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

[justafigment27]

Day 6, no bags yet and no info. The longer this goes on, the more upset I get. Despite spending all day Christmas Eve sitting around MCO and not getting home until the evening of Christmas Day, I was not too upset because I was so grateful that I actually got home (no thanks to SWA). But now that I’m home and nobody can give me any info on my luggage, I’m just angry … this wasn’t an act of nature or beyond anyone’s control and it was handled very poorly. I have three suitcases full of dirty winter clothes, rain gear and spare shoes sitting in Orlando (supposedly… not sure what I believe at this point). One kid leaves for college in 4 days and would very much like her clothes to take back …

And then the collective internet wants to tell me things like, “never check bags” or “you should have had trackers in your luggage” or “that’s what you get for flying over the holidays” … like this is my fault.

 

[nlenguyen]

Day 6, no bags yet and no info. The longer this goes on, the more upset I get. Despite spending all day Christmas Eve sitting around MCO and not getting home until the evening of Christmas Day, I was not too upset because I was so grateful that I actually got home (no thanks to SWA). But now that I’m home and nobody can give me any info on my luggage, I’m just angry … this wasn’t an act of nature or beyond anyone’s control and it was handled very poorly. I have three suitcases full of dirty winter clothes, rain gear and spare shoes sitting in Orlando (supposedly… not sure what I believe at this point). One kid leaves for college in 4 days and would very much like her clothes to take back …

And then the collective internet wants to tell me things like, “never check bags” or “you should have had trackers in your luggage” or “that’s what you get for flying over the holidays” … like this is my fault.

I read something that you should get compensated for the luggage missing

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Day 6, no bags yet and no info. The longer this goes on, the more upset I get. Despite spending all day Christmas Eve sitting around MCO and not getting home until the evening of Christmas Day, I was not too upset because I was so grateful that I actually got home (no thanks to SWA). But now that I’m home and nobody can give me any info on my luggage, I’m just angry … this wasn’t an act of nature or beyond anyone’s control and it was handled very poorly. I have three suitcases full of dirty winter clothes, rain gear and spare shoes sitting in Orlando (supposedly… not sure what I believe at this point). One kid leaves for college in 4 days and would very much like her clothes to take back …

And then the collective internet wants to tell me things like, “never check bags” or “you should have had trackers in your luggage” or “that’s what you get for flying over the holidays” … like this is my fault.

A news article ran that for my local airport SWA moved luggage to a nearby cargo facility and people were picking up their luggage from there. Reason for the cargo facility was just space. Some bags are still at the SWA terminal at our home airport though but the bulk were in the cargo facility.

The tracking devices..it's not us passengers fault but as soon as I saw the chaos that was this summer's travel in Europe we decided if we're checking bags now we'll use a device (tile likely because we have android). We're going to Mexico first in April (our Puerto Rico trip at the end of January we won't be checking bags) and will be checking bags with SWA but we're going to Europe in July and flying through Paris on the way to Venice with Air France and Heathrow (one of the main bad airports for luggage) on the way back from Athens with British Airways. I've been nervous ever since the summer disaster stories have come out globally but I don't think we can make our cruise without checked luggage, I think I could make Mexico without it but we'll still be checking probably just 1 bag.

FWIW on the cruise FB pages I'm on people use a service called Luggage Forward and there's been issues with that. Some is not the service's fault because it lies in delays or specific luggage issues with customs but others are. People who were in Norway were waiting more than a week without notice of where their luggage was and they were in the situation as you where they were back home already.

In a nutshell the whole world has been such a mess with luggage and it's awful. People were stressed before the pandemic already with luggage checking, it sure doesn't give people confidence throughout the last year or so since travel has really rebounded

 

[EACarlson]

The tracking devices..it's not us passengers fault but as soon as I saw the chaos that was this summer's travel in Europe we decided if we're checking bags now we'll use a device (tile likely because we have android). We're going to Mexico first in April (our Puerto Rico trip at the end of January we won't be checking bags) and will be checking bags with SWA but we're going to Europe in July and flying through Paris on the way to Venice with Air France and Heathrow (one of the main bad airports for luggage) on the way back from Athens with British Airways. I've been nervous ever since the summer disaster stories have come out globally but I don't think we can make our cruise without checked luggage, I think I could make Mexico without it but we'll still be checking probably just 1 bag.

https://www.howtogeek.com/847000/anker-just-made-a-better-airtag-than-apple/
Eufy version that works with Android and uses the apple network. I'm buying them right now.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

https://www.howtogeek.com/847000/anker-just-made-a-better-airtag-than-apple/
Eufy version that works with Android and uses the apple network. I'm buying them right now.

That's awesome thanks for sharing!

 

[Mle8308]

I saw this post recently on FB:

A source inside Southwest Airlines recently passed this on and gave me permission to share. This is worth reading:

“What happened to Southwest Airlines?

I’ve been a pilot for Southwest Airlines for over 35 years. I’ve given my heart and soul to Southwest Airlines during those years. And quite honestly Southwest Airlines has given its heart and soul to me and my family.

Many of you have asked what caused this epic meltdown. Unfortunately, the frontline employees have been watching this meltdown coming like a slow motion train wreck for sometime. And we’ve been begging our leadership to make much needed changes in order to avoid it. What happened yesterday started two decades ago.

Herb Kelleher was the brilliant CEO of SWA until 2004. He was a very operationally oriented leader. Herb spent lots of time on the front line. He always had his pulse on the day to day operation and the people who ran it. That philosophy flowed down through the ranks of leadership to the front line managers. We were a tight operation from top to bottom. We had tools, leadership and employee buy in. Everything that was needed to run a first class operation. When Herb retired in 2004 Gary Kelly became the new CEO.

Gary was an accountant by education and his style leading Southwest Airlines became more focused on finances and less on operations. He did not spend much time on the front lines. He didn’t engage front line employees much. When the CEO doesn’t get out in the trenches the neither do the lower levels of leadership.

Gary named another accountant to be Chief Operating Officer (the person responsible for day to day operations). The new COO had little or no operational background. This trickled down through the lower levels of leadership, as well.

They all disengaged the operation, disengaged the employees and focused more on Return on Investment, stock buybacks and Wall Street. This approach worked for Gary’s first 8 years because we were still riding the strong wave that Herb had built.

But as time went on the operation began to deteriorate. There was little investment in upgrading technology (after all, how do you measure the return on investing in infrastructure?) or the tools we needed to operate efficiently and consistently. As the frontline employees began to see the deterioration in our operation we began to warn our leadership. We educated them, we informed them and we made suggestions to them. But to no avail. The focus was on finances not operations. As we saw more and more deterioration in our operation our asks turned to pleas. Our pleas turned to dire warnings. But they went unheeded. After all, the stock price was up so what could be wrong?

We were a motivated, willing and proud employee group wanting to serve our customers and uphold the tradition of our beloved airline, the airline we built and the airline that the traveling public grew to cheer for and luv. But we were watching in frustration and disbelief as our once amazing airline was becoming a house of cards.

A half dozen small scale meltdowns occurred during the mid to late 2010’s. With each mini meltdown Leadership continued to ignore the pleas and warnings of the employees in the trenches. We were still operating with 1990’s technology. We didn’t have the tools we needed on the line to operate the sophisticated and large airline we had become. We could see that the wheels were about ready to fall off the bus. But no one in leadership would heed our pleas.

When COVID happened SWA scaled back considerably (as did all of the airlines) for about two years. This helped conceal the serious problems in technology, infrastructure and staffing that were occurring and being ignored. But as we ramped back up the lack of attention to the operation was waiting to show its ugly head.

Gary Kelly retired as CEO in early 2022. Bob Jordan was named CEO. He was a more operationally oriented leader. He replaced our Chief Operating Officer with a very smart man and they announced their priority would be to upgrade our airline’s technology and provide the frontline employees the operational tools we needed to care for our customers and employees. Finally, someone acknowledged the elephant in the room.

But two decades of neglect takes several years to overcome. And, unfortunately to our horror, our house of cards came tumbling down this week as a routine winter storm broke our 1990’s operating system.

The frontline employees were ready and on station. We were properly staffed. We were at the airports. Hell, we were ON the airplanes. But our antiquated software systems failed coupled with a decades old system of having to manage 20,000 frontline employees by phone calls. No automation had been developed to run this sophisticated machine.

We had a routine winter storm across the Midwest last Thursday. A larger than normal number flights were cancelled as a result. But what should have been one minor inconvenient day of travel turned into this nightmare. After all, American, United, Delta and the other airlines operated with only minor flight disruptions.

The two decades of neglect by SWA leadership caused the airline to lose track of all its crews. ALL of us. We were there. With our customers. At the jet. Ready to go. But there was no way to assign us. To confirm us. To release us to fly the flight. And we watched as our customers got stranded without their luggage missing their Christmas holiday.

I believe that our new CEO Bob Jordan inherited a MESS. This meltdown was not his failure but the failure of those before him. I believe he has the right priorities. But it will take time to right this ship. A few years at a minimum. Old leaders need to be replaced. Operationally oriented managers need to be brought in. I hope and pray Bob can execute on his promises to fix our once proud airline. Time will tell.

It’s been a punch in the gut for us frontline employees. We care for the traveling public. We have spent our entire careers serving you. Safely. Efficiently. With luv and pride. We are horrified. We are sorry. We are sorry for the chaos, inconvenience and frustration our airline caused you. We are angry. We are embarrassed. We are sad. Like you, the traveling public, we have been let down by our own leaders.

Herb once said the the biggest threat to Southwest Airlines will come from within. Not from other airlines. What a visionary he was. I miss Herb now more than ever.” #southwestairlines

Great insight. Kind of sounds like another large formerly customer service oriented entertainment company we know....

 

[justafigment27]

A news article ran that for my local airport SWA moved luggage to a nearby cargo facility and people were picking up their luggage from there. Reason for the cargo facility was just space. Some bags are still at the SWA terminal at our home airport though but the bulk were in the cargo facility.

The tracking devices..it's not us passengers fault but as soon as I saw the chaos that was this summer's travel in Europe we decided if we're checking bags now we'll use a device (tile likely because we have android). We're going to Mexico first in April (our Puerto Rico trip at the end of January we won't be checking bags) and will be checking bags with SWA but we're going to Europe in July and flying through Paris on the way to Venice with Air France and Heathrow (one of the main bad airports for luggage) on the way back from Athens with British Airways. I've been nervous ever since the summer disaster stories have come out globally but I don't think we can make our cruise without checked luggage, I think I could make Mexico without it but we'll still be checking probably just 1 bag.

FWIW on the cruise FB pages I'm on people use a service called Luggage Forward and there's been issues with that. Some is not the service's fault because it lies in delays or specific luggage issues with customs but others are. People who were in Norway were waiting more than a week without notice of where their luggage was and they were in the situation as you where they were back home already.

In a nutshell the whole world has been such a mess with luggage and it's awful. People were stressed before the pandemic already with luggage checking, it sure doesn't give people confidence throughout the last year or so since travel has really rebounded

I actually drove to our home airport to see if our luggage made it back … the very nice gentleman working in the SWA luggage office basically said Orlando is a mess. I’m just so upset. Personally, I’m not really missing anything I can’t do without for a few weeks. But DH is going to have to replace his running shoes and my college aged daughters basically have their entire casual winter wardrobes (jeans, sweatshirts, leggings … everything you wear on campus in the winter) in those suitcases.

We’ve actually had missing luggage a handful of times in the past 25 years, but it’s always been because a connecting flight got delayed or something. It’s never been on a non-stop flight and we’ve always gotten the bags back within a day or two. We had one bag that didn’t make it for 3 days on our honeymoon in the 90’s … but that was the longest. So when they told us our luggage would be forwarded to our final destination, I told my kids it would just be a couple of days - no big deal. I clearly didn’t realize the magnitude of the problem on 12/24.

 

[FCDub]

I actually drove to our home airport to see if our luggage made it back … the very nice gentleman working in the SWA luggage office basically said Orlando is a mess. I’m just so upset. Personally, I’m not really missing anything I can’t do without for a few weeks. But DH is going to have to replace his running shoes and my college aged daughters basically have their entire casual winter wardrobes (jeans, sweatshirts, leggings … everything you wear on campus in the winter) in those suitcases.

We’ve actually had missing luggage a handful of times in the past 25 years, but it’s always been because a connecting flight got delayed or something. It’s never been on a non-stop flight and we’ve always gotten the bags back within a day or two. We had one bag that didn’t make it for 3 days on our honeymoon in the 90’s … but that was the longest. So when they told us our luggage would be forwarded to our final destination, I told my kids it would just be a couple of days - no big deal. I clearly didn’t realize the magnitude of the problem on 12/24.

This is rough. I feel for you.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I actually drove to our home airport to see if our luggage made it back … the very nice gentleman working in the SWA luggage office basically said Orlando is a mess. I’m just so upset. Personally, I’m not really missing anything I can’t do without for a few weeks. But DH is going to have to replace his running shoes and my college aged daughters basically have their entire casual winter wardrobes (jeans, sweatshirts, leggings … everything you wear on campus in the winter) in those suitcases.

We’ve actually had missing luggage a handful of times in the past 25 years, but it’s always been because a connecting flight got delayed or something. It’s never been on a non-stop flight and we’ve always gotten the bags back within a day or two. We had one bag that didn’t make it for 3 days on our honeymoon in the 90’s … but that was the longest. So when they told us our luggage would be forwarded to our final destination, I told my kids it would just be a couple of days - no big deal. I clearly didn’t realize the magnitude of the problem on 12/24.

Hang in there

Air travel has not been good to just about anyone during this pandemic

A different local news ran an article 2 days ago with this information

"Getting your money back​

Southwest has set up a website specifically for this December debacle.

At southwest.com/traveldisruption, you can enter in your canceled flight number for a refund. If you scroll down and open the section for expense reimbursement, you can find a link to submit receipts for a variety of things.

That includes the following:

• Clothes you had to buy if your luggage was lost
• Hotel and meals if your flight was canceled and you are waiting to be rebooked
• A flight on another airline, a rental car, or a train or bus ticket if you gave up waiting and found another way to your destination

“They will -- here’s the wording -- ‘consider reasonable reimbursements,’” Weeks (a director at a travel agency) clarified. “And so, it’s at their discretion. But, certainly, I would I would put it in and I would put it in fast.”

Do it now, she said, because the reimbursement won’t come quickly. With the volume of people submitting claims, she expects it will take as long as it did to get refunds at the start of the COVID pandemic.

“With COVID, people experienced a wait time from the travel industry of up to 90 days for refunds from different travel partners, travel vendors,” Weeks explained. “I would say bank on 60 to 90 days.”

She also had a very important caveat for those seeking reimbursements. Some people may be fearful of further delays and rebook before the next flight is canceled. That’s fine if all you want is another flight but, if you make flight changes preemptively, reimbursements are off the table.

“They’re not going to reimburse you for anything additional if you’re choosing to cancel,” she emphasized. “If they cancel the flights then it’s, you know, that’s fair game.”

 

[Neener16]

I actually drove to our home airport to see if our luggage made it back … the very nice gentleman working in the SWA luggage office basically said Orlando is a mess. I’m just so upset. Personally, I’m not really missing anything I can’t do without for a few weeks. But DH is going to have to replace his running shoes and my college aged daughters basically have their entire casual winter wardrobes (jeans, sweatshirts, leggings … everything you wear on campus in the winter) in those suitcases.

We’ve actually had missing luggage a handful of times in the past 25 years, but it’s always been because a connecting flight got delayed or something. It’s never been on a non-stop flight and we’ve always gotten the bags back within a day or two. We had one bag that didn’t make it for 3 days on our honeymoon in the 90’s … but that was the longest. So when they told us our luggage would be forwarded to our final destination, I told my kids it would just be a couple of days - no big deal. I clearly didn’t realize the magnitude of the problem on 12/24.

I hope you get something for the aggravation. I would be beyond frustrated.

 

[clm10308]

Luggage update
We were scheduled to leave MCO on evening of the 24th. Bags were checked before flight was canceled. I got a call mid-morning today (12/30) that our bags were at Southwest Cargo facility at our home airport. We were able to go to the cargo facility after our return flight this evening and retrieved all 4 bags. The amount of luggage was astounding. The staff had alphabetized the luggage based on the airline tags.
My daughter talked to one of the employees who told her that they reorganize several times a day and usually right after they get another delivery of luggage. I thought they were doing a great job with managing the whole mess. 4 people were helping us search through the M’s to find all of our bags. Took 5-10min maybe to locate them all because two had been pulled and tagged in a different location after I told them I was coming today.
I know this doesn’t help those whose luggage went to vacation destinations alone, but if you can get to your local Southwest Cargo location you may have luck finding luggage that was sent home without you.

 

[justafigment27]

Luggage update
We were scheduled to leave MCO on evening of the 24th. Bags were checked before flight was canceled. I got a call mid-morning today (12/30) that our bags were at Southwest Cargo facility at our home airport. We were able to go to the cargo facility after our return flight this evening and retrieved all 4 bags. The amount of luggage was astounding. The staff had alphabetized the luggage based on the airline tags.
My daughter talked to one of the employees who told her that they reorganize several times a day and usually right after they get another delivery of luggage. I thought they were doing a great job with managing the whole mess. 4 people were helping us search through the M’s to find all of our bags. Took 5-10min maybe to locate them all because two had been pulled and tagged in a different location after I told them I was coming today.
I know this doesn’t help those whose luggage went to vacation destinations alone, but if you can get to your local Southwest Cargo location you may have luck finding luggage that was sent home without you.

You give me hope. We are on day 7 of no luggage. Ours was checked at MCO on 12/24. We were able to fly home on 12/25 on a different airline, so I checked our home airport on 12/25 and it wasn’t there yet. I drove back to our home airport on 12/28 and it still wasn’t there and their system showed it as still in Orlando. Maybe I’ll get a call today?

 

[Avery&Todd]

So I lost my A-List over night..... and I went in this morning to add Early Bird to my 2 upcoming flights and it says I'm not eligible.....

I guess I need to call into SW directly???

Thanks!

 

[BillFromCT]

So I lost my A-List over night..... and I went in this morning to add Early Bird to my 2 upcoming flights and it says I'm not eligible.....

I guess I need to call into SW directly???

Thanks!

There has been a note on the top of the website for the past few days saying they were going to do maintenance today, so your account details may not be correct.

 

[Avery&Todd]

There has been a note on the top of the website for the past few days saying they were going to do maintenance today, so your account details may not be correct.

Oh, I must have missed that! Thanks!

I'll wait patiently!

I was able to get back a few points for both our Feb and April flights to MCO!

New Years score!

 

[Avery&Todd]

Just as an informational update - my A-List finally dropped off this morning from my actual travel records, it was still showing A-List next to my name but that's gone so I was able to add EB to both my Feb and April flights.

and I got back 3,134 for our April flights since our return flight had dropped a little! Score!

Check your flights again as I've had both those flights drop in points over the last few days!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Our Feb flight dropped too. Not enough for me to save $ but, for over 2 months it showed + $344 when I looked to change it and today it’s only + $90. If you have late Feb flights and did not book opening day, it may be worth looking for a savings.

 

[nekonekoneko]

I got boarding position C26 for my flight tomorrow. I tried to upgrade my boarding position, and there's none left.

Ouch.

 

[Wiltony]

Did anyone get an e-mail today awarding southwest rapid rewards points as a "gesture of goodwill?"


I'm curious how much was awarded and how they determined how much to award. Would you be willing to answer the following questions? (My answers follow)


How many points did you get? (25,000)
How many codes did you receive? (1)
How many reservations did you have that were impacted? (1)
How many people were on your reservation? (6)
What was the nature of your disruption? (we only had a short delay)

 

[gorjus121]

Did anyone get an e-mail today awarding southwest rapid rewards points as a "gesture of goodwill?"


I'm curious how much was awarded and how they determined how much to award. Would you be willing to answer the following questions? (My answers follow)


How many points did you get? (25,000)
How many codes did you receive? (1)
How many reservations did you have that were impacted? (1)
How many people were on your reservation? (6)
What was the nature of your disruption? (we only had a short delay)

Yes, I received an email at 2:00 pm EST today. Our flight out was canceled and the four of us received 25,000 points each. My inlaws who were supposed to meet us in Orlando a few days later voluntarily rescheduled their flights since we lost our timeshare week and they received 25,000 points each too.

How many points did you get? (25,000 x 4 = 100,000)
How many codes did you receive? (4)
How many reservations did you have that were impacted? (1)
How many people were on your reservation? (4)
What was the nature of your disruption? (flight canceled the night before, unable to find a flight for days, rescheduled trip)