goghd

I fly international quite a lot and today is the first time I received a B boarding group number ever for a flight be it CONUS or International. Spouse got a A because I did early bird for her. So do I have to pay for mine now?

Looks like the poorly managed Southwest IT department does it again. Not only do I not get to have TSA Pre on international departures from USA (like all the legacy airlines do for me) but now they are messing with their frequent flyers and boarding them late.

I know I can board after the As go but this is no way to treat customers that has over 75 flights a year with Southwest. Boarding pass even states I'm A-List Preferred.

You failed Southwest... Better shape up your IT department--I forget you don't know how -- it is a simple fix to add TSP Pre and ensure boarding integrity.

figment7

Same thing happened to me last year. Wrote swa and they swore I was checked in right even though the 20 people in front of me were early bird. They did nothing to make things better and even said it worked as it should. I understand things break and don't work but just say it messed up and hopefully it's fixed in the future. You will still get the responses off flyer talk that your wife just got someone's that cxed place in line. Hope you are able to have your wife save you a good seat.

steved5480

The short answer is "No" (or at least it's not a known/advertised fluke).

GK's dainbramaged Listening Center lurks around these parts on occasion, although recall their function is to Listen, not think/act/speak or otherwise serve any useful function. Good work if you can get it I reckon.

Although unrelated to the sporadic ignoring of A/A+ status on boarding pass assignment for International travel, the inability to recognize/handle TSA PRE/GE etc. on outbound International is a Known Fail. What currently passes for Southwest International service is handled via AirTran's IT system (no provisions for TSA PRE). It's not "broken", it has never "worked".

Hopefully someone will happen-along here with updates re: when we think SWA will start to roll-out the new IT that has been in the works for months/years.....

As for the IT incompetency....so many threads....SO many threads.

I sent you a PM with a backdoor means of contact regarding your original post.

Often1

WN's international operation is a train wreck and there is no will at WN to fix it. Not even the simple stuff like Pre-Check.

But, why should WN bother when the demographic still flies it?

There is only one way to get through to WN -- vote with your feet. Take your business elsewhere. But, it is apparent that you won't and the bulk of WN's customer base won't, so I guess WN is probably right in not bothering.

ursine1

At best, international on WN is a work in progress, ignoring the needs of business travelers and barely meeting those of leisure ones.

joshua362

Gee, if there was only a way to purchase an international airline, keep its best people, study its operations, learn and improve its best practices for a few years then fold it into its own systems. Oh wait...

(I know I'm beating a dead horse, it's IT's fault.)

expert7700

NAIL.HEAD.HIT!
--------------------------------------------------------

My how I'd love to work, just one day, as a consultant/motivational crew leader for WN's IT dept.

by 10am the swabiz site would acknowledge all the international destinations. Maybe not book them, but maybe have a "CALL me immediately to book via phone at a discount*" button. Result: capture lost sales opportunities

by 2pm, the IT folks will be getting hungry and want me to unlock the door. To do so, they must first have an international booking create a linked/placeholder booking on the US side. voila. TSA-PRE on US connections.

by 4pm, companion passes such as known traveler #s showing up will be fixed, and cancelling a companion's ticket will no longer make the paid earner's ticket say 'this reservation has already been cancelled'. Just for fun, if a named companion is a child, but the earner is an adult, the companion booking will be able to made ONLINE without an error about unattended minors.

by 6pm, the website will show 'sold out' when accurate, instead of 'no flights or service are operating this day' for international flights

by 11:59pm, booking an international route will show an overnight stop when needed, or at least have a 'call me to book at a discount*' button. again. not losing out on potential business is a good thing.

Anyone who would say not possible would be shown the door and given gas money to get them to the unemployment office.

*since the 'call me' buttons are really just placeholders for a real fix, they can route to a WN call center initially. If the buttons are still needed after 60 days they will instead go to corporate management. If they are STILL needed after 90 days, they'll be routed randomly to American, Delta, and United, with automated daily statistics sent to the AP and PRnewswire.

rsteinmetz70112

I agree with most of what you wrote, except Southwest's international is not handled by Airtran's system (Navitaire). It is handled by an entirely different system (Amadaeus) Southwest deployed after Airtran ceased operating. All of the brain damage in the current Southwest international system is entirely self-inflicted.

LegalTender

Navitaire is a subsidiary of Amadeus.




'The Father, the Son and the Wholly-Owned Subsidiary.'

rsteinmetz70112

Amadeus just bought Navataire from Accencenture on July 1 2015, after Southwest started using Amadaeus and after Airtran was shut down.

Southwest announced their deal with Amadaeus in April of 2012. The Southwest/Amadeaus system went live on January 27, 2014 for flights July 1, 2014.

LegalTender

SWA reservation system was still a hybrid in September 2015, more than a year later.

Little wonder TSA Pre✓ is available only on the domestic side.