southwest air questions panic

[huckster]

ok bought tickets on lne for 49.00 each way internet specail,
how likely is it that you can get bumped from flight? and lose your trip? says if you get bumped you must pay upgrade?
this happen to any one?
thanks

 

[alldiz]

i am pretty sure once u buy your tickets your good....
southwest fares change all the time...

they cant bump u because u paid too cheap a price....
BTW...awesome deal
kerri

 

[disney junky]

Print your boarding passes as soon as you can, at the 24 hour window, and be at the gate as you normally would. Price has nothing to do with you getting bumped.

 

[mickeysgal]

If they are overbooked and need to bump passengers, they will ask for volunteers first. It has no bearing on who paid what price for their tickets. Even if you were the last person to buy a ticket for that flight, doesn't mean you'll be asked to rebook. Often, when a flight may be overbooked there are already people that have asked to be placed on the a bump list, so they'll go to those volunteers first and you'll never "hear" about it. The airline will put the volunteer on a guaranteed seat on the next available flight, plus give them a reward of some kind, usually a voucher for a free round trip up to a certain dollar value. They will keep upping the ante until they get the number of volunteers that they need. If you decide to volunteer, you will not have to pay a dollar to rebook.

Now, that said, can they force you? I suppose...anything is possible, however not likely as they will go the volunteer route first and most likely will resolve the overbooking this way.

We came back from Disney once and our flight was overbooked. My DH and DD decided to take the bump and return on the first flight the next day. The airline put them up in the hotel in the airport, two round trip vouchers, and gave them meal vouchers for dinner. They loved it...it was an adventure to them.

 

[4nana]

I agree, have never been bumped for getting a good internet deal with SW. They will ask for volunteers, who if accept, usually get a voucher for future travel. To ease your concern and get best seats, you can print you boarding pass at midnight pre flight. Congrats on getting a great deal!!

 

[huckster]

thanks alot panic is calming!! lol
were flying thursday to tuesday suppose they wouldnt be that busy the 1st of feb and 6th of feb..
we got a great deal but need to drive to Detroit..an hour away..
thanks again

 

[Straitlover]

To ease your concern and get best seats, you can print you boarding pass at midnight pre flight.

Actually, they have changed it to where you can check in and print your passes 24 hrs ahead of your flight. No waiting until midnight now!

 

[Beth76]

I would get there early too. Even if you have your boarding pass you don't want to be waltzing up to the gate at the last minute.

 

[eclectics]

they cant bump u because u paid too cheap a price....
kerri

But they can bump you for overbooking, something Southwest does frequently. That's why I like jetBlue. You get a guaranteed seat. SW has better prices usually though, but you always run the risk of a bump.

 

[themarquis]

I used to fly SW all the time. They have incredible deals ... you got a good one.

I have seen people volunteer to get "bumped" but I have never seen or heard of anyone forced to be bumped. Usually (depending on where you are flying to/from) SW has many flights so if you were bumped, they'd put you on the next one. I flew standby a few times and usually it was just a matter of waiting an hour or two.

Even if in their fine print, they say they CAN charge you for rebooking after a bump, I sincerely doubt this will ever happen. They usually try to provide incentives/rewards for people who are bumped (like a free flight), not charge them! If this did happen, I'm sure if you made a stink, you could get out of paying anything. But like others have said, this is not gonna happen.

 

[antmaril]

I wouldn't waste time worrying about this at all.

You'll be fine. You certainly won't be bumped because you have an inexpensive fare.

 

[LadyyRedd]

I have seen people volunteer to get "bumped" but I have never seen or heard of anyone forced to be bumped. Usually (depending on where you are flying to/from) SW has many flights so if you were bumped, they'd put you on the next one. I flew standby a few times and usually it was just a matter of waiting an hour or two.

I've been involuntarily bumped on SW. There were 4 of us coming back from Orlando to BWI and the flight was way oversold. This was back in the day of not being able to check in until midnight online. For whatever reason, we were unable to check in before we got to the airport, so when we got there 2 hours before our flight, they printed 2 boarding passes and told us that 2 of us would have to wait for boarding passes at the gate. Since it wouldn't do any good for only 2 of us to go back early, the other 2 volunteered to be bumped. We were all nicely compensated, they got us on a later flight at no extra charge, and we survived!

Kimya

 

[4nana]

Actually, they have changed it to where you can check in and print your passes 24 hrs ahead of your flight. No waiting until midnight now!

Thx Lisa! That makes it easier yet!!

 

[salmoneous]

But they can bump you for overbooking, something Southwest does frequently.

The involuntary bump rate for SW is less than 1 in 1,000 - a bit less than for most legacy carriers which have bump rates between 1 and 2 in 1,000. Personally, I fly dozens of times a year on SW and have never seen an involuntary bump.

 

[Cool-Beans]

We got involuntarily bumped once. They gave us a hotel voucher for some average hotel, and finally agreed to put us in a decent one...that took a call to the travel agent, though. We also got vouchers for dinner and something else, I forget what. They also gave us $300 and offered to upgrade us to First Class. The "upgrade" was nothing, because we'd already bought First Class tickets. So, I don't know if that is standard or an empty gesture.

Usually, there are enough volunteers to get bumped that they don't have to bump anyone.

 

[kittysmom]

I booked through SW vacations and they sent me hard tickets. Now I can't use the ticketless travel online. Will this be a problem with getting bumped since I can't check-in until I get to the airport?

 

[ChristmasElf]

But they can bump you for overbooking, something Southwest does frequently. That's why I like jetBlue. You get a guaranteed seat. SW has better prices usually though, but you always run the risk of a bump.

If you check in and have your boarding passes and get to the gate in plenty of time, you WILL NOT get bumped.
It's the person that lolly gags their way through the airport and gets to the gate just a couple minutes before departure that is the one that will get bumped if the flight has been overbooked.
Don't worry! Just get there in plenty of time and you will be fine.

 

[eclectics]

The involuntary bump rate for SW is less than 1 in 1,000 - a bit less than for most legacy carriers which have bump rates between 1 and 2 in 1,000. Personally, I fly dozens of times a year on SW and have never seen an involuntary bump.

SW overbooks quite frequently but their bump rate isn't any worse than the legacys that practice overbooking. I should have worded my post a bit different to emphasize the overbooking, not the bumping. Most folks are lucky, but the bottom line is still, if you fly SW (and any other airline that overbooks) you get an unguaranteed seat.

 

[eclectics]

If you check in and have your boarding passes and get to the gate in plenty of time, you WILL NOT get bumped.
It's the person that lolly gags their way through the airport and gets to the gate just a couple minutes before departure that is the one that will get bumped if the flight has been overbooked.
Don't worry! Just get there in plenty of time and you will be fine.

I have some friends that would disagree with you! They were there early and still got bumped. Just who exactly gets bumped is totally at the counter agent's discretion.