Since the issue of SW has been discussed at length in this thread, and considering the recent revelations in this case, Im changing my views on this airline and am now suggesting prospective pax be more careful about issuing tickets very far in advance on this carrier.

The plot in the drugs case and the impact on SW has taken a dramatic shift over the past 3-4 days. What at first was portrayed as a one off incident with a limited group of employees has now grown into something much larger. The important news is, however, that due to the public relations mess that this has created, the Argentine government has decided to take action against SW, including stopping all government business to SW and (more importantly) cancelling a quasi-subsidy program that was in place effective the beginning of March. The latter is what worries me in terms of the medium term survival of the carrier.

As was stated by other posters before, maybe some tickets purchased under certain conditions and using a certain method of payment (Credit Card?) are covered by certain provisions.... but its my advice to all those planning on using SW to read all the fine print and ensure you undergo proper due diligence before issuing your tickets.

Things are getting ugly for SW, and while Im still not completely convinced that the carrier will ultimately fail, I think at this point its a good idea to consider other options and keep all bases covered. Perhaps things become more clear over the next few weeks and the outlook changes, I will keep you all posted.

Cheers,
Gaucho