Swoop Experience Hamilton to MCO?

[Etch]

I remember seeing a few people on here had flights booked on Swoop from Hamilton to Orlando over the past few months.

Just wondering how the experience was and if you would use them again?

Thanks!

 

[TD1516]

I am curious too. We leave in 3 weeks. According to their website it says to arrive atleast 2 hours early.

We live 5 minutes away and wondering if that is accurate, and if we can bring our own food on the plane. We've never flied from Hamilton before.

 

[gskywalker]

nightmare, never again. The biggest thing is all companies can make mistakes, but their decisions and policies(or lack thereof) in dealing with those mistakes means I would never fly with them again. I have flown low cost carriers before. As an example I have probably flown Spirit in the states at least 10 times, so I have an idea what to expect and what not to expect in a low cost carrier but their service and resolutions were pitiful.

 

[TD1516]

nightmare, never again. The biggest thing is all companies can make mistakes, but their decisions and policies(or lack thereof) in dealing with those mistakes means I would never fly with them again. I have flown low cost carriers before. As an example I have probably flown Spirit in the states at least 10, so I have an idea what to expect and what not to expect in a low cost carrier but their service and resolutions were pitiful.

Could you elaborate please?
Or if you don't feel comfortable publicly discussing could you please pm me?

Thanks!

 

[ellbell]

I flew swoop to MCO. I had no issues whatsoever it was actually quite pleasant. You may not need to be there 2 hours in advance but their check in and bag check lines close 60 minutes before your flight so I wouldn't wait to much longer.

You can definitely bring your own food on board. I also recommend water after you clear security. If you bring an empty water bottle there is a bottle fountain outside the washrooms.

I had no delays there or back the one thing I can say is the trip back one of my suitcases was broken. I spoke with an airport employee and they filled out the report, I called swoop and I had a new bag in about 3 weeks. It took a bit and the hold time to speak with someone at swoop was a long time but I knew it might be. Everyone was helpful and pleasant.

I would recommend them, I plan on getting an annual pass to Disney because swoop has made it that much easier for me to go.

I just wanted to add that about a month and a half before I flew with swoop my dad also flew from Hamilton to Abbotsford and back with them and also had no issues at all. A few months before his trip his flights were rescheduled for different times but he was given plenty of notice about it.

 

[ellbell]

nightmare, never again. The biggest thing is all companies can make mistakes, but their decisions and policies(or lack thereof) in dealing with those mistakes means I would never fly with them again. I have flown low cost carriers before. As an example I have probably flown Spirit in the states at least 10, so I have an idea what to expect and what not to expect in a low cost carrier but their service and resolutions were pitiful.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[gskywalker]

After a notified 20 minute slight delay we arrived to the counter to find out our flight is cancelled. They said they would not pay for tickets on another airline, not even Westjet who they are owned by. Eventually after all the flights had left for the night a few hours later they told us they would cover if we flew out with another airline that evening. They told us along the way that they would arrange hotels for all of us......then at 10:30 pm (ie 5 hours after cancelling the flight) they told us we are on our own to find a hotel and they will only cover $150 per room, not per guest. They also would only provide $30 per day for all of our food. They did offer the option to take a taxi to Tampa Bay 1.5-2 hours away to grab a flight they had leaving there at 11:00pm and guaranteed the flight wouldn't leave until everyone who opted for that arrived. I believe I read that one Tampa Bay customer said the flight didn't end up leaving till 5-6(ie 4 or 5am) hours after its departure because they were waiting for the people from our flight to arrive which was one of my big concerns about taking the option to take the taxi there.

They brought in a plane 2 days later to take all of us home. Even when requested there was no offer to refund any part of our ticket/luggage costs, not even a credit to encourage us to try them again. They said that an "interruption" to our flight was not grounds for any part of a refund because they got us home. We are supposed to get a cheque for most of our out of pocket bills in another month. They of course also did not account for the foreign exchange costs associated with paying for these items(ie not how much our credit card charged us), instead deciding to give the rate at the exchange which of course no one can get. I had to fight to even get all of our food bills paid when my son and I often shared meals and Disney actually gave us quite a few meals/food items free after hearing what had happened(they asked about my son's bday). The day of the cancellation was my son's bday, so his missed his bday party at home and we did not even receive so much as an apology for it let alone anything else.

All companies have problems, make mistakes etc, so it becomes about how they deal with it when it happens. They dealt with it horribly. I was one of the few at the airport that at the beginning said I would be willing to give them another try if they deal with the problem well. After now having gone through the process with them, I will never fly with them again. Probably more info than needed, but probably gives you an idea of how they deal with customers when they have an issue.

 

[TD1516]

Holy crap!!!!
What city were you going home to?

My experience flying is very limited only AI's to Mexico and the caribbean.
I can't believe that they did this wow.

 

[gskywalker]

Holy crap!!!!
What city were you going home to?

My experience flying is very limited only AI's to Mexico and the caribbean.
I can't believe that they did this wow.

We were flying into the Hamilton airport, live in the GTA. I would say its a one off but in my attempts to find out what happened with other people from my flight, I have found a number of other instances on other flights that demonstrate their lack of care when there is a problem(and no I am not talking about the people who complain about things that were their own fault, like showing up without the proper id, showing up too late, etc)

 

[TD1516]

We were flying into the Hamilton airport, live in the GTA. I would say its a one off but in my attempts to find out what happened with other people from my flight, I have found a number of other instances on other flights that demonstrate their lack of care when there is a problem(and no I am not talking about the people who complain about things that were their own fault, like showing up without the proper id, showing up too late, etc)

I am so sorry this happened to you.
If this happens to us, we will lose it.

Crap, I better make sure to pay off my credit cards in case this happens and we need to take another flight.

 

[Etch]

All companies have problems, make mistakes etc, so it becomes about how they deal with it when it happens. They dealt with it horribly. I was one of the few at the airport that at the beginning said I would be willing to give them another try if they deal with the problem well. After now having gone through the process with them, I will never fly with them again. Probably more info than needed, but probably gives you an idea of how they deal with customers when they have an issue.

Wow....that is awful. Can't believe it took two days to get another plane!

I appreciate you sharing the story.

 

[gskywalker]

I am so sorry this happened to you.
If this happens to us, we will lose it.

Crap, I better make sure to pay off my credit cards in case this happens and we need to take another flight.

A few families had exactly that problem. They were at the airport and said to the airline reps, we are low on cash and either didn't have credit cards or were near maxed and left their other cards at home. So they couldn't do the taxi to Tampa even if they wanted to. A couple of families had to beg to their previous hotels to let them come back until the next day when they could get funds/credit card info from home.

 

[marchingstar]

After a notified 20 minute slight delay we arrived to the counter to find out our flight is cancelled. They said they would not pay for tickets on another airline, not even Westjet who they are owned by. Eventually after all the flights had left for the night a few hours later they told us they would cover if we flew out with another airline that evening. They told us along the way that they would arrange hotels for all of us......then at 10:30 pm (ie 5 hours after cancelling the flight) they told us we are on our own to find a hotel and they will only cover $150 per room, not per guest. They also would only provide $30 per day for all of our food. They did offer the option to take a taxi to Tampa Bay 1.5-2 hours away to grab a flight they had leaving there at 11:00pm and guaranteed the flight wouldn't leave until everyone who opted for that arrived. I believe I read that one Tampa Bay customer said the flight didn't end up leaving till 5-6(ie 4 or 5am) hours after its departure because they were waiting for the people from our flight to arrive which was one of my big concerns about taking the option to take the taxi there.

They brought in a plane 2 days later to take all of us home. Even when requested there was no offer to refund any part of our ticket/luggage costs, not even a credit to encourage us to try them again. They said that an "interruption" to our flight was not grounds for any part of a refund because they got us home. We are supposed to get a cheque for most of our out of pocket bills in another month. They of course also did not account for the foreign exchange costs associated with paying for these items(ie not how much our credit card charged us), instead deciding to give the rate at the exchange which of course no one can get. I had to fight to even get all of our food bills paid when my son and I often shared meals and Disney actually gave us quite a few meals/food items free after hearing what had happened(they asked about my son's bday). The day of the cancellation was my son's bday, so his missed his bday party at home and we did not even receive so much as an apology for it let alone anything else.

All companies have problems, make mistakes etc, so it becomes about how they deal with it when it happens. They dealt with it horribly. I was one of the few at the airport that at the beginning said I would be willing to give them another try if they deal with the problem well. After now having gone through the process with them, I will never fly with them again. Probably more info than needed, but probably gives you an idea of how they deal with customers when they have an issue.

i liked this as in “thank you for sharing,” not “i like your story.” it sounds like an awful experience. i really appreciate you sharing though, so we can all make informed choices.

it would be nice to have lower cost options for getting to Disney, but not with this kind of disregard for customers. i think you saved a lot of us from repeat experiences. and i hope karma pays you back with something extra special for your next vacation!!

 

[Micharlotte]

I’ve flown with swoop a few times, just landed this morning, and had no issues. However, I’ve never flown internationally with them. I like that they make travel within Canada an affordable option.

 

[grantclaire]

Hi, we flew back from MCO on Jan 1st on WestJet to Pearson and at the gate next to us was a Swoop flight that was delayed 5hrs going back to Hamilton, seemed like a lot of unhappy people.

 

[jacksdadcan]

After a notified 20 minute slight delay we arrived to the counter to find out our flight is cancelled. They said they would not pay for tickets on another airline, not even Westjet who they are owned by. Eventually after all the flights had left for the night a few hours later they told us they would cover if we flew out with another airline that evening. They told us along the way that they would arrange hotels for all of us......then at 10:30 pm (ie 5 hours after cancelling the flight) they told us we are on our own to find a hotel and they will only cover $150 per room, not per guest. They also would only provide $30 per day for all of our food. They did offer the option to take a taxi to Tampa Bay 1.5-2 hours away to grab a flight they had leaving there at 11:00pm and guaranteed the flight wouldn't leave until everyone who opted for that arrived. I believe I read that one Tampa Bay customer said the flight didn't end up leaving till 5-6(ie 4 or 5am) hours after its departure because they were waiting for the people from our flight to arrive which was one of my big concerns about taking the option to take the taxi there.

They brought in a plane 2 days later to take all of us home. Even when requested there was no offer to refund any part of our ticket/luggage costs, not even a credit to encourage us to try them again. They said that an "interruption" to our flight was not grounds for any part of a refund because they got us home. We are supposed to get a cheque for most of our out of pocket bills in another month. They of course also did not account for the foreign exchange costs associated with paying for these items(ie not how much our credit card charged us), instead deciding to give the rate at the exchange which of course no one can get. I had to fight to even get all of our food bills paid when my son and I often shared meals and Disney actually gave us quite a few meals/food items free after hearing what had happened(they asked about my son's bday). The day of the cancellation was my son's bday, so his missed his bday party at home and we did not even receive so much as an apology for it let alone anything else.

All companies have problems, make mistakes etc, so it becomes about how they deal with it when it happens. They dealt with it horribly. I was one of the few at the airport that at the beginning said I would be willing to give them another try if they deal with the problem well. After now having gone through the process with them, I will never fly with them again. Probably more info than needed, but probably gives you an idea of how they deal with customers when they have an issue.

Holy crap! I was ON that flight! We ended up going to Tampa and getting on that flight. It left around 1am and got back to hamilton 330ish?

 

[gskywalker]

Holy crap! I was ON that flight! We ended up going to Tampa and getting on that flight. It left around 1am and got back to hamilton 330ish?

Well glad to hear that it least didn't make it back as late as one person wrote, they must have meant that they arrived in Hamilton at about 4 am instead of leaving Tampa. I was glad I didn't take the taxi to Tampa. We had a chance to go in the pool that evening and then we stayed at Pop Century the next day and went to Epcot(we have annual passes so we weren't out of park admissions).

 

[jacksdadcan]

Well glad to hear that it least didn't make it back as late as one person wrote, they must have meant that they arrived in Hamilton at about 4 am instead of leaving Tampa. I was glad I didn't take the taxi to Tampa. We had a chance to go in the pool that evening and then we stayed at Pop Century the next day and went to Epcot(we have annual passes so we weren't out of park admissions).

Unfortunately DW had to be back for Monday. She actually was checking flight status on the way to airport and it was a little confusing because the flight time was first changed, then cancelled. Of course I didn't receive the cancellation email until we were already standing at the counter!

How do you normally travel to MCO? Buffalo?

 

[gskywalker]

Unfortunately DW had to be back for Monday. She actually was checking flight status on the way to airport and it was a little confusing because the flight time was first changed, then cancelled. Of course I didn't receive the cancellation email until we were already standing at the counter!

How do you normally travel to MCO? Buffalo?

Yes, only 2 times have we gone from anywhere else. This time from Hamilton and once from Toronto when free dining wasn't available except through Air Canada Vacations because everywhere was sold out when we wanted to go. We like going out of Buffalo because of not having to deal with luggage at the airport in either direction. As well the Magical express picks us up later on a domestic flight. The biggest reason though is we like southwest, love no fees for baggage and the prices are usually pretty great. I think the most I ever paid was $240 US$ return, the least I think was $160.