Southwest Airlines having a breakdown

I clearly recall the utter horror on DH’s (then just newly engaged after a special trip to Sardinia) face, as my car broke down as it came off the ferry from Olbia to Civitavecchia (a port of Rome) enroute to da Vinci airport for DS to catch last TWA flight to New York and connection to Norfolk, where he was due to get underway the next day. We had cut it far too close (we were in love!!) and tempted Murphy. It would be a massive professional embarrassment to miss ship’s movement. I negotiated with the auto mechanic to have his brother drive DH to the airport at an Italian rate of speed, forked over $200 in U.S. dollars and a promise of cartons of Marlboros and some U.S. booze. I waved future DH off, who felt terrible about leaving me, but we had to get him to the airport. Thank God it was a workday morning and an early ferry. I called my boss in my Naples office, a very nice man who was a bit worried his LT was all alone in Civitavecchia at some auto repair shop. He put Salvatore, our local logistics employee, on the phone with the auto mechanic, and all was settled in classic Italian style. Salvatore came to rescue me and served as my negotiator with the auto mechanic, brought the additional “deal requirements,” for which I reimbursed him with a generous tip, and I bought pastries to be brought into the garage while they worked. Funny how all that came back to me. The one big thing, though, was DH Could Not Be Late. There might have been good reasons, but no excuse for poor planning that didn’t allow a time cushion.
Love the story!
 
We weren't so lucky. Cancellation notice from SW early this morning for tomorrows flight home for a 3 day visit to celebrate Christmas. Leave days are difficult to schedule/take in current assignment so paid for a new flight on United.... I'm sure it was $$$$. SW can't be reached for reimbursement so it's already been processed by American Express.
If you haven’t flown yet, check on DL and AA. They have both announced today, that they have capped their fares, in order to help with last minute purchases necessitated by this mess.

Also, try calling. Perhaps there is a military discount the other airline could offer.

Even if you have already booked a ticket, check. You can rebook (or cancel) most likely for the last minute fares being paid. Or bank the difference in fare if you find it cheaper. And everything can be done online.

SW has gone on record, stating they are preemptively cancelling through today. In order to reboot. No surprise, but they are now bleeding into Friday. I dont trust this will be cleared up any time soon.
 
Southwest is going to have trouble recovering from this. I could see a merger or buyout coming after their hub-less model has been crushed a second time in a matter of months and they realize they realize can't overhaul their scheduling software in a year or two.
 
I think so too. Hate to see them go, they are a big domestic player that’s helped keep airline prices affordable.
 
Just about every company undergoes an existential crisis at some point. It’s how they react — and make things right with customers — that matters. I’m rooting for Southwest. They challenged the conventional wisdom of commercial travel (in terms of price, service, efficiency) for the better. It stinks for those whose travel plans have been disrupted, or will be disrupted. Let’s all hope for a speedy recovery.
 
My sister was caught up in the mess in San Diego on the 26th. It was awful, she said the airport was like a refugee camp. Never seen anything like that in the US.

A friend is a flight attendant for SW. She said they have known this was a weakness and their software for staffing is basically Legacy stuff and they should have invested in this years ago, she mentioned money was spent on CEO bonuses that should have been spent on this effort.

They didn't just leave their passengers high and dry, they also left their employees stranded, and the gate people didn't deserve the wrath of the customers. Poop needs to roll uphill on this one.

Considering rebooking DS, his current flight is on SW on the 5th.
 
I think Southwest will be fine. They will make some tweaks and apologies, and it will fade from traveler’s memories fairly quickly.

Remember the JetBlue meltdown in April? Me either.

Stealth_81
 
I don't know, there's a good chance a class action lawsuit arises from these ashes. It was so widespread and unrelated to weather that all Hawaiian interisland flights were cancelled for several days. There's no way to blame this on weather and they will be paying many hundreds of millions in direct charges from this before they begin contemplating their technical debt in IT. That's why I think it's likely that a merger with someone with an OK back office like Frontier might make a good vessel to pour the good parts of Southwest into.
 
It was too large to ignore or simply look past. I mean unaccompanied minors were in airports all across the country!
Service members trying to get to duty stations, families trying to connect, too many stories to recount. And not everyone has the means to book a hotel or car or pay for airport priced food. And they didn’t issue vouchers on site. It’s an issue for me in terms of trust moving forward. They have a long way to go to earn it back from a lot of loyal people.
 
Southwest is in the bipartisan crosshairs. For some, it's a welcome distraction from FTX debacle....
 
It was too large to ignore or simply look past. I mean unaccompanied minors were in airports all across the country!
Service members trying to get to duty stations, families trying to connect, too many stories to recount. And not everyone has the means to book a hotel or car or pay for airport priced food. And they didn’t issue vouchers on site. It’s an issue for me in terms of trust moving forward. They have a long way to go to earn it back from a lot of loyal people.
It is a good time to consider a credit card which includes travel insurance. The annual fee on these cards is high, but all in, the benefits offset the added cost. We have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card. These cards often have huge signup bonuses.

In February, we travelled to Mexico and were concerned about testing positive for Covid and being forced to remain in Mexico until testing negative. I checked with Chase's program administrator who said that hotels and meals would be covered during the quarantine period. In September my United flight from Europe was delayed, causing us to missed our connection and to overnight in Denver. Since it was weather related, United washed their hands of it. Our card's travel insurance covered to hotel and meals.
 
It is a good time to consider a credit card which includes travel insurance. The annual fee on these cards is high, but all in, the benefits offset the added cost. We have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card. These cards often have huge signup bonuses.

In February, we travelled to Mexico and were concerned about testing positive for Covid and being forced to remain in Mexico until testing negative. I checked with Chase's program administrator who said that hotels and meals would be covered during the quarantine period. In September my United flight from Europe was delayed, causing us to missed our connection and to overnight in Denver. Since it was weather related, United washed their hands of it. Our card's travel insurance covered to hotel and meals.
They really are friendly for these kinds of things. And there are ones out there with low fees!!

My friends SW tickets, for party of 8 ($$$) headed to Disney for a week, were refunded immediately upon notification to their credit card. SW won’t/can’t answer their phone at the moment.

My own CC company is refunding a fraud Christmas gift I purchased (yes, I did my due diligence).

Credit cards can be a nice little insurance plan.

My ensign has figured out the benefits of the AmEx (not a credit card, but similar idea) Platinum card at their Platinum Clubs at airports. He actually goes to the airport the max preflight time allowed, to have a good (free) time with his wife. Hilarious.
 
One way car rentals sold out. Rental cars gone. Baggage everywhere.

One thing I’ve learned from watching this: invest in some AirTags and use them in baggage. At least then you know where your bag is.

If I were near a luggage dump, I wonder if it would be helpful to go, and sit, and send texts to the numbers listed on the tags. It’s something I could do to help? Idk 🤷‍♀️
 
They really are friendly for these kinds of things. And there are ones out there with low fees!!

My friends SW tickets, for party of 8 ($$$) headed to Disney for a week, were refunded immediately upon notification to their credit card. SW won’t/can’t answer their phone at the moment.

My own CC company is refunding a fraud Christmas gift I purchased (yes, I did my due diligence).

Credit cards can be a nice little insurance plan.
Trust me. Read the fine print on the travel insurance. We have a credit card for every kind of purpose or occasion, including a SWA card which gave us a free companion ticket or a year. We took 4 trips. Travel coverage varies greatly.

My ensign has figured out the benefits of the AmEx (not a credit card, but similar idea) Platinum card at their Platinum Clubs at airports. He actually goes to the airport the max preflight time allowed, to have a good (free) time with his wife. Hilarious.
I remember when my then butterbar got his AMEX card with the ~$500 fee waved. He bragged that the AMEX lounges were better than my Chase pass lounges. He was right.
 
One way car rentals sold out. Rental cars gone. Baggage everywhere.

One thing I’ve learned from watching this: invest in some AirTags and use them in baggage. At least then you know where your bag is.

If I were near a luggage dump, I wonder if it would be helpful to go, and sit, and send texts to the numbers listed on the tags. It’s something I could do to help? Idk 🤷‍♀️
Seems like it would help. https://981thebreeze.iheart.com/fea...passengers-find-their-bags-in-an-unusual-way/
 
Sadly, the darling of the Military is getting called out a bit. I‘ve also read of sports teams being stranded, or having to take buses, etc. Hopefully, things do, indeed, straighten out today.


 
Those stories are horrible. There are many stories on the parent's boards of parents complaining about getting a refund from SWA to buy tickets on another airline before the 5th. It is good that cadets aren't stranded but not everyone can float hundreds of dollars waiting for a refund. This meltdown is far-reaching.
 
Sadly, the darling of the Military is getting called out a bit. I‘ve also read of sports teams being stranded, or having to take buses, etc. Hopefully, things do, indeed, straighten out today.


Those stories are sad, and that's just a tiny example.
 
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