Southwest made me make THREE seperate reservations!

[niklynn1]

First, thank you Fantasmic303 for pointing out that I wasn't "blasting" SW. Because...I WASN'T.
This is my first time ever using SW. In fact, I am driving 3 hours from Iowa to KC to fly with them BECAUSE I had heard such great things about them. I booked with them BECAUSE I knew that I could book early and change flights as necessary. I didn't "decide" I wanted to take a different flight; the flight I originally WANTED was considerably more expensive, so I booked early, HOPING that the price would go down, and when it did, I took the credit on the original flight and applied it to the more expensive flight I wanted in the first place. I checked SW flights EVERYDAY for 2 1/2 months watching for them to go down, and when they did, I swapped flights, used my credit, paid a little more in addition and got the flight I had originally wanted but couldn't afford at first.
THIS is the system that SW has in place and because it is so so much more flexible than other airlines out there, I have no doubt it gets them a lot of business.
My only CONCERN with SW in the first place was not being able to get assigned seats since it is only ME and my TWO CHILDREN traveling. However, after much research I felt comfortable that by checking in at 24 hours prior, I could more than likely get A boarding passes for all 3 of us. Unfortunately, because of a "new system with a lot of problems" (the nice SW customer service lady's words, NOT MINE) it could not be done without splitting ressies. It's not that I was trying to do something that was not allowed or manipulate the system in any way! The error message I got when trying to do this on Travel Tools TOLD me to call the 800 number and do this over the phone!!!
I simply for the life of me can't figure out why you felt it necessary to be so critical? I posted originally to get some suggestions to figure out if there was a way I could have avoided this problem, and for some reassurance that I would still be able to sit with my children. They've only flown once before (to Disney 3 years ago) and plus, the flight is part of the fun and I'd like to spend it WITH my kids, not several rows apart.
Again, can't figure out your need to be so sarcastic...

Let me see if I have the sequence right

1) The OP buys some non-refundable tickets
2) The price goes down, and SW allows her to change her reservation without any fee or penalty, and issues a credit for the difference
3) The price goes down again, and SW allows her to change her reservation without any fee or penalty and issue a credit for the difference.
4) The OP decides she wants to take a different flight, and the airline allows her to cancel the flight she no longer wants to take without any fee or penalty.
5) The OP wants to use all her credits to pay for the new flight, but there is a rule against using that many credits for one reservation.
6) A helpful phone rep finds a way around the rule by splitting up the reservation and allows her to use all the credit in booking the flight she wants

Does the OP come on to lavish praise on SW for their flexibility and incredibly fair customer relationships? Or does she blast them and complain?

Gotta be tough to be in business some days.

The good news is that 3 reservations numbers isn't the end of the world. Or even anything to worry about. It'll add a minute to the check in/out process and move you back a few places in line. You'll still have no problem getting seats on the plane. Seriously, don't worry about it.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

yea no one was blasting or even complaining. I have been doing 3 to 9 trips a year for the past 10 years on them. I have seen many changes the thing is tis is new and Hard to understand the terminology they are using for credits and bookings.

We are just trying to get thing correct so we can make what adjustments we need.

heck i always said if someone doesn't want to move or rearrange so Parents can sit with their kids then that's their right and I would sit the baddest kid with them lol

 

[crashbb]

They're still not charging luggage fees, they're still not charging for seat assignment, they're still not charging for cancellations, and they're still consistent with keeping their flights as scheduled (as opposed to cancelling them or changing times after you book, as other airlines do) so, for me, they're still among my top two choices to fly with. (JetBlue is the other.)

It would be rather difficult for SW to charge for seat assignment since they don't assign seats at all.

 

[Fantasmic303]

It would be rather difficult for SW to charge for seat assignment since they don't assign seats at all.

Well, technically yes because the seats aren't assigned, but they could charge you for the option of a particular boarding group if you didn't want to take the chance. - they could sell "A" passes for, say, an additional $25 or whatever. In a way they do (by offering Business Select or whatever a guaranteed A pass), but it could be much worse.

They didn't used to assign numbers when you checked in either, remember? That's changed...there's no saying other things couldn't.

 

[DisneyWalker44]

I simply for the life of me can't figure out why you felt it necessary to be so critical? I posted originally to get some suggestions to figure out if there was a way I could have avoided this problem, and for some reassurance that I would still be able to sit with my children.

The good thing is that most posts - including my original post - have let you know that you have nothing to worry about. Having 3 reservations will push you a few places back in line. But you'll have no trouble getting seats together - you don't need to be at the front of the line for that.

As for why I posted what I did, I believe SW bends over backwards to provide customers flexibility and allow them to save money. They will only continue if it makes their customers happy. If their flexibility makes people unhappy - your posts sure sounded like complaints to me - they will stop. If SW had just done what other airlines do - said "no, you can't do that" you wouldn't have complained. Folks at SW are going to see those sort of comment and the feedback you have the phone rep. If they get enough of that, they'll stop helping people. Why should they bother???

And if you weren't complaining, at best you "weren't impressed." Again, if all their bending over backwards, letting you take credits when prices go down, change flights without fees, use more credits than rules allow, etc. isn't going to impress you, why bother?

 

[bumbershoot]

I really would not worry about being separated from your kids. So many people have said it, I'm just another in the line.


Do you have anyone at home who can check you in using three browsers (no one has said to use three computers...just open up three windows, or tabs, depending on what browser you use)? If there's someone at home who can do this for you, who is savvy enough to do it, just have them do it. When you get the airport you can get the passes printed out...you don't have to do it when you're checked in.


Computer systems aren't so easy to be bypassed, so the rep who seemed to think it could be bypassed was most likely just wrong. That's a bummer, but when systems are changed over there's a timelag in knowing what can and can't be done. That's with any company.

If you'd stuck with the same flight, it might not have caused the problem...but probably when you used a credit to book a different flight, then changed it again...I'm guessing that the credits are all hidden inside of the confirmation numbers you used last...that's probably the situation.

I had to let $40 in SW credit expire in '08, because I had nickel and dimed myself, getting credits each time it went down...ended up with 6 or 8 credits in very small amounts, couldn't use them all on one flight...SW's prices weren't as competitive as I liked with the flights we were taking...hated that.



Anyway, please don't worry about this.

And FWIW, I routinely make 3 separate reservations, even 6, b/c I book each of us separately and I book each way separately. Well, honestly it's rare that we take the same airline both ways (wherever we fly), but when we do, I end up with multiple reservations. So this isn't unheard of...sometimes people do it on purpose!