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

...They were comped..

hotel said no prob for late ck in but
Car rental went UP despite having it Less time ( Costco said at whim of market if change made on time)
Rebooked with another rental co
But they be basically lost the entire day and the appts they had :(
Well.. better safe and late..

But made me wonder what Airlines typically comp for delays etc?

Don't quite get everything you said here, but...

I'm a little surprised that your car rental went up. Did you put the airline and flight number in your car rental reservation? It can be important to do that. I think rental companies usually honor airline delays as long as that info is in the reservation. If not, I can see where the rental would go up...sometimes people try making their reservation longer just to bump themselves into a weekly rate, for example.

Southwest seems to be pretty good about comping for delays that are caused by their problems (mechanical, crew, etc.). We were given $200 vouchers a year or so ago for I think a 4 hour delay. If its a weather issue, no comp. Other airlines may or may not do that, but I think Southwest is much better than most giving comps out. And unlike credits you may get for booking lower fares, these vouchers are transferable.
 
Don't quite get everything you said here, but...

I'm a little surprised that your car rental went up. Did you put the airline and flight number in your car rental reservation? It can be important to do that. I think rental companies usually honor airline delays as long as that info is in the reservation. If not, I can see where the rental would go up...sometimes people try making their reservation longer just to bump themselves into a weekly rate, for example.

Southwest seems to be pretty good about comping for delays that are caused by their problems (mechanical, crew, etc.). We were given $200 vouchers a year or so ago for I think a 4 hour delay. If its a weather issue, no comp. Other airlines may or may not do that, but I think Southwest is much better than most giving comps out. And unlike credits you may get for booking lower fares, these vouchers are transferable.

Had not put airline info on car rental the first time. ( will for future rentals) Not sure it would have made a difference in this case, We called when told 2 hr delay.. then when another 2 hour delay was told New cost. Booked thru Costco, ( called them after increase told by Budget) who indicated that once there is Any change to a reservation, it must be Re-booked to new res. Then old one canceled. So, rate is the prevailing rate.( If the rate jump had been nominal, probably would have kept it, but it was not, and a short rental overall. )That is their contract with rental companies, not within their control.
I canceled Budget, went with Alamo For a better rate.

Apparently mechanical... SW Comped, and didn’t know transferable..thx for ur thoughts.
 
Had not put airline info on car rental the first time. ( will for future rentals) Not sure it would have made a difference in this case, We called when told 2 hr delay.. then when another 2 hour delay was told New cost. Booked thru Costco, ( called them after increase told by Budget) who indicated that once there is Any change to a reservation, it must be Re-booked to new res. Then old one canceled. So, rate is the prevailing rate.( If the rate jump had been nominal, probably would have kept it, but it was not, and a short rental overall. )That is their contract with rental companies, not within their control.
I canceled Budget, went with Alamo For a better rate.

Apparently mechanical... SW Comped, and didn’t know transferable..thx for ur thoughts.
That stinks honestly. We landed something like an hr late because we left an hr late in September due to MCO prohibiting airlines from coming in at certain times while they were trying to get as many people out. We landed Sep 8th just before Irma so that was why.

Anyways we had a Costco reservation and never got charged an increase. We were 1 1/2hrs late to our reservation. We didn't call avis rental car or Costco though.

Were you basically 4 hours late to your reservation?
 
That stinks honestly. We landed something like an hr late because we left an hr late in September due to MCO prohibiting airlines from coming in at certain times while they were trying to get as many people out. We landed Sep 8th just before Irma so that was why.

Anyways we had a Costco reservation and never got charged an increase. We were 1 1/2hrs late to our reservation. We didn't call avis rental car or Costco though.

Were you basically 4 hours late to your reservation?

Flight finally departed at 1:25pm, it was supposed to be at 8:30am! That’s why we called as soon as they said the xtra 2 hours then another2.. it just went on and on...
So ultimately a Long Delay...
They arrived Safely, it’s all good in my book..my original curiosity/Q was about what comps are typically given, if any.
 


When Southwest releases their next batch (which I see will be next week), do they sometimes alter already released airfare and prices? Just curious! Thanks!
 
When Southwest releases their next batch (which I see will be next week), do they sometimes alter already released airfare and prices? Just curious! Thanks!
They can and do alter prices at anytime. If you check prices daily (or even multiple times a day) you may see huge variations in pricing in the months leading up to your flight. Sometimes flights even show up briefly as sold out and then return. It's a very fluid situation so anybody's specific experience with it is purely anecdotal and your experience may coincidentally match theirs or may be entirely different.

They typically will not adjust the actual flight routes and schedule after they are released.
 


I am booking flights for 7 adults and 2 children and we also will have a lap child that will be 1 at the time of travel. I know I will need everyones name exactly as stated on their drivers license or birth certificate but what else will I need to book travel? Birthdates? Home address for each person? Anything else? I know I will need birth certificate for the one year old at time of flight but what about the other children?

I read where someone said to create rapid rewards account for each person as this will make it go quicker at check out. Is this true? Can children have an account?

This is the first time I am booking online and this all makes me nervous having such a large group. I know I will have to split it into at least 2 groups as you can only book up to 8 people. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Part of our party is a single mom that has the 2 children ages 4 and 8 at time of travel. If they do the family boarding will they allow the 8 year old to board with them or will they make her wait with the rest of the group even though we are not the parents.

I plan to do early bird for our flight back home for the rest of us but debating for our flight down to orlando. Trying to save money where we can with such a large group.

Sorry such a long post. Again any feedback would greatly be appreciated.
Thank you :)
 
I am booking flights for 7 adults and 2 children and we also will have a lap child that will be 1 at the time of travel. I know I will need everyones name exactly as stated on their drivers license or birth certificate but what else will I need to book travel? Birthdates? Home address for each person? Anything else? I know I will need birth certificate for the one year old at time of flight but what about the other children?

I read where someone said to create rapid rewards account for each person as this will make it go quicker at check out. Is this true? Can children have an account?

This is the first time I am booking online and this all makes me nervous having such a large group. I know I will have to split it into at least 2 groups as you can only book up to 8 people. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Part of our party is a single mom that has the 2 children ages 4 and 8 at time of travel. If they do the family boarding will they allow the 8 year old to board with them or will they make her wait with the rest of the group even though we are not the parents.

I plan to do early bird for our flight back home for the rest of us but debating for our flight down to orlando. Trying to save money where we can with such a large group.

Sorry such a long post. Again any feedback would greatly be appreciated.
Thank you :)

I just booked a few days ago, and I don't believe having a RR account made it any quicker, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have them. And yes children can have a RR account. My DD6 & DD3 both have one, which are linked to my email address. In order to book, you are required to have names as they appear on gov't issued ID as well as birthdate and gender. Optional info is RR Account #; Redress #; and Known Traveler # if any of those apply. Best of luck getting great fares!
 
I am booking flights for 7 adults and 2 children and we also will have a lap child that will be 1 at the time of travel. I know I will need everyones name exactly as stated on their drivers license or birth certificate but what else will I need to book travel? Birthdates? Home address for each person? Anything else? I know I will need birth certificate for the one year old at time of flight but what about the other children?

I read where someone said to create rapid rewards account for each person as this will make it go quicker at check out. Is this true? Can children have an account?

This is the first time I am booking online and this all makes me nervous having such a large group. I know I will have to split it into at least 2 groups as you can only book up to 8 people. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Part of our party is a single mom that has the 2 children ages 4 and 8 at time of travel. If they do the family boarding will they allow the 8 year old to board with them or will they make her wait with the rest of the group even though we are not the parents.

I plan to do early bird for our flight back home for the rest of us but debating for our flight down to orlando. Trying to save money where we can with such a large group.

Sorry such a long post. Again any feedback would greatly be appreciated.
Thank you :)

Family boarding will allow the mom and the two kids to all board together - but the rest of your group can't tag along. Whoever has the lap child (both mom and dad) and can use family boarding as well.

As you say, you will have to have multiple reservations since the max is 8 people. You may want to consider more than two reservations. The reason being the way SW does their fares. When you check for fares the default is for a single passenger and that will show you the lowest fare currently available. But you don't know at that point how many seats are available at that fare. There could be 12 or there could be only 1. If there are 3 seats at that fare and you make a reservation for 4 people, you will not get the 3 lowest fares - all 4 will be booked at the next higher fare that has 4 available seats. In this case, you would need to do a reservation for 3 and a reservation for 1 to get the lowest available price. It can take some effort, especially with larger groups.

Everyone having a RR number doesn't speed up the process. But you having one can. Make sure that prior to the day you're planning on booking, you set up your account and save all credit cards that you plan on using, onto that account. Then when you check out, all you have to do is select the appropriate card and hit enter - no time spent entering CC numbers. It will save you a lot of time with multiple reservations.

As for EBCI. This is a personal choice and any perceived need to use it is highly subjective and depends greatly on the airport you're using, the time of day you're flying and your ability to check-in at exactly the 24 hour mark the previous day. You won't really need it for those that can take advantage of family boarding. Getting it for the others will greatly increase the odds that everyone will be able to sit in a group, if that's important to you. We always get EBCI for the return flight just because I don't want to have to think about it while I'm at WDW.

I hope this helps some.

Steve
 
Family boarding will allow the mom and the two kids to all board together - but the rest of your group can't tag along.
Well Family Boarding is for those with a child 6 and under.

upload_2018-2-27_10-48-7.png

Thus the mom that has both a 4 and 8 year old would be allowed to board with the 4 year old.
 
This is the formal policy, but never in my experience have I seen SW break up a family who attempt to use family boarding even if some don't qualify.
I understand but it's what SWA's published rules are. I'd rather give the poster what the rules are. Gate agents can make the decision if they want to but are under no obligation to do so and at least the poster has the understanding of what the rules are.

The proper way would be the mom with the 4 year old boards with the 4 and 8 year old in the 8 year old's Boarding position (assuming the 8 year olds is the worse of the Boarding positions) rather than rely on the gate agent making an exception to published rules. Boarding with Family Boarding when you don't qualify for it isn't the only way to do it (i.e. relying on the gate agent).
 
I understand but it's what SWA's published rules are. I'd rather give the poster what the rules are. Gate agents can make the decision if they want to but are under no obligation to do so and at least the poster has the understanding of what the rules are.

The proper way would be the mom with the 4 year old boards with the 4 and 8 year old in the 8 year old's Boarding position (assuming the 8 year olds is the worse of the Boarding positions) rather than rely on the gate agent making an exception to published rules. Boarding with Family Boarding when you don't qualify for it isn't the only way to do it (i.e. relying on the gate agent).

Nope. The 8 year old will be allowed to board with the mom & 4 year old during family boarding. That is the way it works. Just like there is no written rule about seat saving, there is no written rule that says a single adult can't take their other minor children during family boarding. It will not be relying on the gate agent. It will be using the system as allowed.

We just flew SW home on Feb 1st. The gate agent was very loud & clear in his announcement about family boarding. Parents & siblings of a child 6 & under could board with family boarding. Grandparents, aunts, uncles & other family could not. He made sure to get everyone's attention & be very clear about it.

I have never seen SW deny siblings being allowed to board with family boarding, nor have I read any reports of it either. And you know someone would be here posting if it happened to them.
 
Nope. The 8 year old will be allowed to board with the mom & 4 year old during family boarding. That is the way it works. Just like there is no written rule about seat saving, there is no written rule that says a single adult can't take their other minor children during family boarding. It will not be relying on the gate agent. It will be using the system as allowed.

We just flew SW home on Feb 1st. The gate agent was very loud & clear in his announcement about family boarding. Parents & siblings of a child 6 & under could board with family boarding. Grandparents, aunts, uncles & other family could not. He made sure to get everyone's attention & be very clear about it.

I have never seen SW deny siblings being allowed to board with family boarding, nor have I read any reports of it either. And you know someone would be here posting if it happened to them.
Nope. The way the rule is written is it's for children 6 and under. It doesn't say "6 and under as well as siblings" in their actual official rules (see pic above).

And while you may have not had it happen when you've flown I've had it happen several times where the gate agents remind people that it's only for age 6 and under and if you have children older than that you cannot use Family Boarding. I've seen older siblings denied for sure in the Family Boarding procedure. I've also seen many parents not use Family Boarding and instead board with their actual position. I've seen gate agents not care who uses Family Boarding, etc. However, I was advising the poster of the official rules rather than giving them the expectation of what a gate agent may or may not do.

There is no rule whatsoever about seat saving (only that they employ an open seating policy) but there is a rule about qualifications for Family Boarding-don't try and use seat saving as the same thing as Family Boarding because it isn't.

And FWIW this issue is found within this thread in the past and the rule has been around for a while:
upload_2018-2-27_20-11-25.png


As always gate agents can be wishy washy-thus why you have had a different experience than me:
upload_2018-2-27_20-12-5.png
 
I am booking flights for 7 adults and 2 children and we also will have a lap child that will be 1 at the time of travel. I know I will need everyones name exactly as stated on their drivers license or birth certificate but what else will I need to book travel? Birthdates? Home address for each person? Anything else? I know I will need birth certificate for the one year old at time of flight but what about the other children?

This is the first time I am booking online and this all makes me nervous having such a large group. I know I will have to split it into at least 2 groups as you can only book up to 8 people. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

My suggestion, as you have a sizeable task and no prior experience booking online, is to call Southwest (800-435-9792), and let them book the flights for you. There is no extra cost to do so, and you will have somebody who can immediately answer any questions you might have. Just have all of your information at hand - your travel dates, passenger names and information, etc. They can enail the confirmations to you.

The only drawback to booking on the phone, vs. online, is that any changes will also need to be done by calling Southwest; you will not be able to do so online.

The Southwest agents are generally very helpful.
 
I just checked my flights and they went down in RR points again! I love SWA.

When I first booked our flight home (I actually booked this before our flight to MCO) our seats were 11,438 per person (4 of us). I rebooked those 2 times and have gotten it down to 7079 per person! That savings (and an itinerary change) allowed me to book our flights to MCO at 6744 per person, but today the flight dropped to 5739 per person, which saved me 4020 points!

Because of this thread I have learned to randomly check the flights, so I am so appreciative of all the info everyone here has provided. Thanks!
 
I have several LUV vouchers that I plan to use to book 3 tickets for upcoming travel. I’ve never used LUV vouchers before though so I’m curuous how it works. Once I enter the 1st voucher & PIN number on the payment page, what happens to allow me to enter the rest of the vouchers? Does another voucher space pop up?
 
I have several LUV vouchers that I plan to use to book 3 tickets for upcoming travel. I’ve never used LUV vouchers before though so I’m curuous how it works. Once I enter the 1st voucher & PIN number on the payment page, what happens to allow me to enter the rest of the vouchers? Does another voucher space pop up?

I think that is correct, but I believe there is a limit on the number of payment methods you can use on one itinerary, and I think it is 3. So you may wind up having to split your tickets into multiple itineraries if you have several vouchers to use.
 
Thank you to the people who responded to my questions earlier.

I called Southwest regarding the use of gift cards and the person I talked to, said you can use as many as 2 gift cards per passenger but only one credit card to complete reservation. So I asked a scenario "So if I have 4 people flying I could use 7 gift cards and 1 credit card to complete my reservation" and he said yes.

Just thought I would let people know, as I learn so much from these boards. Wish every luck tomorrow on getting the flights they need at a great price :yay:.
 

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