Southwest Rapid Rewards - If i miss my flight, will SW always put me on next flight at NO additional charge?

If i miss my flight, will SW always put me on next flight at NO additional charge? This happened recently and SW put me on next flight standby at no additional charge.
Does this policy depend on the type of ticket you purchase? I purchased the wanna get away at the higher end of the price range at $129 1 week before travel. If I had gotten the $69 ticket had I purchased 1-2 months earlier, would I still NOT be charged a fee for missing flight and going standby on next flight?

Also, what happens if I change the destination airport (ie. lax instead of orange county)?

No.

You were lucky.

No.

You were lucky.

This happened to me couple years back and they didn't charge me. There must be some written policy on this?

southwest has an internal rule nicknamed flat tire rule, so they WILL allow you to stand by, for free, for the next flight provided that you show up at the proper airport booked, within 2 hours of the original scheduled flight time

Standby does not equal a ticket. You only get on that next flight if it's not sold out, or if other standbys don't trump you in line (stood by earlier for the flight, or had A-list, a+ status). You can continue to try to stand by for later flights if you don't get on the one you are trying to get on.

showing up later than that, calling, or showing up at the wrong airport will require you to upgrade to the current fare for the flight you want to fly on.

SW is Air Namibia. WN is Southwest.

Does this policy depend on the type of ticket you purchase? I purchased the wanna get away at the higher end of the price range at $129 1 week before travel. If I had gotten the $69 ticket had I purchased 1-2 months earlier, would I still NOT be charged a fee for missing flight and going standby on next flight?

Also, what happens if I change the destination airport (ie. lax instead of orange county)?

The class of ticket, your status with WN, and/or price you paid have no bearing on this policy.

I'd imagine if you change destination, you are no longer eligible for the flat tire rule, but not sure.

SW is Air Namibia. WN is Southwest.

And this post helped the thread how???

Correcting OP so he will remember. And your post asking me how is helping in this thread?

As a very regular contributor to this board, I am sorry you have not reminded me each time I used SW for Southwest instead of SWA, as I often do.

I will try to remember in the future.

SW is Air Namibia. WN is Southwest.

thanks I didn't know!

southwest has an internal rule nicknamed flat tire rule, so they WILL allow you to stand by, for free, for the next flight provided that you show up at the proper airport booked, within 2 hours of the original scheduled flight time

Standby does not equal a ticket. You only get on that next flight if it's not sold out, or if other standbys don't trump you in line (stood by earlier for the flight, or had A-list, a+ status). You can continue to try to stand by for later flights if you don't get on the one you are trying to get on.

showing up later than that, calling, or showing up at the wrong airport will require you to upgrade to the current fare for the flight you want to fly on.

so there is no written policy on the flat tire rule?
I was wondering too if I had called and said I am running late and can't make the flight- would WN have charged a fee?

They do not charge any fees but you would be on the hook for the difference between what you paid for your ticket and the Anytime fare on your new ticket. This can range from not very much to a significant amount of money depending on what you paid.

so there is no written policy on the flat tire rule?
I was wondering too if I had called and said I am running late and can't make the flight- would WN have charged a fee?

As I understand the undocumented rule, it only applies at the airport.

I imagine the no written (or at least published) policy is to give them some discretion when someone is obviously doing it to reschedule their flight without having to pay the difference in fare.

I imagine the no written (or at least published) policy is to give them some discretion when someone is obviously doing it to reschedule their flight without having to pay the difference in fare.

that is exactly what i was thinking too

It seems there was some discussion in an earlier thread on this topic, likewise by the same OP.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/southwest-rapid-rewards/938100-if-i-miss-sw-flight-can-i-take-next-flight-without-any-fees.html

No.

You were lucky.

Wrong. It's policy.

so there is no written policy on the flat tire rule?
I was wondering too if I had called and said I am running late and can't make the flight- would WN have charged a fee?

The flat tire rule _is_ a written policy. It's written on the internal systems, not on any web page or document viewable by customers. All supervisors and almost all gate agents know about the rule.