Nationwide sale $49/99/129/149 book by Fri 6/5; Epic website meltdown, mostly fixed
Jun 5, 2015, 12:45 pm
#301
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
More details from Robert Jordan, who absolutely isn't just talking out of his @$$.
Southwest Airlines exec: It was just the high volumes of visitors that bogged down our website
Southwest Airlines exec: It was just the high volumes of visitors that bogged down our website
It's because Southwest has been raising fares consistently for the last few years and cutting back on promotions, so when a pretty good one comes along people jump all over it because they don't know when there will be another one.
Jun 5, 2015, 1:54 pm
#302
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,286
I've seen this happen when the site was not having problems. Customer Relations could duplicate the problem and forwarded this issue to IT. Not sure if they ever fixed it. They might have and the problem is rearing its head due to the non-functioning status of the website/reservation system.
I thought of that a bit after I posted. I went back and tried to do a points booking from scratch, both while logged in and also using the app as a "guest" -- which I've now discovered allows you to see points pricing without being logged in -- and it did essentially same thing. It's would show the lower price then give the dreaded "that fare is no longer available" error message when trying to actually complete the transaction. I just checked now, and the fare shown has jumped up to the higher price.
To me, this reinforces texashoser's theories regarding the cause of the issues being out of sync front end & database.
If this is true however, I'm not sure how they were able to "fix" it. It can't be that the volume suddenly dropped back to a "regular" level today.
Jun 5, 2015, 2:51 pm
#304
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: STL / MCI
Posts: 92
Jun 5, 2015, 3:24 pm
#305
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,625
I just finished some cleanup to my reservations, including finding better times of day than were available before here and there.
The website has worked virtually flawlessly for me today. Kudos to whoever figured out what to fix and convinced management that it would work on Friday if the sale were extended.
The website has worked virtually flawlessly for me today. Kudos to whoever figured out what to fix and convinced management that it would work on Friday if the sale were extended.
Jun 5, 2015, 3:27 pm
#306
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 73
changed a reservation Tuesday morning, I've received nothing. In my RR account, the trip is showing, but if I go to change it, it says it can't find the confirmation number (and the fare difference is not showing up in my travel funds). I've got a feeling I'm not really booked on the flights I think I'm booked on.
Jun 5, 2015, 3:37 pm
#307
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,625
changed a reservation Tuesday morning, I've received nothing. In my RR account, the trip is showing, but if I go to change it, it says it can't find the confirmation number (and the fare difference is not showing up in my travel funds). I've got a feeling I'm not really booked on the flights I think I'm booked on.
Jun 5, 2015, 3:46 pm
#308
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SAF (hopefully) or ABQ
Programs: SPG Gold, HH Silver
Posts: 52
I just finished some cleanup to my reservations, including finding better times of day than were available before here and there.
The website has worked virtually flawlessly for me today. Kudos to whoever figured out what to fix and convinced management that it would work on Friday if the sale were extended.
The website has worked virtually flawlessly for me today. Kudos to whoever figured out what to fix and convinced management that it would work on Friday if the sale were extended.
UPDATE: Gave up on the website and sent a tweet to @SouthwestAir. They were very helpful and able to book my res in about 10 minutes.
Last edited by northy989; Jun 5, 2015 at 4:23 pm Reason: Update
Jun 5, 2015, 4:53 pm
#309
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: between Albuquerque and Santa Fe
Programs: Kimpton Inner Circle; IHG Spire elite; Marriott & SPG Gold, r
Posts: 838
I made 2 new, "points" bookings this morning; each a 1 way for the same trip. I got the first email confirmation in 5 minutes, the second took about 40 minutes.
Jun 5, 2015, 4:54 pm
#310
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Sarasota, FL (SRQ)
Programs: WN A-List, AA EXP, Hyatt Top Tier (definitely NOT a Globalist), National Exec Elite
Posts: 491
I have to disagree with the changed thread title that suggests the problems are mostly fixed. I am still completely unable to complete even a basic cash booking on the site as of 6:55 pm EDT.
Jun 5, 2015, 5:41 pm
#312
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: DCA, TUL
Programs: Biscoff Medallion, A-Hole Preferred
Posts: 56
Jun 5, 2015, 6:10 pm
#313
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,625
This degree of courage is rare in large businesses. Bags fly free is another example of this damn the torpedoes attitude.
Jun 5, 2015, 6:20 pm
#314
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,625
It's weird that Friday and Sunday LAX-OAK is back down to $73 for summer but still over $100 for fall months. The summer price drops have not been announced but I have seen them in several places. Maybe it's a match to virgin america? VX does have a sale running today and tomorrow.
Separately, I can confirm that free wifi login is not working today.
Separately, I can confirm that free wifi login is not working today.
Jun 5, 2015, 6:43 pm
#315
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: California
Posts: 1,129
And kudos to GK and the other executives who had the stones to bet on the assurances of their people that things would work better today. The safer bet would have been to end the sale on time, getting things back to normal by shutting off the demand.
This degree of courage is rare in large businesses. Bags fly free is another example of this damn the torpedoes attitude.
This degree of courage is rare in large businesses. Bags fly free is another example of this damn the torpedoes attitude.
I still have a hard time believing this ho-hum sale caused the outage. I know of noone who bought this sale who doesn't read FT. Most of my friends were aware of the sale due to the outage reports on the news.
Courage would be to admit "we messed up" and making the necessary investments to make sure it doesn't ever happen again.