Frustration with extra seat on Southwest

[Iggipolka]

After listening to the Podcasters talk about how easy it is to get an extra seat on Southwest, I decided to take advantage of this and get an extra seat for trip to WDW Oct 10-17th.

Everything went fine when booking, I put the extra seat in my wife's first name and last name +XS. When we got to the airport, the person checking us in had no clue what to do with the second seat. She called someone on the phone and 30 minutes(!!!) later, handed us our three boarding passes. She didn't talk to us at all during the 30 minutes we waited, didn't even acknowledge that we were still standing there. When she finally did speak to us, she said that our extra seat didn't show up in the system, which was what the delay was about. She said that she fixed it so we shouldn't have a problem when flying home.

Well, when we checked in at the Orlando airport to fly home, we had the exact same problem! Once again, our extra seat was not showing up on their system! ARUGH! Again, it was another 30 minutes + 3 agents trying to figure out what was going on, before they finally gave us our boarding passes.

Thankfully, we had plenty of time at the airport and we are Clear members, so we can scoot through security quickly. Otherwise, we would have missed our flights.

I hope that this is an isolated incident, but it was very frustrating.

 

[miss missy]

I'm sure Kevin or John will pipe up on this. But did you check if the flights were sold out or not so you can get your refund if it wasn't?

 

[DisneyKevin]

I have had difficulty when I've booked on line.

Now, I usually book on line and then call the toll free number and explain what I'm doing to the agent.

I have never experienced this problem, but on the last flight from Las Vegas, Pete had an issue as thye werent sure that he had paid for the extra seat.

It was worked out within minutes....but we had also booked the tickets that very morning, so I hadnt had time to call before heading to the airport.

 

[DisneyWorld Delight]

Kevin,

Have you ever ran into a situation where a flight was oversold and they tried to pressure you into giving up your extra seat?

 

[DisneyKevin]

I've never had that happen.

I paid for that seat. If they want me to give it up......they will need to reimburse me.

 

[Iggipolka]

I had booked the flights over the phone, so I was surprised that there was a problem. Thankfully, it did get fixed, but we had some nervous moments there.

I haven't called SW yet to check and see about reimbursement. I know that one of the flights had open seats, the others were quite full.

Our flight from Houston to MCO was completely booked and one man could not find a seat. He stopped by our extra seat and kept asking who the seat was reserved for and why were we reserving a seat on a full plane anyway! The flight attendant did nothing to intervene and after explaining to him that we bought an extra seat he stormed off saying we were "inconsiderate to other passengers". We were a bit stunned as to how our paying for an extra seat would be inconsiderate. Anyway, it turned out that someone had a child that was supposed to be sitting on her lap, but she has placed on the seat next to her, so that was why the guy didn't have a seat. It wasn't our fault at all.

 

[DisneyWorld Delight]

Was that awkard?

 

[Iggipolka]

Was that awkard?

Very!! I just kept reminding myself that we paid for the seat, just like everyone else on the plane.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Wow...you'd think they'd give you a "Seat Reserved" card or something to put in the seat so people wouldn't try to take it. You shouldn't have to explain over and over again that you paid for the seat.

 

[Iggipolka]

Wow...you'd think they'd give you a "Seat Reserved" card or something to put in the seat so people wouldn't try to take it. You shouldn't have to explain over and over again that you paid for the seat.

They did give us a Seat Reserved card that we put on the seat. The vast majority of people respected it and didn't ask us any questions. It was just that one guy who demanded to know who the seat was reserved for.

Also, one other weird, but funny thing. One of our flights was completely full. The flight attendant made an announcement as people were boarding that the flight was not totally full as she knew that there was one seat open. She was joking and everyone laughed, but my wife felt that she was making a joke at our expense.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Iggipolka,

Have you contacted Southwest's Cutomer Service department?

If not, I would suggest that you try that. It seems that there are several things that you found unacceptable and not just the 30 minute delay.

I have done this on numerous occasions...in fact...every time we fly, and have never had anything other than the best possible scenario.

If this were not the case, I never would have suggested that other people try it.

I would let them know of your displeasure and see what they suggest. I would also check to see if all flights were full and if they were not, request the refund for the extra seat. They will not automatically do this. You must request it.

Good luck. I'm sorry that you had this experience and I hope it gets rectified.

Kevin

 

[jamieT]

They did give us a Seat Reserved card that we put on the seat. The vast majority of people respected it and didn't ask us any questions. It was just that one guy who demanded to know who the seat was reserved for.

Also, one other weird, but funny thing. One of our flights was completely full. The flight attendant made an announcement as people were boarding that the flight was not totally full as she knew that there was one seat open. She was joking and everyone laughed, but my wife felt that she was making a joke at our expense.

That is very disrespectful, that is very unprofessional.

 

[drakethib]

I had booked the flights over the phone, so I was surprised that there was a problem. Thankfully, it did get fixed, but we had some nervous moments there.

I haven't called SW yet to check and see about reimbursement. I know that one of the flights had open seats, the others were quite full.

Our flight from Houston to MCO was completely booked and one man could not find a seat. He stopped by our extra seat and kept asking who the seat was reserved for and why were we reserving a seat on a full plane anyway! The flight attendant did nothing to intervene and after explaining to him that we bought an extra seat he stormed off saying we were "inconsiderate to other passengers". We were a bit stunned as to how our paying for an extra seat would be inconsiderate. Anyway, it turned out that someone had a child that was supposed to be sitting on her lap, but she has placed on the seat next to her, so that was why the guy didn't have a seat. It wasn't our fault at all.

I would have told him a few choice words and then buzzed the flight attendent to let them know this jerk was harassing you.

 

[Vijoge]

I always book and extra seat and I always do it online. I book one seat as "Jane Doe" and the second seat as J. Doe". I have never had a problem or run into anyone at SW who didn't understand what that meant.

They do give me a reserved sign for my extra seat and I have yet to have anyone try to sit there.

As far as there being "one seat open", my extra seat is not extra for anyone but me. I paid for it and it's mine and I have the boarding pass to prove it.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

We are flying from Nashville to San Diego and although I have never done this before, I am getting an extra seat. I want to be totally comfortable and not squeezed in next to someone. I hope I don't have problems.

 

[trivial]

The jerk aside, it sounds like Southwest needs to hear from you.

 

[Iggipolka]

Thanks everyone, I hadn't thought about calling SW customer service about these issues. I'll do that tomorrow.

To be fair, besides the whole check-in disaster, we had two incidents on 4 flights. One of them was passenger related and one of them was possibly a joke gone wrong by a flight attendant. We did really like having the extra seat and for my wife, it made flying much more comfortable. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, even with the hassles that we had. I'll just make sure to get to the airport plenty early!

 

[dpuck1998]

I don' t want to make assumptions here, so I'll ask this question carefully. Has anyone (perhaps the OP) done this that might not be "pooh sized" ?? I think it sounds like a great idea and if I was traveling with just 2 people it would be awesome having an extra seat. I know anytime I can spend some miles to get First Class I do it.

 

[SamSam]

I don' t want to make assumptions here, so I'll ask this question carefully. Has anyone (perhaps the OP) done this that might not be "pooh sized" ?? I think it sounds like a great idea and if I was traveling with just 2 people it would be awesome having an extra seat. I know anytime I can spend some miles to get First Class I do it.

I wouldn't think your size would matter. If you pay for an extra seat, it's no different than someone else paying for a seat.

 

[MM32830]

Thanks everyone, I hadn't thought about calling SW customer service about these issues. I'll do that tomorrow.

To be fair, besides the whole check-in disaster, we had two incidents on 4 flights. One of them was passenger related and one of them was possibly a joke gone wrong by a flight attendant. We did really like having the extra seat and for my wife, it made flying much more comfortable. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, even with the hassles that we had. I'll just make sure to get to the airport plenty early!

Unless things have changed at Southwest, you will be requested to write in with your complaint to Southwest customer service. I had a situation a couple of years ago when they canceled my flight because of a tropical storm in south Florida. All the other airlines were operating normally at MCO but Southwest shut down at 8 AM.

I called the 800 number published on theiir site and I was told to write a letter to customer service. I couldn't even email customer service. I even tried calling the Rapid Rewards department with hopes that my account with over 200 credits that year would get me somewhere. Nada.

However, in Southwest's defense, they did great to make me a happy customer. I received a card from them a few days after I sent the letter telling me that a reply to my letter would be coming soon but since all complaints are dealt with individually, it may take 2-3 weeks to receive a response.

The letter I received from Southwest definitely was a personalized letter that addressed my situation and in the letter was a $200 credit (LUV) voucher as well as a credit for the flight I didn't take.

All in all, a good resolution.




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Armand