Sold out flights on SW ?

[ocalla]

we fly out this Friday 5/25 and return on 6/2.....looked on the website today and flights going and returning are sold out ALL DAY.

How often does SW oversell flights??

What happens if they are overbooked, andthere is NO other flight available the rest of the day???

 

[DebbieB]

we fly out this Friday 5/25 and return on 6/2.....looked on the website today and flights going and returning are sold out ALL DAY.

How often does SW oversell flights??

What happens if they are overbooked, andthere is NO other flight available the rest of the day???

You could possibly be bumped if you are one of the last to check-in. As long as you check-in at the 24 hour mark you should not have to worry.

 

[goofy4tink]

Not an issue as long as you checkin at the 24 hr mark, and are at the gate ready to board. I have seen many flights with SW that are full...and they had people that weren't able to get on the plane. And I did overhear one man yelling at the gate agent saying he had no idea that he had to checkin in prior to arrival at the airport!!! He basically waited until he got there and checked in at the counter!! He did not get on the flight. There were several people that had checked in, albeit late, that got on. But they had at least checked in online..prior to arrival. The gate agents wait until they see who has checked in, and then they start calling for those that were either late or standby.

 

[ocalla]

Oh great!! I am using the Early Bird check-in just to make sure.

thank you so much....I was really getting nervous.

 

[seashoreCM]

There have been times when Southwest flights were cancelled and the rest of the flights were sold out and affected passengers had to wait "for days" to get a flight.

Now the airline does have to give a money refund (as opposed to a voucher) to any affected passenger who asks. This is based on the proportion of the itinerary not yet flown relative to the total fare paid.

 

[Jestocost]

There have been times when Southwest flights were cancelled and the rest of the flights were sold out and affected passengers had to wait "for days" to get a flight.

FWIW, most airlines have had situations where they have cancelled flights and been unable to get passengers onto another flight "for days."

 

[WeCantWait]

The last time we flew Southwest they were looking for volunteers to give up their seats. Myself and my DS12 at the time gave up our seats. They put us up for the night at the Hyatt in Orlando Airport and gave us the price of our tickets plus $300 each in vouchers. We were able to use those vouchers for our trip this year and spent a total of $33 for roundtrip tickets for our family of 4. I'm hoping for the same luck this trip.

 

[ocalla]

The last time we flew Southwest they were looking for volunteers to give up their seats. Myself and my DS12 at the time gave up our seats. They put us up for the night at the Hyatt in Orlando Airport and gave us the price of our tickets plus $300 each in vouchers. We were able to use those vouchers for our trip this year and spent a total of $33 for roundtrip tickets for our family of 4. I'm hoping for the same luck this trip.

How did Disney handle your room reservations? Did they cancel since you didn't check in? Were you reimbursed since you couldn't check in that first night?

 

[kamik86]

How did Disney handle your room reservations? Did they cancel since you didn't check in? Were you reimbursed since you couldn't check in that first night?

Since the PP said they put them in the Hyatt in the Orlando airport for the night I'm guessing the flight they volunteered to miss was one leaving Orlando to go home.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

FWIW, most airlines have had situations where they have cancelled flights and been unable to get passengers onto another flight "for days."

True, but SWA has no sharing agreements, so they can only leverage their own fleet, while legacy carriers can rebook on other airlines, which can help diminish the delays, although never fully eliminate them.

 

[goofy4tink]

There have been times when Southwest flights were cancelled and the rest of the flights were sold out and affected passengers had to wait "for days" to get a flight.

Now the airline does have to give a money refund (as opposed to a voucher) to any affected passenger who asks. This is based on the proportion of the itinerary not yet flown relative to the total fare paid.

Well, sure it does happen. But not very often. That wouldn't be anything I was concerned about.

 

[DebbieB]

I think the only time you would have to wait "for days" is if there is a weather situation and several flights are actually cancelled.

 

[WeCantWait]

How did Disney handle your room reservations? Did they cancel since you didn't check in? Were you reimbursed since you couldn't check in that first night?

This was our return flight so we didn't have to worry about our room reservations. I would not have volunteered if I would have lost a day of our vacation.

That same trip on our Long Island to Orlando portion of the trip our 11AM flight was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene. Southwest suggested that we get to the airport at 5AM and try to go standby on one of the 2 earlier flights that hadn't been cancelled. We knew it was a longshot but decided to try rather than lose 3 days of our vacation. Myself and my 2 boys got on the 7AM flight and my husband wound up getting on the 9AM flight. It was a lucky trip.