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

[Gitelfor]

According to this article, several factors came into play, causing the cancellations.
USA Today update on Southwest cancellations

 

[Crazyhorse]

According to this article, several factors came into play, causing the cancellations.
USA Today update on Southwest cancellations

Great article! It's actually the truth...v.s. the stupid meme that's been going around that "my father is a SW pilot and he sez it's the covid mandate"...etc...etc. SW certainly has egg on its face. All this chaos may end up helping in the long run, as SW is gonna have to perform an "autopsy" to see what the heck happened. They do admit to a leaner work force and there was weather in the area Friday but it all certainly imploded over the weekend and continuing into this week.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Just checked our rebooked flight and I was able to get 3550 points back (southbound MHT-MCO) so double check those flights!

 

[kristenrice]

I am feeling a bit more confident in my flight next week, but this so nerve wracking. Instead of looking forward to my Disney trip, I am absolutely wrecked with anxiety right now. I know that “my” flight (the same itinerary I’m scheduled on) has gone off as scheduled and on time for the last two days, but until it’s ACTUALLY my flight, I won’t feel the excitement that I want to feel.

 

[disneyfan150]

I am feeling a bit more confident in my flight next week, but this so nerve wracking. Instead of looking forward to my Disney trip, I am absolutely wrecked with anxiety right now. I know that “my” flight (the same itinerary I’m scheduled on) has gone off as scheduled and on time for the last two days, but until it’s ACTUALLY my flight, I won’t feel the excitement that I want to feel.

Good idea! I checked my flight, too. So far, so good!

 

[Avery&Todd]

after reading all the articles today, I am a little more settled about our trip next month but one thing I read was that over the next 2 weeks SW would be looking at all of their flights for the rest of the year and possibly cut flights...which may affect the holiday travel.

That doesn't sound good for some with Thanksgiving/Christmas flights...

so I'll just sit on pins and needles for the next 2 weeks worrying about SW cancelling my flights on Nov 10th!!

 

[focusondisney]

one thing I read was that over the next 2 weeks SW would be looking at all of their flights for the rest of the year and possibly cut flights...

Well that doesn’t sound like a good idea. Hopefully they’ve learned something this week about cutting things too close to the bone.

 

[Avery&Todd]

Well that doesn’t sound like a good idea. Hopefully they’ve learned something this week about cutting things too close to the bone.

Well, I think that what they learned from this past weekend is that in their tight schedule there is no wiggle room. There are no extra flights to put bumped folks on so if they cancel some flights now, then if there are issues later because of weather or being short staffed then they might have room to recover.

Or at least that's how I read the article.

 

[pfeifer1990]

I hope I have all the lingo right and I apologize for my ignorance in advance. Trying to understand what we can do with vouchers from our May 2020 canceled trip. My understanding is these vouchers expire in September 2022. We have a trip scheduled for May 2022 but we may need to reschedule for January 2023. Is there anything we can do to not lose the money from these vouchers? I want to be better informed before we call SW to ask questions.

 

[Gitelfor]

I hope I have all the lingo right and I apologize for my ignorance in advance. Trying to understand what we can do with vouchers from our May 2020 canceled trip. My understanding is these vouchers expire in September 2022. We have a trip scheduled for May 2022 but we may need to reschedule for January 2023. Is there anything we can do to not lose the money from these vouchers? I want to be better informed before we call SW to ask questions.

Are you referring to LUV Vouchers or travel funds? If you are unsure, you need to check:

https://www.southwest.com/travel-funds/ and https://www.southwest.com/faq/travel-funds.

When you reference expiration of September (7), 2022, it sounds like travel funds. Travel funds only may be used by the ticketed customer, with travel completed by the expiration date. There have been instances, however, of the expiration date being extended for six months, by paying a $100 fee, within 6 months after the expiration date; that is done as a special consideration, on a case by case basis, and the extension is for six months.

LUV vouchers may be used for travel by anyone.

The other possibility is that you have Rapid Rewards points in your account. The points do not expire, as long as you do not close your account. Those points may be used to purchase travel for anyone.

 

[mickey916]

I hope I have all the lingo right and I apologize for my ignorance in advance. Trying to understand what we can do with vouchers from our May 2020 canceled trip. My understanding is these vouchers expire in September 2022. We have a trip scheduled for May 2022 but we may need to reschedule for January 2023. Is there anything we can do to not lose the money from these vouchers? I want to be better informed before we call SW to ask questions.

I could be wrong but my understanding is that once you use those travel funds to book a new flight the expiration date becomes one year from the date you booked the flight. So, in theory, you could book your May 2022 flight some time in late January/early February 2022 and then if you cancel, your funds would then expire in January/February 2023. That would be the scenario I would propose when/if you call southwest to confirm.

 

[Erica Ladd]

I could be wrong but my understanding is that once you use those travel funds to book a new flight the expiration date becomes one year from the date you booked the flight. So, in theory, you could book your May 2022 flight some time in late January/early February 2022 and then if you cancel, your funds would then expire in January/February 2023. That would be the scenario I would propose when/if you call southwest to confirm.

Nope. TF retain the date from the original reservation or in the case of the blanket extension of 9/7/22 it would be that

 

[Avery&Todd]

this is a good article on the SW issues from this past weekend..

https://www.fool.com/investing/2021...hoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article

 

[Chernabob]

after reading all the articles today, I am a little more settled about our trip next month but one thing I read was that over the next 2 weeks SW would be looking at all of their flights for the rest of the year and possibly cut flights...which may affect the holiday travel.

That doesn't sound good for some with Thanksgiving/Christmas flights...

This piece I saw from yesterday included this line regarding holiday travel: "Southwest in August said it would run fewer flights through the end of the year, apart from holiday windows, in a bid to match flights to demand and to its ability to operate and staff flights."

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s...adache-for-airlines-11633976265?siteid=yhoof2

 

[Avery&Todd]

This piece I saw from yesterday included this line regarding holiday travel: "Southwest in August said it would run fewer flights through the end of the year, apart from holiday windows, in a bid to match flights to demand and to its ability to operate and staff flights."

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s...adache-for-airlines-11633976265?siteid=yhoof2

Yeah - I believe it! I've snap shotted the flights that were originally offered for my flight days, and on the outbound flight, they've already dropped 2 flights that morning and there are not the usual # of flights for our return flight - with most of them being later in the day.....

 

[mickey916]

Nope. TF retain the date from the original reservation or in the case of the blanket extension of 9/7/22 it would be that

Interesting because I did actually call and ask the question and was told what I reported. The customer service person I spoke with must have been mistaken.

 

[davper]

I am feeling a bit more confident in my flight next week, but this so nerve wracking. Instead of looking forward to my Disney trip, I am absolutely wrecked with anxiety right now. I know that “my” flight (the same itinerary I’m scheduled on) has gone off as scheduled and on time for the last two days, but until it’s ACTUALLY my flight, I won’t feel the excitement that I want to feel.

I am right there with you. I learned 2 days before my departure in September that my 3 hour direct flight was canceled and I was rebooked on a 9 hour multi-stop excursion. So I am more worried now that the same thing will happen or worse.

 

[focusondisney]

Interesting because I did actually call and ask the question and was told what I reported. The customer service person I spoke with must have been mistaken.

I think the confusion is that travel using the funds must be completed by the expiration date not booked. So any travel using these funds would need to be completed by Sept 22. Booking & cancelling a flight can’t extend the expiration of the funds beyond then.

But I think what you were told is correct also. Example: If the OP had booked a flight in January this year for March, then cancelled, the expiration date would change to January 2022. One year from the new purchase. So in that case, there would have been a loss of time to use the funds. If there was then another flight booked with those funds, the travel would need to be completed by the new expiration date, January 22, not just booked by then.

In a normal situation, say I book a flight in January 2021 & then cancel. I get travel funds that expire in January 2022. If I wait until December & try to book a flight for April 22, those funds will be expired & not able to be used for April. I need to travel by the January 22 date, not book by then.

SW hasn’t said that these funds work any differently than usual. So I wouldn’t expect any extension of expiration date past September 22. As a PP said, you may be able to extend the funds with the $100 fee after they expire. But in the OPs case, they may be cutting that close anyway.

 

[davper]

https://www.southwest.com/faq/travel-fundsWhen will my travel funds expire?

Think of a travel fund like a store credit that expires. The expiration date depends on the payment you used to book the original ticket. Note that all travel must be booked and completed by the travel fund’s expiration date.

• Booked with a credit card or gift card:
  The travel fund will expire 12 months from the date you booked the ticket.
• Booked with a Southwest LUV Voucher:
  The travel fund will adopt the expiration date of the voucher used to book the ticket.
• Booked with travel funds:
  The travel fund will keep the expiration date of the original travel fund used to book the ticket. For example, on March 1, you use a travel fund that expires May 20 to book a ticket. Later, you cancel that ticket. The expiration date for these funds is still May 20.

If you book with a combination of these payments, the travel fund adopts the expiration date of the fund that expires soonest.

 

[mickey916]

I think the confusion is that travel using the funds must be completed by the expiration date not booked. So any travel using these funds would need to be completed by Sept 22. Booking & cancelling a flight can’t extend the expiration of the funds beyond then.

But I think what you were told is correct also. Example: If the OP had booked a flight in January this year for March, then cancelled, the expiration date would change to January 2022. One year from the new purchase. So in that case, there would have been a loss of time to use the funds. If there was then another flight booked with those funds, the travel would need to be completed by the new expiration date, January 22, not just booked by then.

In a normal situation, say I book a flight in January 2021 & then cancel. I get travel funds that expire in January 2022. If I wait until December & try to book a flight for April 22, those funds will be expired & not able to be used for April. I need to travel by the January 22 date, not book by then.

SW hasn’t said that these funds work any differently than usual. So I wouldn’t expect any extension of expiration date past September 22. As a PP said, you may be able to extend the funds with the $100 fee after they expire. But in the OPs case, they may be cutting that close anyway.

Actually that makes sense because when I called I was asking about using my flight credits last November to book my potential May 2021 trip and was told that although my credit expires in Sept of 2022, if I booked a flight with them in November of 2020 for May of 2021, those credits would then expire one year from November (so I would have shortened my expiration date to Nov. 2021). I guess I thought it went both ways.