As Southwest Airlines returns to normal flight scheduling, the company has another daunting task ahead: making amends to inconvenienced flyers — many of whom can’t put a price on their scrapped plans and missed time with family over the holidays.
The airline is beginning to process refunds to customers after it canceled more than 15,000 flights over the peak holiday travel season, revealing infrastructure and technology issues within the 51-year-old company. It pledged it would honor “reasonable requests” for passengers whose flights were disrupted between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2, many of whom endured additional expenses from hotel accommodations, rental car costs, and other meal and living expenses.
The airline sent 25,000 Rapid Rewards points in vouchers to passengers affected by the meltdown on Tuesday, which it described as a “gesture of goodwill.” The frequent flyer points, worth around $300, can be used on future flight fares, gift cards and merchandise, according to an email sent to travelers.
“In addition to our heartfelt apologies, we immediately began an all hands on deck effort to take care of our Customers,” CEO Bob Jordan said in a pre-recorded video posted Thursday. “We are making great progress by processing tens of thousands of refunds and reimbursements a day and will not let up until we have responded to every impacted Customer.”
Jordan also said that restoring customers’ trust “means everything” to the company. One spokesman said in an email that the airline has processed a “vast majority of refund requests” but was unable to disclose a specific number.
The question now boils down to: will this amount of travel points and refunds be enough to satisfy its flyers and make up for their woes?
The bonus points must be claimed before March 31, 2023, and their value varies, depending on trip distance and demand. For instance, a one-way connecting ticket from Dallas to Seattle this weekend totals 43,000 points, which is well over the voucher’s limit, according to Southwest’s ticketing website.
Reacting to the vouchers, some passengers said the airline’s efforts thus far — including its pledge to honor reasonable requests for reimbursement — have fallen short of their expectations.
Jessica Bravo, whose flight from Dallas to return home to San Jose, Calif. was canceled on Christmas Eve, said the voucher isn’t enough to cover the “chaos and extra expenses” her family incurred. Bravo and her family were stranded living at a friend’s house in Frisco for nearly a week, incurring additional meals, fuel and rental car costs.
After submitting expenses online five days ago, Bravo is waiting on a full flight refund. But the mother of two said it’s hard to assign a price on her disrupted holiday plans. Her family is planning to move from San Jose, Calif. to Dallas by spring.
“This was going to be our last Christmas in California with (my) four sisters and all my kid’s cousins,” she said. “We had a big Christmas Day planned for all of my children and presents, but unfortunately we had to miss that because we were stuck in Frisco, so my kids had no Christmas really.”
Bravo, who is a frequent Southwest flyer, said the airline appealed to her for its low fare and open seating policy, but news of its outdated technology is making her rethink her loyalty.
“I’m not sure I would (fly Southwest) again just because I have children, and I don’t want to go through the inconvenience,” she said.
For passenger Briana Marin, whose flight was delayed for six hours on Christmas Day, said the voucher doesn’t make up for the physical and mental toll the situation took on her. The graduate student had plans to visit her family in El Paso and ski in New Mexico, but after waiting several hours in line to rebook, she gave up.
Marin said she faced emotional distress and paid extra for canceled Airbnb reservations.
Brenda Angeles, whose flight from Long Beach, Calif. to Dallas was canceled on Dec. 27, also said the voucher from the airline isn’t enough to cover the additional expenses and time she incurred.
Angeles and her husband waited at the Long Beach Airport for three hours to get in-person assistance for rebooking.
“At the airport, they refused to give us any vouchers for hotel or transportation, so I don’t think it’s enough to buy back my business after the extreme distress we were put under,” she said.
Angeles frequently flies Southwest Airlines to visit her family in California — drawn mainly by how close she lives to Dallas Love Field Airport. But the “expensive and stressful situation” is causing her to change her mind about the company.
“With how all of it went down, it just showed they don’t really care about their customers,” she said.
