What would Southwest do in the event of missed connection for last flight out?
Feb 17, 2020, 6:28 pm
#16
Join Date: Oct 2005
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What a ridiculous comment. Time of day is irrelevant. If your flight is due in at 8pm and you have a 3 hour delay, but they held the 11pm flight for you, no hotel. If your flight is due at 10am and a 3 hour delay and the last flight out at Noon left without you, then a hotel is in your possibilities.
Feb 17, 2020, 6:47 pm
#17
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What a ridiculous comment. Time of day is irrelevant. If your flight is due in at 8pm and you have a 3 hour delay, but they held the 11pm flight for you, no hotel. If your flight is due at 10am and a 3 hour delay and the last flight out at Noon left without you, then a hotel is in your possibilities.
Feb 18, 2020, 2:28 pm
#19
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I guess the point here is that Southwest's protocol is the same as anyone else's with one notable exception: for a one-off IROPS event like a mechanical, some other carriers may be able to automatically rebook you on another airline. Southwest, in my experience, never has done that.
Of course in major winter weather IROPS, it doesn't matter: airlines generally do not reroute planeloads of people onto other airlines. Everybody takes care of their own at that point.
The above couple posts can be simplified to say if MX or crew issues leave you stranded somewhere overnight, you get a hotel. If they just leave you delayed in an airport during the day, you will get meal vouchers.
The scenario where the passenger is delayed for 30 minutes of a 75 minute connection is going to yield nothing: go to the bathroom and go board the next flight with your regular boarding group. Even if you're delayed 75 minutes of a 75 minute connection, you should hustle to the gate and see whether you made it. If they held it for you, they aren't giving you a hotel. If the door is shut and they aren't letting you on, then yes. As others have pointed out, it happens both ways for reasons the pax aren't aware of, so I would always hightail it to the gate unless I can see in the app that the flight has already departed, in which case I'll just approach the nearest GA and get my vouchers.
And I agree with the guy upthread who says you should go into the city and find some blues if you get stuck at Midway. That's always correct advice.
Of course in major winter weather IROPS, it doesn't matter: airlines generally do not reroute planeloads of people onto other airlines. Everybody takes care of their own at that point.
The above couple posts can be simplified to say if MX or crew issues leave you stranded somewhere overnight, you get a hotel. If they just leave you delayed in an airport during the day, you will get meal vouchers.
The scenario where the passenger is delayed for 30 minutes of a 75 minute connection is going to yield nothing: go to the bathroom and go board the next flight with your regular boarding group. Even if you're delayed 75 minutes of a 75 minute connection, you should hustle to the gate and see whether you made it. If they held it for you, they aren't giving you a hotel. If the door is shut and they aren't letting you on, then yes. As others have pointed out, it happens both ways for reasons the pax aren't aware of, so I would always hightail it to the gate unless I can see in the app that the flight has already departed, in which case I'll just approach the nearest GA and get my vouchers.
And I agree with the guy upthread who says you should go into the city and find some blues if you get stuck at Midway. That's always correct advice.
Feb 18, 2020, 11:51 pm
#20
Join Date: Mar 2007
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I've gotten hotel vouchers from Southwest twice. In both cases my originating flight was delayed badly enough that it would arrive clearly after the departure time of my connecting flight.
Booking an itinerary that connects onto the last (or only) flight of the day is always a risk. With other airlines it's potentially less of a risk as they have interline agreements. For example, when I narrowly missed the last AC connection ORD-YOW (the aircraft was still at the gate but with door sealed when I rushed up) because my UA flight arrived late, UA interlined me to a flight leaving an hour later on AA. With WN you'll be stuck overnight anytime you miss WN's last flight of the day. And if the delay is because of weather, as noted upthread, you'll be on your own for your accommodations and any costs of changing other plans.
Booking an itinerary that connects onto the last (or only) flight of the day is always a risk. With other airlines it's potentially less of a risk as they have interline agreements. For example, when I narrowly missed the last AC connection ORD-YOW (the aircraft was still at the gate but with door sealed when I rushed up) because my UA flight arrived late, UA interlined me to a flight leaving an hour later on AA. With WN you'll be stuck overnight anytime you miss WN's last flight of the day. And if the delay is because of weather, as noted upthread, you'll be on your own for your accommodations and any costs of changing other plans.