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

[FreeTime]

Flights DO get overbooked to cover for anticipated no shows, etc. This is one of the reasons you hear offers at the gate to take another flight for $X.

In this particular case I would guess that they combined flights and there is an overage on the estimated no shows, deadheads, etc as a result.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Flights DO get overbooked to cover for anticipated no shows, etc. This is one of the reasons you hear offers at the gate to take another flight for $X.

In this particular case I would guess that they combined flights and there is an overage on the estimated no shows, deadheads, etc as a result.

No,SWA announced years back (2017) they stopped that practice. There's a difference in intentionally doing this during the booking because you anticipate some no-shows as a practice which is what other airlines would do.

For SWA If they have an aircraft change which reduces the number of seats, if they have too much weight anticipated for that flight and they need to reduce it they will do the vouchers (these are reasons listed on their website). You also have situations like a cancelation day of which causes standby on other flights thus too many people and not enough seats.

 

[FreeTime]

No,SWA announced years back (2017) they stopped that practice. There's a difference in intentionally doing this during the booking because you anticipate some no-shows as a practice which is what other airlines would do.

For SWA If they have an aircraft change which reduces the number of seats, if they have too much weight anticipated for that flight and they need to reduce it they will do the vouchers (these are reasons listed on their website). You also have situations like a cancelation day of which causes standby on other flights thus too many people and not enough seats.

I understand they have reversed this in recent years. From their site, aircraft changes and overselling can occur.

“Operational situations (such as weight restrictions and aircraft type changes) may result in a flight being over capacity.

In the event of an oversale, we will solicit for volunteers who are willing to travel on another flight in exchange for a Southwest LUV Voucher®. You can use Southwest LUV Vouchers for travel purchased through Southwest®, excluding Group Travel Services and Southwest Vacations®. Southwest LUV Vouchers are transferable. Travel booked with a Southwest LUV Voucher must be completed no later than 12 months after the date the voucher was issued.”

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I understand they have reversed this in recent years. From their site, aircraft changes and overselling can occur.

“Operational situations (such as weight restrictions and aircraft type changes) may result in a flight being over capacity.

In the event of an oversale, we will solicit for volunteers who are willing to travel on another flight in exchange for a Southwest LUV Voucher®. You can use Southwest LUV Vouchers for travel purchased through Southwest®, excluding Group Travel Services and Southwest Vacations®. Southwest LUV Vouchers are transferable. Travel booked with a Southwest LUV Voucher must be completed no later than 12 months after the date the voucher was issued.”

No they didn't reverse the change. You're talking about two different airline industry practices. They don't use anticipation of X number of no-shows like you said. Other airlines do. There are times where they have too many passengers for the seats they have, it's not for the reason you initially stated. And yes in your above comment you're just repeating what I said twice already....weight and aircraft change (neither of which is overselling which is what you just mentioned).

 

[disny_luvr]

Yes it seems to be. I was able to get First Class on Delta for cheaper than SW on my return flight from MCO

Yeah, I've been seeing cheaper flights on other airlines. We might have to jump ship and move onto another carrier, which is a shame because we really do love Southwest.

 

[EACarlson]

I have a LUV voucher that states all travel must be completed by 6-21-26. If I use it to book a choice reservation on 6-1-26 and cancel the next day, will Southwest give me credit that will be good for 12 months until 6-1-27. Or will the original LUV voucher date of 6-21-26 be held. Their website is very vague about LUV vouchers.

That's the way it worked previously. I don't know if it is still currently working that way. I received LUV Vouchers from two Mechanical delays in August of '24 with a 6 month expiration. I was able to book flights in February to use the LUV Vouchers and then cancelled them to get non-expiring Travel Funds. I used those Travel Funds in May to book flights for the end of September '25. I haven't seen any reports of anyone doing that since the new practices went into place.

1- There will be no such thing as Group C once assigned seating starts. There will be 8 boarding group numbers
2- It is not uncommon for airlines to force folks to check their bags once overhead bin space is used up. Right now, none of the legacies charge for that at the gate. If you are allotted a carryon per your ticket agreement and then they run out of room for it in the carryon space, I don't think they could charge you when they force it to be gate checked. Your ticket represents a legal contract that they need to fulfill and suddenly charging for a bag they said was included does not fulfill the requirement.

I am sure that some number of folks will be required to gate check bags without charge because they have run out of room. And it's possible that Southwest will go the way of Spirit and start charging for a carryon. But, they can't change the rules on you after you've bought your ticket and arrived at the airport.

United charges $65 for anyone bringing a carryon in Group 9. Those are basic economy tickets that don't have a carryon baggage entitlement.

Nope. That won't work to extend your voucher. It expires on 6/21/2026 even if you book a trip with it and then cancel that trip.

Not to extend the voucher, but in the before times, it would work as the travel funds created would be based on the purchase date of the ticket.

I've never seen them use a sizer? Are you sure you're talking about Southwest?

I saw SW use a sizer at MCO two weeks ago, then allow the obviously oversized bag onto the flight. It was a 24" checked size bag that took up an entire bin by itself.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I saw SW use a sizer at MCO two weeks ago, then allow the obviously oversized bag onto the flight. It was a 24" checked size bag that took up an entire bin by itself.

How annoying! Most especially because it was so large no other bags could fit in an overhead bin.

On our flight from Atlanta to KC last month there were two bags that were too big and were overhanging the overhead bin and the FAs just put them in sideways to get the overhead bin to close. It was very late into the boarding process and because there was enough room for everyone's carry on I'm assuming that's why they didn't immediately call out gate check. I've been on flights where they were very prompt about saying a bag isn't going to fit and needs to be gate checked but those were usually after witnessing the passenger struggle to get the bag in there or it be the last bag in the overhead bin and now the FA is struggling to get it to close and there's no wiggle room to put it in a different orientation.

 

[EACarlson]

How annoying! Most especially because it was so large no other bags could fit in an overhead bin.

On our flight from Atlanta to KC last month there were two bags that were too big and were overhanging the overhead bin and the FAs just put them in sideways to get the overhead bin to close. It was very late into the boarding process and because there was enough room for everyone's carry on I'm assuming that's why they didn't immediately call out gate check. I've been on flights where they were very prompt about saying a bag isn't going to fit and needs to be gate checked but those were usually after witnessing the passenger struggle to get the bag in there or it be the last bag in the overhead bin and now the FA is struggling to get it to close and there's no wiggle room to put it in a different orientation.

The passenger put the bag in like one normally would go, the FA then tried to close the bin, couldn't, said the bag was too big and moved it to a completely empty bin, put it in sideways and closed the bin. I had I think A54 for that flight so I'm sure someone's bag got force checked because the gate agent let a checked size bag go on board and it took up three spaces.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

United charges $65 for anyone bringing a carryon in Group 9. Those are basic economy tickets that don't have a carryon baggage entitlement.

Right, but that's still info you have at time of booking, just like knowing that Spirit charges for carryons. There was a time when AA was going to say basic economy could only have a personal item, no carryon, but they backed off, if I'm remembering correctly. Southwest absolutely could add this charge to their basic tickets if they wanted to go that route, but they would have to do it at time of ticketing.

It's not a policy for any airline to start charging at the gate when overhead bin space is filled up on a ticket that otherwise indicates a carryon is included.

 

[Smilelea]

We received the “Flexible plans? We're seeking volunteers willing to change from Southwest flight xxx” email this morning for a 10/22 flight.

ETA:It’s still showing as a 737 Max 8 so doesn’t appear to be a plane change.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Wonder what is up with these offers to take a different flight? Like are they testing people's willingness to do so? Or is something else going on?

Not sure what date @The Mayor 's flight is but the other poster mentioned 10/18. Are people seeing an aircraft change by any chance like going from a flight that has 175 seats down to one that has 143 seats? What are the routes for these e-mail offers?

Also it might be helpful to know when the tickets were purchased.

So I fly 10/18 and I reported getting this email and I can still book at least 9 seats on this flight if I want to pay a crazy amount. My flight home is 10/20 and it is full with no ability to book any seats and I did not get an email for this flight. My daughter who also booked separately got the same email. It is crazy they are only offering $20 and it does say you give up the same things the other commenter mentioned. I thought it was a bizarre email and am still wondering what the deal with it is

 

[The Mayor]

Just flew Boston to Nashville. Flight left on time and got in 20 minutes early. No new plane or seats for us. On a 737-800.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There's a CBS video that covers the new design. I just did a quick search and here's one from a Texas affliate. In it you'll see the new tray table like the photos I posted a bit back. I'm very intrigued on the statements "I just love how comfortable the seats are" as I really hope that's the case and not like the seats we had on the PLAY airlines flight.

https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video...ew-cabin-design-and-assigned-seating-rollout/

 

[EACarlson]

There's a CBS video that covers the new design. I just did a quick search and here's one from a Texas affliate. In it you'll see the new tray table like the photos I posted a bit back. I'm very intrigued on the statements "I just love how comfortable the seats are" as I really hope that's the case and not like the seats we had on the PLAY airlines flight.

https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video...ew-cabin-design-and-assigned-seating-rollout/

I think they will be, for the first year or two. Then they are going to get compressed and be worse than what's out there now.
I had the opportunity to sit in them for a few minutes in July. They were fine, a little on the stiff side, but not horrible. They are thin and I think that padding is going to break down quickly.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think they will be, for the first year or two. Then they are going to get compressed and be worse than what's out there now.
I had the opportunity to sit in them for a few minutes in July. They were fine, a little on the stiff side, but not horrible. They are thin and I think that padding is going to break down quickly.

That was my concern. I jump for joy when we get an old old 737-700 plane with the nice cushy seats ahhh those were the days..

 

[clh2]

Just returned home from a Disney trip (parks and cruise!) and flew round trip on SW. Paid for 7 round trip airfares, and ultimately did not get near the number of points we were expecting. (We ultimately upgraded the tickets up to the business select, which should have a 14x multiplier. But the amount of points we got were significantly less than that.

Has anyone requested a breakdown from southwest of the points received? Not too complicate things, we “changed” our flights multiple times to take advantage of flight cost decreases, plus our original fare was a “wanna get away plus fare”, and we changed to the “business select”, and now they’ve changed what they call the tiers.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just returned home from a Disney trip (parks and cruise!) and flew round trip on SW. Paid for 7 round trip airfares, and ultimately did not get near the number of points we were expecting. (We ultimately upgraded the tickets up to the business select, which should have a 14x multiplier. But the amount of points we got were significantly less than that.

Has anyone requested a breakdown from southwest of the points received? Not too complicate things, we “changed” our flights multiple times to take advantage of flight cost decreases, plus our original fare was a “wanna get away plus fare”, and we changed to the “business select”, and now they’ve changed what they call the tiers.

This is just my personal opinion but it actually does sounded fairly complicated.

First is you booked on an old fare class of WGA+ presumable before the May 2025 date. Then you said you changed multiple in order to get money back then you upgraded the fare class you were on.

Prior to this back in March SWA reduced the amount of points earned on WGA from 6pts to 2pts, WGA+ went from 8 to 6.

You're correct that Business Select when from 12pts to 14 pts then fare classes changed to Choice Extra.

Did you upgraded your tickets to Choice Extra (what was Business Select) OR did you do on the day of your flight purchase Upgraded Boarding (which nets you a boarding position in A1-A15)?

Either way I would agree a reach out to SWA might be in order for the simple fact that you were making changes with an assumption under an older policy at the same time as SWA was making changes on their end to their entire product.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Okay this, if true, is very concerning to me. It's said to be the reason why some people here have reported getting offers to switch their flights. SWA would be starting to use Volantio's revenue platform. And you better believe this is Elliott's work.

"Southwest will begin pitching passengers to switch off heavily-booked flights within a week of departure so that they can re-sell those seats at higher fares. The expectation is that this project may raise revenue by 20 basis points."

"Volantio’s platform assists airlines in identifying high-demand flights within a week of departure. It then helps airlines craft and deliver offers to passengers, working to balance demand. Passengers are offered flexibility to change their trip, and sometimes a reward (often a travel voucher, similar to a bump at the airport) to make that change. The airline is then able to sell that in-demand seat, typically at a higher fare."

SOOOOOO to those who were getting an e-mail about moving to another flight this seems very likely what is happening. It's not a no show situation, it's not even what information they had on their website because this isn't about overbooking, this isn't about operational constraints, this is purely an attempt to gain more money out of passengers and the goal isn't even to reduce the number of passengers on a flight but to take your seat and resell it to someone else for a higher fare.

The tagline is being considered a "win-win" but the post I read was like clearly it's not a win-win to the passenger as the terms require the passenger to forfeit monies and benefits paid towards EBCI and other things.

 

[Dznypal]

Im trying to take notes from the SW website but have a question I couldnt find an answer to
so I wrote down all 4 of the fare options
Im looking into to the choice one
and says theres a standard seat included which Im pretty sure are the ones in the back of the plane
however would I have the option then to buy preferred seats or extra legroom
actually though would it even be worth it to upgrade just to be closer to the front if the seat size and legroom are same standard seat
I usually like to pick my seats
also can you see the price at that time
anyone already booked flight for the end of Jan
what were your deisicions based on
thanks

 

[Simba's Mom]

I booked a flight for a week after the assigned seating takes effect, I think that's February 4th. I ended up taking the most expensive one, I think it's called Choice Preferred. With that, you get 1 free checked suitcase, which makes it the same price as choice, which means I sit near the front and don't pay extra for it. I'm wheelchair-bound and have a connecting flight, so sitting near the front was my #1 priority. I've had occasion where there are no wheelchairs available for me when we land, meaning I wait and wait for a wheelchair to get there. Meanwhile, the time til my next flight gets shorter and shorter. I also get a free alcoholic drink sitting up front, which doesn't matter to me-Dr. Pepper is exciting enough after a week at WDW, but it may be a treat for others. By the way, we're also flying Choice Preferred in May-sitting up front is a high priority, and again, turns out that with free checked in luggage, it's equivalently priced to Choice. And for us, it's still less expensive than United or Delta, the only two other airlines available to us, at least at our airport.