Southwest Airlines - We're Done!

[TPD]

We only fly a couple times a year, but in the last 17 months Southwest has cancelled our flight twice and delayed it once. (Rarely do we fly Southwest because we don't care for their lack of seat assignments.) Never in my 35 years of flying have I had a flight cancelled until last year. January 2017 I was the travel leader for a group of 24 people with a non-stop flight from BWI to FLL on Southwest. At about midnight before our 10am flight, Southwest cancelled our flight with no viable options to get us to Florida until 30 hours later. Weather in DC at the time was cold with some light snow in the forecast. Luckily we had a great travel agent (Cole Travel) who was able to get us rebooked on JetBlue and get us down to Florida only 12 hours later than originally scheduled. A week later, the return flight on Southwest for our group of 25 was delayed almost 2 hours due to thunderstorms in other parts of the country.

Last week my daughter and niece were booked on a non-stop flight from DCA to FLL again on Southwest. Six hours before scheduled departure the flight was cancelled! The weather in DC was rain. More than 90 minutes on the phone with Southwest to get a refund with no viable alternatives offered. No travel agent this time but I was able to immediately book a non-stop flight on JetBlue leaving an hour later than originally scheduled.

In February my wife and I were on 5 different flights (non-Southwest) flying 20,000 miles to Los Angeles-Fiji-Sydney-Los Angeles-DC with a delay of no more than 10 minutes on 1 of those flights. Yet Southwest could not get us 1000 miles to Florida....twice!

We are done with Southwest Airlines.

(I can post this now because my daughter's return Southwest flight from Florida has just landed...on time this time.)

 

[Gilligan]

Luckily we had a great travel agent (Cole Travel)

Been using Cole for 30+ years now, handling the international and US travel for our teams of technicians that go to every country on the planet that touches the water and build ships and boats. One of my teams just returned Thursday from Taiwan...two return date changes at the last minute, well managed by Cole, and all we get hit with is an "after hours" service charge. Coles rocks.

 

[stgislander]

Been using Cole for 30+ years now, handling the international and US travel for our teams of technicians that go to every country on the planet that touches the water and build ships and boats. One of my teams just returned Thursday from Taiwan...two return date changes at the last minute, well managed by Cole, and all we get hit with is an "after hours" service charge. Coles rocks.

Who are these "teams" you keep speaking of? You got a couple hidden in your pocket?

Cole rocks x2.

 

[GWguy]

Who are these "teams" you keep speaking of? You got a couple hidden in your pocket?

Cole rocks x2.

It's a compliment! You're worth a whole team!


Now go get that raise!

 

[Bann]

It's a compliment! You're worth a whole team!


Now go get that raise!

 

[stgislander]

It's a compliment! You're worth a whole team!


Now go get that raise!

I'm playing the long game. A cut of the pie at the end.

 

[vraiblonde]

I don't have a lot of luck with airlines. Somewhere on here is a thread with me asking for suggestions as to how the hell I should get from National to my car at BWI because they canceled my flight and the only one within a couple of days!!! was going where my car wasn't (the winning answer was, take a shuttle). But this is the incident that led me to pack a toothbrush and change of drawers in my carryon, so that when I got stranded at MSP a couple years later and had to get a hotel, I could at least be human.

I'm done flying. Airlines suck and driving is more pleasurable anyway. If I can't drive there, I'm not going.

 

[acommondisaster]

If I have to fly coach, I like the Sit Wherever plan. Less chance of having to sit next to someone skeevy or the dude who has been sneezing and blowing his nose fo 30 minutes in the terminal.

And I don't know....how much can Southwest do about weather delays?

 

[vraiblonde]

Less chance of having to sit next to someone skeevy or the dude who has been sneezing and blowing his nose fo 30 minutes in the terminal.

There is a lot to dislike about air travel.

 

[luvmygdaughters]

We fly Southwest the majority of the time. Never had a problem with them.

 

[Gilligan]

Who are these "teams" you keep speaking of? You got a couple hidden in your pocket?

Cole rocks x2.

Force multiplication. ;-)

 

[Gilligan]

I'm playing the long game. A cut of the pie at the end.

Pie? There will be pie? I like pie.

 

[mAlice]

It's not just Southwest, it's airlines in general. Hubby's flight was delayed yesterday, then he got bumped out of first class. He was still able to make his connection, but was bumped out of first class again. They said they didn't think he'd mind. WTH gave them that idea?

 

[lucky_bee]

We fly Southwest the majority of the time. Never had a problem with them.

same here :shrug: in fact I prefer getting to pick my own seats. Plus as a typical female overpacker, I like the whole 2 checked luggage free deal. I doubt I'll have many opportunities to be looking at business class/1st class seating, so if I'm part of the cattle, might as well let me pick which cow I'm stuck next to

I fly maybe once or twice a year. I've always been very lucky in my travels. However, the more people you start traveling with, the more issues likely to arise. In the first instance, it sounds like that, and the weather made for a bad combo. It's a little difficult to find a last minute flight for 30 people. And airlines aren't obligated to rebook you new flights anymore. Still, frustrating to deal with though.

My father and most of his friends are commercial airline pilots, several friends are stewardesses, I travel child-free, with no accommodations needed, etc. I have it very easy traveling but at the end of the day, I really dislike air travel too