[Targeted] Free changes due to rescheduling; move up to + or - 14 days, twice!
Apr 20, 2022, 7:02 pm
#1081
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PIT, BWI, or IPT
Programs: Dividend Miles, WorldPerks
Posts: 1,302
Apr 20, 2022, 8:21 pm
#1082
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,868
It worked out reasonably well for me - I ended up with four flights, two somewhat better than I'd had initially and two a good bit worse. If I'd actually needed all eight substantially the way I'd booked them, at least two would require rebooking on another airline - the options those days were just plain unworkable as compared to my original bookings. Long distance business travelers must be so over this phase...
Apr 20, 2022, 8:34 pm
#1083
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: 21,621
Edit: Make that 100% of my August trips. Wow.
Last edited by nsx; Apr 20, 2022 at 9:22 pm
Apr 20, 2022, 8:35 pm
#1084
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 15
Here's to hoping the newly released (on March 30th) flights from early September to November were already part of the "mass reschedule" prior to being posted. I have a 2 week Hawaii/west coast vacation leaving from BWI in mid-September that I really don't want to deal with changing.
Apr 21, 2022, 8:27 am
#1085
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: LAX/SMF/PDX/HNL
Programs: Hilton-lifetime diamond, Southwest A+, companion pass
Posts: 1,748
The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence.
I booked first class round trip tickets LAX-IAD on United back in January for a family vacation in August. The outbound flight was on a 777 with lie-flat seats. At the time I booked, I had a hunch that this equipment assignment would not last and, indeed, it did not. UAL changed the schedule of the flight and the equipment to a 757. Because of the change of schedule (by about 1/2 hour), UAL offered the ability to change to another flight without added fare. Unlike Southwest's + or - 2 week change window, UAL only allows + or - one day.
I decided to take an earlier flight on the same day as I had booked. With Southwest, this change would take, perhaps, 90 to 180 seconds to do on line. With United it took me about 20 minutes of trying to make the change on line.
On the UAL website my bookings showed the availability of my free one-time change, but the system refused to make the change. So I called United and received an automated message regarding the changes in my flight, the new assigned flight, and a yes-no choice if I wanted to keep the new flight schedule. After answering "no," I was almost immediately routed to a live offshore agent.
One hour and 29 minutes later with this agent, I would finally obtain the change to the earlier flight that UAL promised I could do. Unlike Southwest agents, this agent appeared to have no power whatsoever to make the change. Her attempt to use the UAL system was a failure, like mine. Then she had to call "the department" and after a long hold I was told that they could make the change, but that there would be an increase of $300 per ticket (I had 5). I repeated that the schedule change was supposed to be without additional fare. After checking with "the department" again, I was told that the schedule change that UAL made was a "minor change" (of 1/2 hour) and so they had to collect the $$. I explained that the change also involved an equipment change and I offered to speak to "the department" myself. She checked with "the department" again and they referred her to "the other department." She contacted "the other department," which approved the advertised no-fee change. When she went to make the change she encountered a "system error" and had to work on that problem. Finally after 1 hour 49 minutes on my iPhone timer, I had obtained the change to my new flight on the same day as my old flight. I told the agent that I would not have her job for $1 million. She thanked me profusely for my patience.
Moral to the story---> with all its information system quirks, Southwest generally has a helpful attitude toward its customers.
I have never encountered a Southwest agent who spoke marginal English. Or one who had to check with different "departments" repeatedly to get stuff done. With years of frequent flying on Southwest, I can only think of one time I got angry with an agent (when they changed same-day standby policy to exclude companions and I had to find out at the gate at LAX). This is the second time within the last 6 months that I have encountered a barrier to simple changes on United.
I booked first class round trip tickets LAX-IAD on United back in January for a family vacation in August. The outbound flight was on a 777 with lie-flat seats. At the time I booked, I had a hunch that this equipment assignment would not last and, indeed, it did not. UAL changed the schedule of the flight and the equipment to a 757. Because of the change of schedule (by about 1/2 hour), UAL offered the ability to change to another flight without added fare. Unlike Southwest's + or - 2 week change window, UAL only allows + or - one day.
I decided to take an earlier flight on the same day as I had booked. With Southwest, this change would take, perhaps, 90 to 180 seconds to do on line. With United it took me about 20 minutes of trying to make the change on line.
On the UAL website my bookings showed the availability of my free one-time change, but the system refused to make the change. So I called United and received an automated message regarding the changes in my flight, the new assigned flight, and a yes-no choice if I wanted to keep the new flight schedule. After answering "no," I was almost immediately routed to a live offshore agent.
One hour and 29 minutes later with this agent, I would finally obtain the change to the earlier flight that UAL promised I could do. Unlike Southwest agents, this agent appeared to have no power whatsoever to make the change. Her attempt to use the UAL system was a failure, like mine. Then she had to call "the department" and after a long hold I was told that they could make the change, but that there would be an increase of $300 per ticket (I had 5). I repeated that the schedule change was supposed to be without additional fare. After checking with "the department" again, I was told that the schedule change that UAL made was a "minor change" (of 1/2 hour) and so they had to collect the $$. I explained that the change also involved an equipment change and I offered to speak to "the department" myself. She checked with "the department" again and they referred her to "the other department." She contacted "the other department," which approved the advertised no-fee change. When she went to make the change she encountered a "system error" and had to work on that problem. Finally after 1 hour 49 minutes on my iPhone timer, I had obtained the change to my new flight on the same day as my old flight. I told the agent that I would not have her job for $1 million. She thanked me profusely for my patience.
Moral to the story---> with all its information system quirks, Southwest generally has a helpful attitude toward its customers.
I have never encountered a Southwest agent who spoke marginal English. Or one who had to check with different "departments" repeatedly to get stuff done. With years of frequent flying on Southwest, I can only think of one time I got angry with an agent (when they changed same-day standby policy to exclude companions and I had to find out at the gate at LAX). This is the second time within the last 6 months that I have encountered a barrier to simple changes on United.
Last edited by dlaue; Apr 21, 2022 at 10:22 am
Apr 22, 2022, 4:52 am
#1086
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 3,703
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I have never encountered a Southwest agent who spoke marginal English. Or one who had to check with different "departments" repeatedly to get stuff done. With years of frequent flying on Southwest, I can only think of one time I got angry with an agent (when they changed same-day standby policy to exclude companions and I had to find out at the gate at LAX). This is the second time within the last 6 months that I have encountered a barrier to simple changes on United.
I have never encountered a Southwest agent who spoke marginal English. Or one who had to check with different "departments" repeatedly to get stuff done. With years of frequent flying on Southwest, I can only think of one time I got angry with an agent (when they changed same-day standby policy to exclude companions and I had to find out at the gate at LAX). This is the second time within the last 6 months that I have encountered a barrier to simple changes on United.
Apr 25, 2022, 8:09 am
#1087
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 120
For those of you thinking of moving to another airline I encourage you to stay with Southwest. I have suffered through these schedule changes as well, most for the better but for this spring break trip I got back from last night SWA had cancelled our return and changed to today which wouldn't work due to school/work. There had been no other options so we had to move to Delta. When I say colossal nightmare other than the fact they delivered/returned me to my destination it's an understatement and it's hours on hold to try to get someone to deal with anything, then you have to call back again. I'm on my 3rd time on hold for over 2 hours. At least SWA has a call back feature and they always always make it right. I won't be moving future travel and I'm sorry I booked my May business travel through Delta as I had been considering moving some trips there and did a medallion challenge.
Stay with SWA and make the schedule change work for you.
Stay with SWA and make the schedule change work for you.
Apr 25, 2022, 11:49 pm
#1088
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: 21,621
So many changes rolling out tonight. Dates from late June through early October. I've never seen such a date spread before.
May 12, 2022, 7:27 pm
#1091
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: AA EXP, DL-Plat, WN-CP | Hotels: Choice-Gld, IHG-Plt, Rad-Gld, HH-Dia, Hyatt-Glob, Marriott-LtPlt
Posts: 2,889