Stuck in BWI tll Tuesday

[maxiesmom]

A friend of mine landed in BWI last night and the have told her she can't fly out until Tuesday! What questions does she need to ask and what compensation should she get?

I did tell her to ask about flying in to different airports closer to home. Her hubby is driving to pick her up. From Grand Rapids MI that is a long drive!

 

[kandb]

Is it because of something weather related? What airlines?

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

You have not provided enough detail.

1. Airline

2. What happened. I know there has been major flooding etc in the area?


3. How did she get to BWI? If by plane was it the same airline she is flying out on?

 

[maxiesmom]

It is Southwest and it was because of weather. BWI was her connection she flew in from Arizona.

So they are fine with her sitting there for 2 days with no food vouchers or hotel? Seems pretty darned crappy.

 

[SirDuff]

Something doesn't make sense. SW is selling tickets for BWI - Grand Rapids for today (leaving at 10:50pm) and tomorrow (10:5pm is only non-stop flight, but there are earlier connecting flights). SW should put her on one of those. I'd be buying myself a ticket on those those flights if I had to.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Yeah, something is not adding up. SW also has seats for tomorrow.

But yes, SW is fine with her sitting there for two days. If it's weather related it's the passenger's problem. They can't control weather.

 

[maxiesmom]

First they said weather then the crew timed out.

 

[katallo]

I agree. Something doesn't add up. When there are flights available they should be able to put your friend on one of them. I'm not sure what time this all happened but we had a devastating storm last night between 630 and 930

 

[n2mm]

I know the weather was terrible in that area last night--up to 6 inches in rains in some of the areas. That area is a hub for SW so not sure what's going on. We leave on Jetblue on Tuesday so have been watching the flights. The jb flight was nearly 4 hrs late last night, so the airport may have closed.

 

[merina888]

All kind of issues with Southwest and BWI. We are trying to fly Southwest to San Diego through BWI. We got canceled last night and rebooked for today. Then we got canceled today and were told they can't get us out until Tuesday either. They gave us nothing and would do nothing. They kept insisting it was weather but Baltimore isn't showing any warnings. My husband is on the phone with another airline attempting to book airfare so we can leave tomorrow. Unfortunately it's costing us twice as much. We've already lost 2 days of our vacation.

 

[rwdavis2]

The friend needs to take things into their own hands and not just accept what they tell them.

 

[maxiesmom]

Something doesn't make sense. SW is selling tickets for BWI - Grand Rapids for today (leaving at 10:50pm) and tomorrow (10:5pm is only non-stop flight, but there are earlier connecting flights). SW should put her on one of those. I'd be buying myself a ticket on those those flights if I had to.

Yeah, that is crazy then that they wouldn't put her on that flight. Unless they are selling seating and thinking that flight won't leave either, which is pretty rotten.

 

[DebbieB]

My friend's son was stuck in Chicago a couple of weeks ago on the way to Salt Lake City. He flew from PIT on Thursday afternoon, connecting flight cancelled, they said he could not get out until Sunday. No hotels available, food places closed overnight. He ended up flying back to PIT on Friday morning only to find out there were flights available to SLC. Most likely other people missed connections. I would hold tight for a little while to see if something opens up.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

All kind of issues with Southwest and BWI. We are trying to fly Southwest to San Diego through BWI. We got canceled last night and rebooked for today. Then we got canceled today and were told they can't get us out until Tuesday either. They gave us nothing and would do nothing. They kept insisting it was weather but Baltimore isn't showing any warnings. My husband is on the phone with another airline attempting to book airfare so we can leave tomorrow. Unfortunately it's costing us twice as much. We've already lost 2 days of our vacation.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/31/us/maryland-flooding/

 

[Missyrose]

All flights to and from the DC area airports were grounded for a chunk of time yesterday because of storms, but everything was back up and running later in the evening and totally normal today. Your friend should be demanding to be put on a flight, being accepting of whatever an airline tells you in a case like this will only prolong the misery.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Your friend was flying from Arizona to Michigan via Baltimore? That seems like a really roundabout way to me. I would probably have gone through Chicago or something. But, I digress.

Either way, did she check and see if there was a seat available on one of the upcoming flights? I wouldn't just sit there for 3 days! As others have said, the airline can't control the weather. Your friend needs to be proactive in this situation to figure out what her options are.

 

[HockeyMomR]

Sorry to hear your friend is stuck at BWI. We live about 10 miles from BWI. We did have a bad storm around 8:30 PM last night. The devastating flooding in Ellicot City is localized to that area and is approximately 10 miles from the airport. I can see SW working on reorganizing flights due to possible plane damage and rerouting of flights, but the actual flooding in Ellicot City would not have an effect.

 

[maxiesmom]

Her husband a a couple of friends ended up driving to pick her up. Ugh. 13 hours each way. Southwest told her they would refund the cost of the portion of the trip she didn't use. I'm not sure how they figure that out.

 

[DebbieB]

Her husband a a couple of friends ended up driving to pick her up. Ugh. 13 hours each way. Southwest told her they would refund the cost of the portion of the trip she didn't use. I'm not sure how they figure that out.

I would ask for a full refund, they didn't get her to her destination. She didn't pay for them to take her to Baltimore. They tried that with my friend's son, they said well he did fly to Chicago. Yes but only to sit in the airport all night!

 

[Starwind]

Her husband a a couple of friends ended up driving to pick her up. Ugh. 13 hours each way. Southwest told her they would refund the cost of the portion of the trip she didn't use. I'm not sure how they figure that out.

In the fine print of the ticket receipt it spells out the exact cost of each segment plus each tax and fee. If one is really bored it can actually be kind of interesting to see how it is all divied up. Anyhow, bottom line is the airline knows exactly how much a segment's portion of the fare and fees is, and the info is actually available to the customer as well if one can descipher the coding used.

SW