Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[kristenrice]

BY AIRLINE		BY ORIGIN AIRPORT		BY DESTINATION AIRPORT
Cancelled Delayed AIRLINE # % # % 1018​ 28% 415​ 11% Southwest

...from FlightAware...

1018 of SWA flights today have been canceled and 415 have been delayed.

 

[emsstacey]

Despite a lot of unhappy people Friday night at mco- I didn’t see anyone being rude or inpatient to the SWA employees.

 

[kaguilbeau]

I agree that it is wise to have a backup plan. We have an 8:00 pm flight booked on SWA from New Orleans on Wed. This is last flight out for them. The only backup plan I can think of is to drive. I will already have my car at airport parking. How do I book a flight for “just in case” and not be out money? I sssume I would need a refundable fare. How close to departure can I cancel the backup flight? I am traveling with a child, so the thought of having to deal with “what now?” Is even more escalated.

 

[emsstacey]

I’m not sure the best backup plan but at this point, sitting on the beach in fort Myers, waiting for my 4th flight home… I wish I had just drove to Orlando.

 

[Lsdolphin]

I guess my best back up plan for next trip would be to again book the first flight out and that will give me all day to get out on a plane....

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I guess my best back up plan for next trip would be to again book the first flight out and that will give me all day to get out on a plane....

That’s not always guaranteed either. Both my canceled flights were either first or second flight out. The next available flight was next morning- 15 min. after it was canceled

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I guess my best back up plan for next trip would be to again book the first flight out and that will give me all day to get out on a plane....

That’s not always guaranteed either. Both my canceled flights were either first or second flight out. The next available flight was next morning- 15 min. after it was canceled

 

[elgerber]

This has just started happening again, with this crazy number of flights, in the last couple of days right? They had been doing better until now?
I have flight out of MCO in two week, and plan B would cost 77500 Delta miles, or $988 cash, per person!

 

[jkelly86]

They canceled my flight after we all had boarded the plane in Baltimore on Friday night. I was stranded in Baltimore overnight, but lucked out with one random seat cancellation on Saturday morning. My advice is to travel with a carry-on only. Travelers with checked luggage had a horrible experience.

from an article today (linked below):

The airline blamed the problem on air traffic control issues and weather. In a statement Saturday the airline expressed optimism its operations on Sunday would improve, not worsen.
"We experienced significant impact in the Florida airports yesterday (Friday) evening after an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations. We are working hard behind the scenes to minimize challenges and fully recover the operation as we take care of displaced crews and customers as quickly as possible. We will continue to reset our network today and hope to return to close to normal operations as we move into Sunday.''

https://www.usatoday.com/story/trav...lines-flight-issues-cancellations/6080308001/

 

[kristenrice]

I agree that it is wise to have a backup plan. We have an 8:00 pm flight booked on SWA from New Orleans on Wed. This is last flight out for them. The only backup plan I can think of is to drive. I will already have my car at airport parking. How do I book a flight for “just in case” and not be out money? I sssume I would need a refundable fare. How close to departure can I cancel the backup flight? I am traveling with a child, so the thought of having to deal with “what now?” Is even more escalated.

The refundable fares that I booked with both American and Delta state that they can be canceled up until "departure". I spoke with an AA agent and she reiterated that the flight can be canceled "any time before takeoff". That eased my mind since my SWA flight is scheduled to depart at 3:10pm and the AA flight that I booked as a backup isn't scheduled until 7pm. I am in a much bigger pickle with my Delta flight because it is scheduled to depart at 5:29am and the SWA flight isn't scheduled until 6:25am.

 

[Bailey 512]

Hello,
I do not post a lot here but this event was awful. My son and his girlfriend were involved in this Southwest mess on Friday the 8th. Their plane was loaded and then they were told that the flight was now cancelled, and that there were no available flights to Buffalo from Orlando the next day. All flights for the next day Orlando to Buffalo and Rochester, NY were not available to them. Ok they could deal with that. I quick got them on JetBlue for the next day and got them a hotel room at Disney where they had come from. These things happen- not good but OK.

Here is the kicker in this whole event. They told all passengers that they would not be getting their luggage off loaded no matter what excuse they gave. They actually said that.The luggage would be on a cart outside until such time they would "eventually" get sent to Buffalo. My son and the rest of the passangers were upset. No chance of getting home and none of their belongings except what was in their carry ons. One passenger said politely, so you're basically telling me that you will not give me my luggage and that is theft. The Southwest rep called the police and had him escorted off airport property! My son witnessed this. One passenger told my son the next day that he had to go to an immediate care facility in Orlando that night in order to get his medications.

So fast forward to the next day. Most of the folks on the cancelled Southwest flight were on the JetBlue flight. They get to baggage claim in Buffalo. Long line of folks trying to see where their luggage was and when it would make it to Buffalo. Some were still in Orlando, some in Phoenix, and some in Chicago.The line was long but at 4:55PM the southwest rep said well I am going off duty bye. There were still a whole line of people waiting. Finally a baggage handler showed up and tried to help. Funny thing is a southwest flight from Buffalo was canceled and that luggage was being taken off the plane.

They heard many excuses that day. It was storms, well other planes were taking off. Air traffic control strike in Jacksonville- Again other flights were taking off. My son said EVERY person they dealt with at Southwest was nasty, hostile, and arrogant in Orlando. They think the baggage handlers were pissed and walked off the job.
They still do not have their luggage. My question is do they have any recourse or is there any one they can contact to help? Southwest phone says all circuits busy. I apologize for this being so long. Thanks

 

[MICKIMINI]

I plan to ship my my larger suitcase so we will travel with a couple carry on bags with necessities. We already plan to start our trip two days earlier (SWA points) since we managed to get a studio at Jambo House with our DVC points. We have to move to OKW but that is not a big deal. We have family and friends flying in to meet us at WDW so we can only hope we can get there ahead of them.

It costs us 26 DVC points, another $50 for the rental car (amazing) and 15,000 MORE SWA points to get an early morning flight (no non stops). The trade of was $800+ for JetBlue out of BOS. I think we'll have to switch to JetBlue for the future...

I feel for everyone who is stuck...my heart goes out to you all!

EDIT: Scheduled shipgo.com (1st time) which will ship large, packed, locked, rolling suitcase via fedex expedited for about $105...hoping it gets to AKV before we do!

 

[CouponGirl]

This is horrible. We are supposed to be flying this week, but feel very uneasy that all these problems will be worked out by the time our flight comes around. But more concerning is if our departure flight gets cancelled and we get stranded. Looks like we will be driving so we don’t have the stress of wondering the entire time if we’ll be able to get home. Not the ideal situation, but thankfully for us it is an option.

 

[Gitelfor]

More info on the current situation from CNBC.

 

[FCDub]

Hello,
I am do not post a lot here but this event was awful. My son and his girlfriend were involved in this Southwest mess on Friday October 9. Their plane was loaded and then they were told that the flight was now cancelled, and that there were no available flights to Buffalo from Orlando the next day. All flights for the next day Orlando to Buffalo and Rochester, NY were not available to them. Ok they could deal with that. I quick got them on JetBlue for the next day and got them a hotel room at Disney where they had come from. These things happen- not good but OK.

Here is the kicker in this whole event. They told all passengers that they would not be getting their luggage off loaded no matter what excuse they gave. They actually said that.The luggage would be on a cart outside until such time they would "eventually" get sent to Buffalo. My son and the rest of the passangers were upset. No chance of getting home and none of their belongings except what was in their carry ons. One passenger said politely so you're basically telling me that you will not give me my luggage and that is theft. The Southwest rep called the police and had him escorted off airport property! My son witnessed this. One passenger told my son the next day that he had to go to an immediate care facility in Orlando that night in order to get his medications.

So fast forward to the next day. Most of the folks on the cancelled Southwest flight were on the JetBlue flight. They get to baggage claim in Buffalo. Long line of folks trying to see where their luggage was and when it would make it to Buffalo. Some were still in Orlando, some in Phoenix, and some in Chicago.The line was long but at 4:55PM the southwest rep said well I am going off duty bye. There were still a whole line of people still waiting. Finally a baggage handler of showed up and tried to help. Funny thing is a flight from Buffalo was canceled and that luggage was being taken off the plane.

They heard many excuses that day. It was storms, well other planes were taking off. Air traffic control strike in Jacksonville- Again other flights were taking off. My son said EVERY person they dealt with at Southwest was nasty, hostile, and arrogant in Orlando. They think the baggage handlers were pissed and walked off the job.
They still do not have their luggage. My question is do they have any recourse or is there any one they can contact to help? Southwest phone says all circuits busy. I apologize for this being so long. Thanks

All of this is very unfortunate, but the bolded is reason 1-100 of why you don't put medication in checked baggage. A good reminder for everyone reading.

 

[Cruzin’Sisters]

Yes it was an awful experience but I’ve seen several posts from people who were stranded at airport and had to wait til next day so I guess there will always be someone with a worse experience! Hopefully SWA can return to offering the great service they have in the past!
I certainly don’t envy those SWA people behind the check in counters!

That was me! My connection of Baltimore to Raleigh was cancelled. The plane arrived, the passengers deplaned, everything looking good for my 7 pm departure …then cancelled. The flight attendants had maxed out their work time. The rebooking lines were so long with mostly Florida destinations from what I overheard.
I didn’t rebook through Southwest. I lost all confidence. Who was to know if the next days scheduled flight would also be cancelled. I booked a flight on American for 6 am the next day.
So I parked my self at the American Airlines gate and spent 11 uncomfortable, sleepless hours before boarding. I spoke with a family trying to also get to Raleigh. They were going to spend the night in a hotel and rent a car for the 6 hour drive. There were a lot more sob stories that day.

 

[kaguilbeau]

Out of curiosity, I viewed the flight status online for SW flights out of New Orleans. There were a lot cancelled, but I noticed most were to closer destinations. None of the ones to MCO were cancelled. I’ll travel with carry on only, but think I will have drinks and other things I can’t carry on in my car. If my flight is cancelled while I am on my way to airport, I think I will just keep on driving to Orlando and not stop at airport!

 

[Avery&Todd]

UGH - we fly from RDU to MCO and there were a TON of flights cancelled flying out to MCO this weekend - like ALL of the flights this morning - even the direct ones originating from RDU....

I'm now pondering Delta flights, except where they were priced at $500-$700 they're now $900-$1,200.....

 

[Gitelfor]

UGH - we fly from RDU to MCO and there were a TON of flights cancelled flying out to MCO this weekend - like ALL of the flights this morning - even the direct ones originating from RDU....

I'm now pondering Delta flights, except where they were priced at $500-$700 they're now $900-$1,200.....

I don’t know your departure date, but Frontier has a nonstop, most days of the week. Their bundles include priority boarding, seat selection, carry-on and checked bags, and for the Works bundle, the ability to change or cancel, with a full refund when done at least 24 hours prior to scheduled departure. All passengers under the same confirmation number benefit from the perks, at no additional cost.The Works bundle must be purchased at time of booking. Even if adding on a bundle, the fare, if booked on short notice, should be a fraction of Delta’s.

Your other option would be JetBlue.

 

[Avery&Todd]

I don’t know your departure date, but Frontier has a nonstop, most days of the week. Their bundles include priority boarding, seat selection, carry-on and checked bags, and for the Works bundle, the ability to change or cancel, with a full refund when done at least 24 hours prior to scheduled departure. All passengers under the same confirmation number benefit from the perks, at no additional cost.The Works bundle must be purchased at time of booking. Even if adding on a bundle, the fare, if booked on short notice, should be a fraction of Delta’s.

Your other option would be JetBlue.

So I just checked frontier with your suggestion, and there are only 2 flights the day we arrive and one gets us there at 2:10pm and the other is just after midnight the following day. Jet Blue has more flights but not really earlier than Frontier.

This is just a quick 4 night trip for us so we need to be in Orlando first thing on our first day.

Which means I may end up with $900 flights on Delta...

Thanks for trying!!