Some people here at the RX may already be aware of Southwest Airlines newer cancellation policies but for those that are not aware be very careful. If you book a roundtrip flight and for whatever reason you miss the first flight and you can't reach them by phone 10 minutes prior to departure, they automatically cancel your return flight and keep your money. This happened to a friend of mine yesterday. She missed her first flight on SW down to Fl, had to buy another ticket one way on Jet Blue to get here, only to find out yesterday that SW cancelled her seat on the return flight They basically just stole the 300.00 she had already paid for that seat and made her pay an extra 457.00 to buy a new ticket to get home. The only way to travel with them now and be safe from them robbing you is to buy individual one way tickets.
Yup that's not just SW, I had Delta do that to me once.
Missed my first flight, had to buy a one-way to get to Chicago. Showed up for my original return trip and they had cancelled it without even contacting me. And I'm a Delta SkyMiles platinum elite member or whatever. They email me constantly about my miles status, sales they are having, etc...and no one could drop me a line about completely cancelling my flight. Showed up at the airport and they wouldn't let me check in. I was heated.
Had to buy a new one-way flight home.
Delta did give me a flight credit but I had to put up a fuss.
Missed my first flight, had to buy a one-way to get to Chicago. Showed up for my original return trip and they had cancelled it without even contacting me. And I'm a Delta SkyMiles platinum elite member or whatever. They email me constantly about my miles status, sales they are having, etc...and no one could drop me a line about completely cancelling my flight. Showed up at the airport and they wouldn't let me check in. I was heated.
Had to buy a new one-way flight home.
Delta did give me a flight credit but I had to put up a fuss.
Or show up for your first flight, and if you can't, contact them.
Delta told me if I had TOLD them I was going to miss my first flight they wouldn't have cancelled my return.
I think it's bullshit too, it's none of their business how I get to Chicago...I purchased a ticket on your plane back to Birmingham so let me on.
this thing being described here has been the SOP forever (SOP= standard operating procedure)
as for involving the cc's , you are entering a contract when you buy the ticket (contract of carriage) so your position is weak
as for delta not cancelling your return if you would have told them , thats true, but they would have charged you a rebooking fee plus any repricing , which could, potentially, be even higher than your original ticket altogether.
as for involving the cc's , you are entering a contract when you buy the ticket (contract of carriage) so your position is weak
as for delta not cancelling your return if you would have told them , thats true, but they would have charged you a rebooking fee plus any repricing , which could, potentially, be even higher than your original ticket altogether.
This "No Show" policy with Southwest started only 16 months ago and it's catching many unsuspecting customers by surprise and robbing their return airfare. I fly with them frequently and never knew of this new predatory change. The only way around this is to book single one way tickets with them just to protect yourself from them stealing your return flight, should something happen. I'm sure there are many people that use SW and are also still not aware of this, hence the reason for this thread.
http://www.ktvq.com/news/united-airlines-suing-22-year-old-for-cheap-airfare-site/
If you fly a lot you need to use this before it's gone.
Www.skiplagged.com
Let's say ur going to Nebraska. The way the math works out you book a one way to say Oregon with a layover in Chicago. And buy a one way from Chicago to Nebraska, you just never get on the second lag of the first trip. It sounds complicated but the website does the work for you. The only catch (and for me with work it doesn't matter) you can't check any bags.
If you fly a lot you need to use this before it's gone.
Www.skiplagged.com
Let's say ur going to Nebraska. The way the math works out you book a one way to say Oregon with a layover in Chicago. And buy a one way from Chicago to Nebraska, you just never get on the second lag of the first trip. It sounds complicated but the website does the work for you. The only catch (and for me with work it doesn't matter) you can't check any bags.
In different times you would invoke the flat tire rule (google it)
But these days when profit is the only thing on their minds .....its a rebooking as you are going to change the departure time of your flight
http://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...missed-flight-traffic-flat-tire-rule/7170459/
it depends on the circumstances and airline
ps. to be precise, its a rebooking because you booked a round trip ticket , even if it doesnt make sense to us, you cant transform it conceptually into two one ways, thats why I mean its a rebooking, you are essentially changing what you had and use that $ into some other ticket, thats why its a rebooking
I haven't done it before or known anyone who has, but apparently "fuel dumping" can save hundreds of dollars on international flights. Pretty much you book a BS leg with intentions of never getting on the plane in order to avoid the fuel surcharge and other taxes. Here's a good introduction to it if you're curious:
http://travelcodex.com/2012/01/introduction-to-fuel-dumping/
