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Southwest Airlines Community

Floght Delays / Cancellation and Compensation

Bjmlaw
Explorer C

It seems that every Southwest flight was delayed today... but the flight crew should have informed the passengers as to the why.  The real why.  I can only assume each flight was being inspected given the freak and horrific experience of the Southwest flight that had to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia earlier today.  It seems a major engine failure occurred and, most unfortunately, a passenger lost their life.  Horrific.  Prayers to the family there.  But also prayers and kudos to the Flight Crew for safely making that emergency landing and returning the other 100+ souls safely to the ground.  

 

So where it was upsetting boarding my flight, only to be delayed an hour, then having the flight cancelled and placed on a later flight, arriving SAFELY home, I just wanted to say thank you.  I realize cancellations cost the airlines money and it is an inconvience for eveyone,, flight crew and ground staff included and no one enjoys it, but just THANK YOU for ensuring your company is offering such a high standard for safety.  There obviously something the mechanical Crew didn't like or they would have grounded the plan

  Now I don't know something would have happened, but I know I didn't want to risk anything and I am glad they didn't.  

 

But I also wanted to comment on something else... I was amazed that I was rebooked on another flight seemingly automatically, and received a text message and new boarding pass.  Pretty darn impressive there.  In the days of old, I would have had to wait in a long line with the rest of the passengers, while one or two customer service agents rebooked us on other flights.  It was not a speedy process.  But this, I was amazed at.  Now granted, I was booked on a later flight and there was an earlier option, but that was easily remedied when I spoke with an agent who simply placed me on that earlier flight.  So thank you SWA, seriously... very very impressive.  

 

What wasn't impressive was asking the agents for some sort of compensation:  a travel voucher or even meal accommodations to which my requests were received only with a puzzled look.  My flight was originally scheduled for 7:15 p.m., delayed to 7:40 p.m., then cancelled, rebooked for a later flight that, although scheduled for 10:15 p.m., did not get wheels up til 11:07 p.m., just shy of four hours delayed and missed my (albeit late) dinner reservation with a friend whom I hadn't seen for years.   So, yes, I would like some sort of compensation there, especially with a honeymoon forthcoming, I'd appreciate something, some kind of compensation.

 

But with that said, again, it was an inconvenience, unfortunate, understandable, but unfortunate.  Nonetheless, thank you SWA for making sure you did everything you could to make sure I got home safe tonight. 

 

See you again soon.

 

Brett