checked out. Booked me a trip just like! THEN - my hubby told of a time conflict he had - he had to be back in LBG on Monday. No problem, I thought, I’ll just talk to a rep to get the date changed. And I did talked to the rep and she assured me of the change. I printed out the tickets, didn’t look at the dates and left. (My bad) It wasn’t until I got ready to check in for the flight that I started having problems. Called a rep and guess what- no dates had been changed. Had to cancel so many things - horrible! The rep I talked to was so nice -LIZ - which why the rating is as it is but that rep bought it down. You only had ONE job...
Book a flight in just a few easy steps Check in, change or cancel your flights. Plus, add extras like EarlyBird Check-In®. Super-Fast Shopping & Booking Book a trip in just a few quick taps. Use Face ID® to make booking even faster! You can also store your credit cards. Everything you need to Travel Get the information you need right at your fingertips on the home screen - gate information, boarding position, flight status, and more. Boarding Pass on the Go Get mobile boarding passes for all passengers on your trip 24 hours in advance. Southwest passes have rich color and bold font, which makes seeing your Gate and Boarding Position very clear. Find the details you need quickly: Flight Number, Confirmation Number, Boarding Time, Tier Status, and TSA Pre-Check. Don’t forget to add your Mobile Boarding Passes to Apple Wallet! Apple Pay® Apple Pay® is now available as a payment option in the iOS app! This is an additional option to our other available payment methods - PayPal® or Credit/Debit Cards. Travel Funds You can now use flight credits, Southwest LUV Vouchers, and gift cards when changing your flight in the app. Your unused Southwest® flight credit(s) will show in ‘My Account’, within ‘travel funds’ section. Inflight Entertainment Use the app to take you to our Inflight Entertainment Portal1 where you can watch free live TV2, listen to free music from iHeartRadio2, access free on-demand TV episodes, and view free movies. 1Available only on WiFi-enabled aircraft. Limited time offer. Where available. 2Due to licensing restrictions, on WiFi-enabled international flights free live TV and iHeartRadio may not be available for the full duration of flight. Live Chat Contact our Customer Representatives through Live Chat by scrolling down to Contact Us in the navigation drawer and then tap on “Chat.” Airport Pickup and Drop-off Thanks to our partnership with Lyft®, you can now use the app to help you request a Lyft®! You’ll know key information like estimated time of arrival and estimated price before booking. More of a rental car person? You can do that in the app, too. Cars, Hotels, and Vacations Use our app to quickly book all of your travel needs. Earn Rewards when you Travel Sign up for Rapid Rewards® and earn points on your flights. Did you forget to add your Rapid Rewards® number during booking? – No worries, add it after booking your flight and earn points. You can then use those points to purchase more flights!
