What happens with SW if you miss your flight

[RweTHEREyet]

If you don't make it to your Southwest flight, what happens. Will they charge you the difference in fare to put you on the next available flight or just put you on the flight with your existing ticket?

 

[Twizzles]

If you miss your flight contact someone at the airport ASAP so they can get you on another flight or you could do stand by. If anything you may have to pay a penalty fee, but most of the time it will be a stand by issue.

 

[mjplantz]

If you miss your SW flight your Confirmation # basically becomes your travel funds for the next flight you select. SW does not have a penalty or change fee. However, most travelers will purchase the 'Wanna Get Away' fare since it is the cheapest option, if you miss your flight and have to reschedule to later the same day or the next day you will most likely have to book an 'Anytime' fare which may be higher. 'Wanna Get Away' fares generally stop 7-10 days before departure day, however they are sometimes available up to same day dependent upon how many seats are available.

Like the above poster said, contact SW immediately to see what options are available, they will do the best they can to work with you and minimize any out of pocket expense if possible.

 

[Lewisc]

AFAIK Southwest still has the "flat tire" rule. Get to the airport with 2 hours of your scheduled flight and Southwest will accommodate you, standby basis, on the next flight with no extra charge. You don't literally need a flat tire. It doesn't matter if you overslept, had traffic, lines at security etc.

Check at flyertalk if you want to hear from experts.

 

[ltl engine]

We missed our flight last year. I called right away when I knew we would not make it. They said as long as you check in within 2 hours after your flight, they will put you on stand by on the next available flight or if there are plenty of seats available just put you on the flight. We missed the 6am flight--we could either go stand by on the 8am flight or automatically get seats on the 4pm flight. We tried standby on the 8am flight and about 30 mins before boarding they put us on the flight. SWA was great! We actually made it to the airport before our flight but had a lap child & bags to check so we did not make their cut off for boarding.

 

[disadventurer]

Missed our flight because of long lines at TSA at MCO. Last minute they decided to queue the line differently and not all lines were open. Then everyone got a full body scan. One of their reps said, "Gee you look upset." Well duh! It's just the attitude in MCO--absolutely no reason!

We missed our nonstop flight by 5 minutes. Luckily, the last SW flight was leaving which had to stop in Baltimore, but they kindly held two seats for us and we didn't contact anyone. I bet we weren't the only ones.

Now that's service to me--very lucky!

 

[Lewisc]

Missed our flight because of long lines at TSA at MCO. Last minute they decided to queue the line differently and not all lines were open. Then everyone got a full body scan. One of their reps said, "Gee you look upset." Well duh! It's just the attitude in MCO--absolutely no reason!

We missed our nonstop flight by 5 minutes. Luckily, the last SW flight was leaving which had to stop in Baltimore, but they kindly held two seats for us and we didn't contact anyone. I bet we weren't the only ones.

Now that's service to me--very lucky!

How far in advance of your flight did you arrive at MCO? Posters are always complaining about DMEs 3 hour before flight time pickup policy. There is a reason why the airport wants Disney to get guests to MCO 2 hours before flight time.

 

[disadventurer]

How far in advance of your flight did you arrive at MCO? Posters are always complaining about DMEs 3 hour before flight time pickup policy. There is a reason why the airport wants Disney to get guests to MCO 2 hours before flight time.

Don't recall at this point, but there was no problem on DME end--they were timely. Three hours is a just in case for things like this. TSA started off with individual lines and then they put us in one big line, then full-body scan. Cattle call. Finally, had to wait for the express to get us to the departure side. Clearly ineffective.

No problems on Disney or SW side--they clearly made the effort.

 

[leebee]

I have a 6am flight on Southwest (used RR points for the ticket) with a drive of over an hour to get to an airport I've never been to before, so am not 100% sure of how long it will take to park, get a shuttle to the terminal, etc. I am so afraid I'll oversleep! I'll check in online, 24hrs prior, but if I miss the flight, will they charge me or just rebook me? What would the fee be if they rebook? I can't find anything on SWA that addresses this. I should make the flight but am worried...TIA

 

[PatMcDuck]

We missed our SW flight to MCO out of Philly a couple of years ago, because my husband is an There were 4 of us on this trip. We were meeting my niece at MCO, so it was a bummer. They had us on stand by, and got 2 of us on the next flight, and my son and husband on one a few hours later.

They did not even mention charging us more $$.

We also missed a Delta flight to Chicago (DH again) years ago, and they put all 6 of us on another flight, no charge.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have a 6am flight on Southwest (used RR points for the ticket) with a drive of over an hour to get to an airport I've never been to before, so am not 100% sure of how long it will take to park, get a shuttle to the terminal, etc. I am so afraid I'll oversleep! I'll check in online, 24hrs prior, but if I miss the flight, will they charge me or just rebook me? What would the fee be if they rebook? I can't find anything on SWA that addresses this. I should make the flight but am worried...TIA

Your question has already been answered on this thread.

You might want to consider booking an airport hotel and drive in the night before your flight. Look into Park and Fly deals.

 

[deegack]

Your question has already been answered on this thread.

You might want to consider booking an airport hotel and drive in the night before your flight. Look into Park and Fly deals.

This is what I would do

 

[gmeh1]

I have a 6am flight on Southwest (used RR points for the ticket) with a drive of over an hour to get to an airport I've never been to before, so am not 100% sure of how long it will take to park, get a shuttle to the terminal, etc. I am so afraid I'll oversleep! I'll check in online, 24hrs prior, but if I miss the flight, will they charge me or just rebook me? What would the fee be if they rebook? I can't find anything on SWA that addresses this. I should make the flight but am worried...TIA

If you read the responses to this thread, your questions will be answered.

 

[Lewisc]

I have a 6am flight on Southwest (used RR points for the ticket) with a drive of over an hour to get to an airport I've never been to before, so am not 100% sure of how long it will take to park, get a shuttle to the terminal, etc. I am so afraid I'll oversleep! I'll check in online, 24hrs prior, but if I miss the flight, will they charge me or just rebook me? What would the fee be if they rebook? I can't find anything on SWA that addresses this. I should make the flight but am worried...TIA

I'd make sure I got to the airport on time. Only an hour drive to the airport. I'm not sure I'd book an airport area hotel. You'll have to leave the hotel before any included breakfast is available and shuttle service that early might be limited to once or twice an hour. Check with the hotel first. Occasionally a hotel doesn't offer a complimentary shuttle (24/7) .

The "flat tire" policy won't help you if the later flights are booked. You'll probably be the last to board (middle seats scattered on the plane) and your family may wind up having to take different flights.