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SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

Wnt2Fly
Explorer C

I'm irate right now. We were booked on a direct SWA flight from MCO to MHT on 4/27, 8:30pm. The flight changed to 7:40pm, not a big deal. Today, I'm told that the direct flight is cancelled, so they put us on a 4:40pm through BWI with a 3 hr layover, getting into MHT around 11pm.  We have scheduled plans in the afternoon on 4/27, so I called to say "hey get us on the 6:30pm with the 50 minute layover in BWI"


Know what i was told? You have a "want to get away fare", you have to pay if you want to be on that flight?!?


What? SWA cancelled the flight, and wants me to pay to have the flight closer to my original departure!?  we're not talking about a 30-60 minute difference here, we're talking a 4 hour difference from our original booking!


Am I the only one that thinks this is ridiculous?! 

8 REPLIES 8

Re: SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

ZevSupport
Frequent Flyer A

That can be tough. 

 

Due to the cancellation, the airline did what it can to get you on a new flight. Also, keep in mind that it might be out of space on the flight's you're looking to take. I'm sure you can try calling/tweeting again to see if they can make the change for you again. 

 

Keep us posted,


Community Champion | PHL based | ex-Companion Pass Holder | Southwest Passenger

Re: SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

Wnt2Fly
Explorer C

There is space! Just not "wanna get away" fares.  Basically because I was smart, and bought my tickets early on for a low price, I get screwed.

Re: SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

dfwskier
Aviator A

@Wnt2Fly wrote:

There is space! Just not "wanna get away" fares.  Basically because I was smart, and bought my tickets early on for a low price, I get screwed.


I think you have gotten bad advice. SW will reschedule you automatically when it cancels a flight. It did that to you.

 

YOU HAVE THE ABILITY to tell the airline that you do not like the new flight and find it unacceptable. Then tell the airline which flight you want to take (check first to see that there are seats available). It makes no difference that Wanna Get Away fares are not available. The only thing that matters is that seats are available. I've done the above multiple times and never had a problem. I've taken $400 flights on $60 tickets. Note that the airline  gives you one free change. If you later change your mind, you will have to pay more.

 

I'd call customer relations at 855-234-4654. If the first person says no, ask to speak to a supervisor. 

If you run into resistance, be nice but firm.

Re: SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

Wnt2Fly
Explorer C

Took me nearly 2+ hours to get them to change me to a flight that had no availability in wanna get away.. and when they agreed they came back with a worse flight than before! I said "hey, what about the 5:40..." silence.... "oh, that would work too!"...  20 minutes later they jumped through all these hoops apparently, rebooked us, which of course resets our Early Bird postion, so i can kiss any use of that goodbye...

Re: SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

Wnt2Fly
Explorer C

@dfwskier wrote:

YOU HAVE THE ABILITY to tell the airline that you do not like the new flight and find it unacceptable.


That's the core of the issue. they would not let me change to ANY flight i wanted, ONLY those that had Wanna Get Away availability! HOWEVER, on that day AND the day after there are NO other flights available  with Wanna Get Away fares available. NOTHING. Any other flights they wanted to charge me the fare difference! It took 2+ hrs to get them to finally agree to waive the fare and book me on another flight!

 

And how fun will it be to go from a a2.75hr direct flight into a 6+ hour journey with a 2hr layover..ugh...

Re: SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

dfwskier
Aviator A

@Wnt2Fly wrote:

@dfwskier wrote:

YOU HAVE THE ABILITY to tell the airline that you do not like the new flight and find it unacceptable.


That's the core of the issue. they would not let me change to ANY flight i wanted, ONLY those that had Wanna Get Away availability! HOWEVER, on that day AND the day after there are NO other flights available  with Wanna Get Away fares available. NOTHING. Any other flights they wanted to charge me the fare difference! It took 2+ hrs to get them to finally agree to waive the fare and book me on another flight!

 

And how fun will it be to go from a a2.75hr direct flight into a 6+ hour journey with a 2hr layover..ugh...


By your last sentence, I am unclear about whether you were put on the flight you wanted or not.

Re: SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

Wnt2Fly
Explorer C

@dfwskier wrote:


By your last sentence, I am unclear about whether you were put on the flight you wanted or not.


Not originally, because all direct flights were either cancelled (the one i was on) or fully booked. I opted for the least painful option, which starts our journey home 3 hours before and ends 30min after my original flight times.

 

Only after 2+ hours of a phone call did SWA cave in and allow me to re-book on a flight of my choosing; prior to that decision, they wanted me to pay the fare difference to upgrade from Wanna Get Away to an Anytime or Business fare if i wanted to move my flight from the one they automatically put me on (which was starting 4 hours before my original flight time and getting in 30 min after).

Re: SWA asking ME to pay for a flight change due to them canceling the flight!

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@Wnt2Fly wrote:

 

 

Only after 2+ hours of a phone call did SWA cave in and allow me to re-book on a flight of my choosing; prior to that decision, they wanted me to pay the fare difference to upgrade from Wanna Get Away to an Anytime or Business fare if i wanted to move my flight from the one they automatically put me on (which was starting 4 hours before my original flight time and getting in 30 min after).


It sounds like you are set now, but the issue is strange. After being at airports "live" when a cancelation has happened there has never been an issue for me prior to this in rebooking to any flight, and same thing using the online re-accomodation. 

 

I'm not sure why this one would be different when you called, unless there was a "same day" or next day rule in effect for making the free changes and your discussion took place after several days? I've never seen that written, just trying to speculate what might be the difference from what I've experienced before.

 

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.