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

[TNKim]

We have flights end of May that have already been changed once and I had the red banner and was able to change them to better flight times. First, the departure flight changed, then a few days later the return flight changed. I have 3 tickets on one reservation, then my companion flight is separate. I just received an email that Southwest changed my companion departure time to an earlier flight. The other 3 tickets have not changed (as of now). There is no banner at this time allowing me to try to change my companion flight time back to the same flight we are on. I would try to call but I’m sure the wait times are horrendous with this being release day. Can I change the companion time online without any cost without having a banner? Has anyone ever had this happen? Does it mean they will change the other 3 flights also but just haven’t done it yet?

 

[focusondisney]

We have flights end of May that have already been changed once and I had the red banner and was able to change them to better flight times. First, the departure flight changed, then a few days later the return flight changed. I have 3 tickets on one reservation, then my companion flight is separate. I just received an email that Southwest changed my companion departure time to an earlier flight. The other 3 tickets have not changed (as of now). There is no banner at this time allowing me to try to change my companion flight time back to the same flight we are on. I would try to call but I’m sure the wait times are horrendous with this being release day. Can I change the companion time online without any cost without having a banner? Has anyone ever had this happen? Does it mean they will change the other 3 flights also but just haven’t done it yet?

Well that is a strange situation, considering the Companion pass rules state they must fly on the same flight as you. To do it your self, you would probably have to cancel the CP & start over. Is the flight your other tickets on still showing availability? In any category, it doesn’t need to be the same category you booked the others with. If it is, you can just cancel the CO & start again. The only thing with canceling is you have the taxes, they should offer a refund but sometimes that ends up as a credit. And you lose EBCI if you cancel, if you have that. If you call, they can change with no loss of EBCI or issue with the tax.

 

[Avery&Todd]

We have flights end of May that have already been changed once and I had the red banner and was able to change them to better flight times. First, the departure flight changed, then a few days later the return flight changed. I have 3 tickets on one reservation, then my companion flight is separate. I just received an email that Southwest changed my companion departure time to an earlier flight. The other 3 tickets have not changed (as of now). There is no banner at this time allowing me to try to change my companion flight time back to the same flight we are on. I would try to call but I’m sure the wait times are horrendous with this being release day. Can I change the companion time online without any cost without having a banner? Has anyone ever had this happen? Does it mean they will change the other 3 flights also but just haven’t done it yet?

I've been very successful in getting customer service help with chatting to SW via FB messenger - and then I dont have to wait on the phone and they are usually pretty responsive - like a 5-10 min wait at the longest time. There were some issues with my end of May companion pass flights (to Vegas) and they finally just cancelled the companion pass and I rebooked it and they re-linked it.

Perhaps try reaching out via messenger and see what they can do.

But I've never seen where my companion pass was moved to a different flight to mine...super strange!

 

[cmarsh31]

Booked with JetBlue for Sept/Oct. Half the price and better direct flights. $600rt on SW for non-direct flights? Umm, nope.

 

[TNKim]

We have flights end of May that have already been changed once and I had the red banner and was able to change them to better flight times. First, the departure flight changed, then a few days later the return flight changed. I have 3 tickets on one reservation, then my companion flight is separate. I just received an email that Southwest changed my companion departure time to an earlier flight. The other 3 tickets have not changed (as of now). There is no banner at this time allowing me to try to change my companion flight time back to the same flight we are on. I would try to call but I’m sure the wait times are horrendous with this being release day. Can I change the companion time online without any cost without having a banner? Has anyone ever had this happen? Does it mean they will change the other 3 flights also but just haven’t done it yet?

I messaged SW through Facebook messenger & just heard back. The original flight is not available to move my companion back to. I replied that I understood a companion cannot fly on a separate flight alone, per SW rules for companion pass, & if we had to change the other 3 reservations to the earlier flight, it was not our first choice of flights. There were 2 other afternoon nonstop flights and a night nonstop flight. They replied they were sorry but changes are common due to COVID, but no real explanation for changing the companion flight to a separate flight, which I assume would eventually be cancelled outright once they realized it was a companion fare without the original passenger who it was a companion of. I asked to move us all to the second afternoon flight (which we had originally booked before the first set of changes). They replied that flight wasn’t available either. I then said to just change us to the early flight my companion was booked on. SW replied the early flight did not have room for 3, so our only option for a nonstop flight was leaving at 8:05 pm, arriving at 10:50 pm, meaning we will arrive at our Universal resort after midnight. I voiced my extreme displeasure and frustration with SW and my first experience with using the companion pass I had worked so hard to earn points for last year and will probably be the only time I use it this year. They apologized again but I guess I’m even lucky to still have any nonstop flight but I’m not happy at all flying in at night. Is there any chance any of those earlier flights will open up between now and May?

 

[Erica Ladd]

That stinks. Sorry. I guess keep checking

 

[Gitelfor]

I messaged SW through Facebook messenger & just heard back. The original flight is not available to move my companion back to. I replied that I understood a companion cannot fly on a separate flight alone, per SW rules for companion pass, & if we had to change the other 3 reservations to the earlier flight, it was not our first choice of flights. There were 2 other afternoon nonstop flights and a night nonstop flight. They replied they were sorry but changes are common due to COVID, but no real explanation for changing the companion flight to a separate flight, which I assume would eventually be cancelled outright once they realized it was a companion fare without the original passenger who it was a companion of. I asked to move us all to the second afternoon flight (which we had originally booked before the first set of changes). They replied that flight wasn’t available either. I then said to just change us to the early flight my companion was booked on. SW replied the early flight did not have room for 3, so our only option for a nonstop flight was leaving at 8:05 pm, arriving at 10:50 pm, meaning we will arrive at our Universal resort after midnight. I voiced my extreme displeasure and frustration with SW and my first experience with using the companion pass I had worked so hard to earn points for last year and will probably be the only time I use it this year. They apologized again but I guess I’m even lucky to still have any nonstop flight but I’m not happy at all flying in at night. Is there any chance any of those earlier flights will open up between now and May?

Did anyone check to see if there is availability for a better time on a direct flight (layover on the ground, but no change to another plane)? Would you be wiling to consider connecting flights, if the arrival time were better? Some airports have easy connections, with about a 5 minute walk. I try to avoid connections over the winter, due to weather issues. But, at other times, if a connecting itinerary has a better fare or departure/arrival time, and there is not a super long layover on the ground, I will consider booking that and keep checking for a better nonstop to become available.

With Southwest, there always is a chance that seats on other flights may open up, due to Southwest’s flexibility to change or cancel. Obviously, if you are flying over a holiday, the chances will be lower, due to demand.

With a record of your problems, you always can keep checking back to see if anything better opens up that Southwest can move you to. Normally, the CSRs who work on Southwest’s social media team have more flexibility to resolve issues, than those working the normal phone line. I hope they will be able to work out a more acceptable option for you.

 

[TNKim]

Did anyone check to see if there is availability for a better time on a direct flight (layover on the ground, but no change to another plane)? Would you be wiling to consider connecting flights, if the arrival time were better? Some airports have easy connections, with about a 5 minute walk. I try to avoid connections over the winter, due to weather issues. But, at other times, if a connecting itinerary has a better fare or departure/arrival time, and there is not a super long layover on the ground, I will consider booking that and keep checking for a better nonstop to become available.

With Southwest, there always is a chance that seats on other flights may open up, due to Southwest’s flexibility to change or cancel. Obviously, if you are flying over a holiday, the chances will be lower, due to demand.

With a record of your problems, you always can keep checking back to see if anything better opens up that Southwest can move you to. Normally, the CSRs who work on Southwest’s social media team have more flexibility to resolve issues, than those working the normal phone line. I hope they will be able to work out a more acceptable option for you.

No, I didn’t check any nonstop flights because all are from 4.5-6 hours in length. I guess that would get us there before midnight but we would spend all day traveling. Our nonstop is less than 2 hours. Our flight isn’t over a holiday but it is on a Saturday. It’s even more frustrating because I booked on release date to get the best price and flight times for us and now we end up with a late flight and arriving at the resort, which is over $300 for a Saturday night, after midnight. The fact that it’s my first trip using the companion pass, and that SW moved the companion to a separate flight, which goes against their own rules, making it necessary for us to change all flights to a less desirable time, is just frustrating. I can’t help believe the companion flight was bumped in favor of a full price fare. If that’s the case, it certainly does little to promote any benefit to trying to earn companion pass. I don’t recall ever reading on this thread about anything like this happening.

 

[Gitelfor]

No, I didn’t check any nonstop flights because all are from 4.5-6 hours in length. I guess that would get us there before midnight but we would spend all day traveling. Our nonstop is less than 2 hours. Our flight isn’t over a holiday but it is on a Saturday. It’s even more frustrating because I booked on release date to get the best price and flight times for us and now we end up with a late flight and arriving at the resort, which is over $300 for a Saturday night, after midnight. The fact that it’s my first trip using the companion pass, and that SW moved the companion to a separate flight, which goes against their own rules, making it necessary for us to change all flights to a less desirable time, is just frustrating. I can’t help believe the companion flight was bumped in favor of a full price fare. If that’s the case, it certainly does little to promote any benefit to trying to earn companion pass. I don’t recall ever reading on this thread about anything like this happening.

This is really unacceptable. This problem is on Southwest. Even though the social media team is part of Customer Relations, there also is a phone number for Customer Relations, if you still want to pursue this. They obviously had the Companion Pass reservations linked, but sometimes, their system does crazy things. If you decide to call, nicely explain the problem they caused, how the new flight causes major problems with your plans, and politely plead your case (though you may have already done that by Messenger). They will have a record of your encounter on Messenger.


Contact Customer Relations
You can reach Customer Relations by:
Phone: (855) 234-4654
Twitter: @SouthwestAir
Facebook: @SouthwestAir
Email here.

The Customer Relations/Rapid Rewards Department is specialized to assist Customers with escalated concerns.

 

[focusondisney]

I messaged SW through Facebook messenger & just heard back. The original flight is not available to move my companion back to. I replied that I understood a companion cannot fly on a separate flight alone, per SW rules for companion pass, & if we had to change the other 3 reservations to the earlier flight, it was not our first choice of flights. There were 2 other afternoon nonstop flights and a night nonstop flight. They replied they were sorry but changes are common due to COVID, but no real explanation for changing the companion flight to a separate flight, which I assume would eventually be cancelled outright once they realized it was a companion fare without the original passenger who it was a companion of. I asked to move us all to the second afternoon flight (which we had originally booked before the first set of changes). They replied that flight wasn’t available either. I then said to just change us to the early flight my companion was booked on. SW replied the early flight did not have room for 3, so our only option for a nonstop flight was leaving at 8:05 pm, arriving at 10:50 pm, meaning we will arrive at our Universal resort after midnight. I voiced my extreme displeasure and frustration with SW and my first experience with using the companion pass I had worked so hard to earn points for last year and will probably be the only time I use it this year. They apologized again but I guess I’m even lucky to still have any nonstop flight but I’m not happy at all flying in at night. Is there any chance any of those earlier flights will open up between now and May?

Do those flights show 3 (or4) seats available if you look as if you’re booking new? If they don’t, then there really is no availability. As a note, I have noticed flights show unavailable while they are making changes, then seats open back up again. If they are showing 4 seats, just move yourself. Or call. I haven’t used social media but I have called for issues & gotten excellent customer service.

 

[PCFriar80]

Booked with JetBlue for Sept/Oct. Half the price and better direct flights. $600rt on SW for non-direct flights? Umm, nope.

Good call! I was ready to pull the trigger on JetBlue as well for our October trip from BDL, but SWA came through for us with $244 RT non-stop flights. I "splurged" for EBCI and still was $80 cheaper.

 

[TNKim]

This is really unacceptable. This problem is on Southwest. Even though the social media team is part of Customer Relations, there also is a phone number for Customer Relations, if you still want to pursue this. They obviously had the Companion Pass reservations linked, but sometimes, their system does crazy things. If you decide to call, nicely explain the problem they caused, how the new flight causes major problems with your plans, and politely plead your case (though you may have already done that by Messenger). They will have a record of your encounter on Messenger.


Contact Customer Relations
You can reach Customer Relations by:
Phone: (855) 234-4654
Twitter: @SouthwestAir
Facebook: @SouthwestAir
Email here.

The Customer Relations/Rapid Rewards Department is specialized to assist Customers with escalated concerns.

I did not call, just via their Facebook Messenger. They made it sound as if I had no other options and I was afraid if I didn’t take the late flight it would be unavailable, too.

And, no, when you look to book a flight, none of the nonstops show anything available except the late flight. A few days ago when I checked, long before the email this morning, all nonstop flights showed as available.

I may try to call later tonight but I don’t have much hope it will change. It’s just frustrating because the companion pass was connected to our reservation number and when they moved it to another flight by itsellf, it created this mess.

 

[npatellye]

SW just changed my flights to MCO again. The email says I can change for free within three days of receiving the email. But, when I log on, it wants to charge me an extra $181/person to change. I called and opted for a call back so fingers crossed they call back and fix this.

 

[focusondisney]

I did not call, just via their Facebook Messenger. They made it sound as if I had no other options and I was afraid if I didn’t take the late flight it would be unavailable, too.

And, no, when you look to book a flight, none of the nonstops show anything available except the late flight. A few days ago when I checked, long before the email this morning, all nonstop flights showed as available.

I may try to call later tonight but I don’t have much hope it will change. It’s just frustrating because the companion pass was connected to our reservation number and when they moved it to another flight by itsellf, it created this mess.

That sounds like what I have seen when SW was making changes to our flights. I think they put flights as unavailable while they are moving people around, so they have seats to move them to. After they’re done, seats show up again. You said you’re traveling the end of May? That’s a lot of time for things to change. I would still call & talk to someone in person. I think a lot is lost when you’re just typing. Much better to speak to someone & explain the issue directly.

 

[Gitelfor]

I did not call, just via their Facebook Messenger. They made it sound as if I had no other options and I was afraid if I didn’t take the late flight it would be unavailable, too.

And, no, when you look to book a flight, none of the nonstops show anything available except the late flight. A few days ago when I checked, long before the email this morning, all nonstop flights showed as available.

I may try to call later tonight but I don’t have much hope it will change. It’s just frustrating because the companion pass was connected to our reservation number and when they moved it to another flight by itsellf, it created this mess.

I believe the Customer Relations phone number I posted only is open during “normal office hours” (at least, that was when I last contacted them). I don’t recall if there is a message, if you call after hours, or if the call automatically is forwarded to their regular reservations department.

 

[hollylu1016]

Reading about all the changes SW has made to people’s flights has me worried about booking with them for our October trip (skipped booking yesterday to hold out for a lower price).
We always like to take the earliest non stop out of MKE and then the latest non stop heading back.

Has anyone else booked either of these routes since the pandemic and had southwest drastically change things??

 

[EACarlson]

Reading about all the changes SW has made to people’s flights has me worried about booking with them for our October trip (skipped booking yesterday to hold out for a lower price).
We always like to take the earliest non stop out of MKE and then the latest non stop heading back.

Has anyone else booked either of these routes since the pandemic and had southwest drastically change things??

With as few nonstops as SW has MKE-MCO you'll probably be fine. There is enough traffic on that route that they are going to keep them and honestly I don't see the schedule shrinking from what it is now, if anything I think they will add flights. That said for the last year I've been flying out of Chicago rather than MKE because it's been half the price or less. Looking for the dates I'm going the 6am flight out of MKE and the 9:30 flight out of MCO are $350, which is about the same as what I was seeing MDW-MCO.

 

[DisneyRunner2009]

I booked mke mco yesterday with points and companion pass. I will call if there is a price drop. I've never run into problems with those times. Only change has been within minutes of original departure time. I book first in last out and the flights are always full.

 

[DisneyRunner2009]

Competition for mke to mco will be from Spirit and Frontier. Prices may go down, but may go up as people start to travel. I think yesterday's prices are the new low. Maybe they're trying to make up for their losses.

 

[EACarlson]

Competition for mke to mco will be from Spirit and Frontier. Prices may go down, but may go up as people start to travel. I think yesterday's prices are the new low. Maybe they're trying to make up for their losses.

I don't know that I would consider either of those competition. Spirit only operates one flight a day, that leaves at 5pm. Frontier only operates certain days of the week and they were over $400 for the only thing that comes close to when I'm going, and those flights get in late and leave early. To me the real competition on that route is the legacies with one stop and short layovers, Delta through ATL, United through ORD and American through CLT. All are around the same fare. I'm quite happy with my $375 from Appleton on Delta. For non-stops out of MKE though SW is really the only choice.