Narrow Seat

I have been addicted to the countless YOUTUBE videos but travelers and TV News Broadcasts talking about the Southwest Airlines meltdown.

Some people are still camped out at the airport far from home for up to six days. They have no travel insurance, credit cards, cash, or helpful friends or family. They are on their own. They don't have access to the funds they need to buy a flight on another airline or rent a car, take a bus, or a train, or take a long Uber Ride home. (A shocking number of people have no social or family connections that can help them in a crisis.)

Southwest may open more flights this weekend but there is such a large pent-up demand that many of these people won't get a flight home until next week.

What innovative advice would have had for these Southwest Airlines passengers? (Yes, they should not have flown with no access to cash or credit but the mistake has already occurred!)

ALSO, What would you do if you could not get out for another five days with your current financial situation?

exwannabe

If I had no ability to get home on my own resources after a failure by any airline I would never have booked the trip.

WN has a lot to own up to. But pax should always be prepared for the worst if it happens.

twitch76

They have no helpful family or friends? Anywhere? No social media buddies? No old college roommate? No church or work network? No friends of old friends?

I’d make some friends in a hurry. I’d look for people going to the same place and see if we can organize something. I’d call my home church, work colleagues, or social network and see if they know anyone in the connecting city who might help.

halls120

Don't fly SWA if you aren't prepared in the event you are stranded by an airline that blames the weather for their own ineptitude.

NoStressHere

Anyone flying with no backup should seriously consider how they manage their life.

Seriously!

michael_v

Would trip interruption insurance from credit cards have helped in this situation?

I realize OP said people had no credit cards. I am asking for my own selfish reasons. Lol

TravelerMSY

I would not hesitate to just throw money at it and try to recoup what I could later. Or make it an adventure out of whatever museums and restaurants they have where I’m stranded. Infrequent travelers who don’t know what they’re doing, and/or can’t afford it are ending up taking Greyhound buses or sleeping at the field.

Air travel is sort of a victim of its own success. It’s so ridiculously reliable most of the time that people come to expect it. Ordinarily, you can depart on your trip, and even after disruptions, you have a high degree of certainty that you’ll be at your destination within 24 hours. So we don’t really think of it in terms of the worst case scenario anymore

My usual advice, at the risk of being considered elitist, is to put $20 in a jar every time you have a successful flight. Get it back out this week. I imagine it’s not a good look to say that anybody who can’t afford a one-way car home or a hotel room for a couple of days shouldn’t be traveling at all. That’s more due to economics and public policy I guess.

gaobest

Personally I would have booked and paid more with another airline.

for these people I really can’t suggest something. Yes I can believe that they lack immediate cash for flying or renting a car. It’s just not a situation that I know. I can’t afford to fly private or transcon F so I guess I just don’t. I also don’t know if I can cash-flow afford to loan or give anyone $5k in order to fly home if they were in the WN debacle. I’d probably give them $500 for whatever and not mention it.

TravelerMSY

it would indeed, but I imagine the sort of people in these videos who can’t scrape up 500 or 1000 at the last minute probably do not have premium AMEX or Chase cards.

NoStressHere

NOPE.

Most of those deals require you to pay for stuff and then get reimbursed. And for people with zero credit cards, or only 1 or 2 - chances are they have a card that WOULD NOT HELP AT ALL.

guv1976

Panhandling can be lucrative in some locales.

Credit cards which offer trip-delay insurance (for covered reasons) will typically pay for food and lodging, subject to a maximum per claim (often $500, which won't go very far in some places). Yes, you have to pay and then submit for reimbursement, but unless you're maxed out on your credit card, that should not be a problem. As noted, however, it tends to be the higher-end cards with annual fees which offer trip-delay insurance.

guv1976

This article from The Points Guy identifies several credit cards which offer trip-delay insurance, including one with no annual fee (the Marriott Bonvoy Bold card from Chase):

https://thepointsguy.com/credit-card...reimbursement/

("Flight delayed or canceled? Here are the best credit cards with trip delay reimbursement")

Collierkr

Wait do we really think that a significant number of WN flyers are paying cash for tickets? Less than 5% is my guess.

1200GS

This.

I'd be in a rental car driving home. Or to a hotel, or friends house, whatever. I had a similar situation when I lived in CA - I was on the last flight out of SF Bay (can't recall the airport) back to LA. Flight canceled. I rented a car and drove home vs. staying over. Come to think of it, I think that was a Southwest flight...

Being prepared is a part of travel. I keep an extra ID, CC and cash (about enough for a hotel stay and a few meals) in a separate location from my wallet just in case.

smmrfld

The whole premise of this thread is absurd, IMO.