lougord99

I totally agree. Accountants cannot ( and so do not ) quantify this. In the past, SWA has had the ability to see past the accountants.

ftnoob

No, they issued a brand new CoC that imposes non-transferability that did not previously exist. I already stated I've long expected this change (and slashed my bookings). I'd be on this thread attempting to counter some of the complaints above if SWA had simply had the decency to post an alert back in June about the new CoC, point out the unfavorable change, apologize for its necessity, and state the real reasons for the change. Instead someone feeds SWABrian a fairy tale that he posts here, apparently without bothering to read the thread first, because facts disproving the fairy tale were already posted here. I've therefore refrained from participating in the effort to rein in any of the heated emotions.

SWA HQ attempted to play the members of this forum for fools, and that is utterly disgraceful.

lewisc

SW is giving passengers 6 months advance notice. That is more then generous and more then is required.

Does anyone have a complete copy of the prior CoC? I'm not sure if Brian is mistaken or if the prior CoC had conflicting language.

David Z

Maybe they did, yet people just won't...accept? There's a recent comment in
CrankyFlier's blog that can offer a clue.

Of course, it's one thing to understand. It's another to accept or even agree.

Again, it depends on what policies and procedures both SW and the airline in
question agree with should they codeshare. It happens many airlines really do
not allow name changes for especially non-refundable tickets, and neither will
they allow folks other than the listed passenger to use ticket credits if any.

Unfortunately many of those airlines' terms on not allowing name changes are
essentially non-negotiable, while they can maybe compromise on change fees
or so. What choice does SW have in order to establish a codeshare with that
airline if they especially want to expand?

I may be wrong, but that no-name-change thing has something to do with e-
ticket policies many airlines agree with. IATA or something, can't remember.

flyer49

Thank you JerryFF for clarifying about two passengers in one TTF.

ftnoob

I already posted that the advance notice was the only surprise in this news. I expected zero notice. I also already posted that the CoC contains a zero notice change provision.Yes. Which version do you want to see? The CoC is changed quite frequently.Start with the excerpts quoted in #40. Much more to come, stay tuned.

It also seems worth remembering how much things have changed since 9/11. Would it be fair to say that back in the '90s any "non-transferable" restriction on tickets was essentially meaningless? Anybody could use your ticket, at least your paper ticket, for their own travel, right? I don't recall whether ticketless travel required ID when it was first introduced.

t22

[QUOTE=lewisc;14355481]SW is giving passengers 6 months advance notice. That is more then generous and more then is required.

This is minor compared to the bigger issue here, but I do not even believe they gave fair notice.
the value of the funds that I purchased in June, with the understanding that MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY all of whom fly SW would be able to use until next June if travel plans change, has been significantly devalued.
proper notice would be to apply only to new purchases.

judolphin

What's your point? It was WN's policy to allow reuse of money used to buy tickets, and it was a (the) reason most of us are loyal to WN.

And even by your logic, people pay a penalty of 10-20% for canceling trips, which is a deterrent, and WN lost nothing. We all may pay with slightly higher fares, but to people with the mentality of WN customers, the lack of surprise fees and surprise loss of money is preferable to restrictions combined with ever-so-slightly cheaper fares.

Except that, according to several on this board, such terms haven't been in the CoC for 14 years.

rove312

I think ID checks started in 1995, well before 9/11.

lewisc

The new CoC makes it very clear TTF can only be used by the original passenger. That doesn't necessarily mean the old CoC allowed it, only that SW wanted to make it 100% clear that the current practice will be stopping.

If you have a link I'd like to take a look at a CoC prior to the new one. I thought at least one site would keep them. Google was no help.

SAPMAN

Not sure how the 'Notice of Change" was given? I do not recall a seperate email with direct language about the change. It seems that WN would know email addresses of their Rapid Reward members and send an "Important Change" notice with clear language.

Finding it on Flyertalk to me is not good notice.

This will hurt some of my friends (and WN). I have often booked WN trips for them knowing that if they backed out, I could use their cancellation Credits for my travel (as I travel a lot). So they would book (knowing no risk for backing out) and probably 80% of the time go on the trip. Now less likely to do so as they may only travel every 18 months or so.

Also, if WN splits credits among the pasengers on the record, it will be more confusing to track (not easy now). I will continue to book seperate one ways to give max. flexibility.

Booking far in advance is also more risky for my kids, etc. who may book 8 months ahead and then if they need to cancel near flight date, will only have a short time to use funds (and cannot have me use them).

ftnoob

CoC excerpt #1 of 8, from 1996:


Click the image to view the full document.

ftnoob

CoC excerpt #2 of 8, from 1998:


Click the image to view the full document.

ftnoob

CoC excerpt #3 of 8, from 2000:


Click the image to view the full document.

ftnoob

CoC excerpt #4 of 8, from 2003:


Right click the image to download the source pdf. (Click to view didn't always work on these files.)