Southwest Airlines Reviews

To summarize: - A delay turned into a cancellation that should have just been a cancellation from the beginning. - Houston Southwest Hub is TERRIBLE!! (Even though their customer service was trying, the Southwest policies were just making it impossible to really help) - My LUGGAGE was SOPPING WET including everything that was inside of it! (thank God I was going to visit family and not going somewhere else but that was not the case for other people) -All in all, this was the worst experience with Southwest that I've ever had and for them to only give us a useless Hotel voucher for the evening was just Disrespectful and showed me they really don't care about their customers. Let me explain why. We traveled from Belize to St. Louis but had a layover in Houston. I normally never have any issues with Southwest; they're my go-to, but after this flight, I can NEVER travel through Houston and won't always look to Southwest as my number one. Our layover from Belize was four hours and the flight was a red-eye so we got food and relaxed for a little while we waited. As we got closer to boarding, a storm rolled through and diverted the plane to New Orleans. Not a problem at all since I hate flying when it's just cloudy. Once the storm cleared, the ticketing counter kept us updated on the re-boarding in New Orleans, the wheels being up, and them being halfway through the trip. My issue came when the flight, about 20 minutes to landing in Houston to take us back to St. Louis was suddenly canceled. At this point, it's 1 am and everyone is confused and outraged because the sky is clear. We then find out, the flight crew ran out of flying hours. Seriously!? So, throughout this entire ordeal, which took about 3- 4 hours after the initial boarding time, NO ONE calculated their flight hours until they were getting ready to land?! The icing on the cake was the rebooked flights for layover trips through Dallas to St. Louis the next morning and the hotel voucher that was basically useless! I mean seriously, it's 2 am by this time and we have to be on a flight in literally 4 hours?! In what world does leaving the airport and going to the hotel make any type of sense? We were put on a standby list for the flight that was direct to St. Louis at 5:35 am that morning and because we were in the middle of a connection, we were told we were top priority and pushed above the others who weren't in the middle of a connection. Well, that was also FALSE! If someone had A+ preferred, we were pushed down the list after them even though they weren't in the middle of a connection. The worst part is that after the horrible experience was over and we were finally in St. Louis to collect our bags, EVERYTHING WAS SOAKING WET! Essentially, it seems like during the storm, our bags were left outside unprotected and soaked by the rain. Why in the world would they leave them exposed like that? Everything smelled like mildew and was still wet, so I had to wash the entire contents of our bag and lay the electronics out to dry. Thankfully we had our laptops, but our firestick, chargers, and other things were in there. That alone really pissed me off. I just wanted to shower and change clothes and rest after 24+ hours of DOMESTIC travel that should have only been 12. But no, I had to do Laundry before I did anything else because I had nothing to change into!

I have always loved Southwest. I feel like one of those 'loyal to the brand' types of people. They are SO accommodating to families after we had our newborn on 3 flights. If I can fly Southwest, I WILL!

I can only comment on my situation as we've yet to fly with Southwest. We had a flight booked and early into our US trip received a call from our home that my wife's mother was gravely Ill. We were on a plane 10 hours later going back home. I cancelled Southwest domestic flight same day and later emailed them asking for a refund. I explained in detail the circumstances we were in. They went the extra mile for us and refunded our flight even though they were under no obligation to do so. That small amount was critical at that time as we incurred substantial costs due to cancellation fees and re-booking costs. In light of what happened I can easily give them a 5 star rating.

Their Call Center needs more staffing. Their wait on hold said that we are important to them but the wait to get to a live agent was going to be one to two hours. Contradiction much?

Poor service. My original flight was to depart at 10:30 PM. I got to the airport a little after 8 PM. Flight 5488 to Atlanta has been delayed more than 5 times with completely unacceptable reasoning in my opinion. I am still sitting in Austin airport while Southwest send updates of delays. You’re updates aren’t helping me, I have back to back meetings starting at 8 AM and currently if this flight doesn’t get pushed back for the 6th time I will currently reach Atlanta at 6:14 AM, not my office where my meetings are held, ATL airport. This is ridiculous. I’ve spoke to many people with no help. This will be my last time flying with southwest, I never had this issue with American Airlines.

Why do I pay to upgrade my seating position so I can enter and exit the flight sooner only to have people from the back shove their way to the front when it’s time to disembark. I’ve flown on a Mexican Airline Volaris where the Captain announces that there is an order to exiting a plane and it’s done by rows!!! He makes everyone remain seated until their turn. People have zero consideration anymore and are treating planes like greyhound buses. There is no flight etiquette. Passengers need to be told!!! Southwest just allows rude passengers to charge from the back to front. It’s so annoying!

Attention Southwest passengers, please take a moment to read this important message to ensure you don't miss your flight. Allow me to share my recent experience that left me deeply disappointed. My boarding pass clearly stated that I needed to be on the plane by 3:20 PM, as the scheduled departure time was 3:32 PM. However, due to the disorganized nature of the TSA, it took an astonishing 45 minutes for me to place my personal belongings on the tray for scanning. To compound the situation, the TSA officials encountered difficulties while scanning my daughter's belongings. As I anxiously watched the clock, it took them an additional 20 minutes to complete the task. Finally, I arrived at the gate at 3:13 PM, a respectable 7 minutes before the designated boarding time mentioned on my boarding pass. To my dismay, however, the door had already been closed, and I, along with approximately 8 other passengers who had faced similar delays with TSA, were denied boarding. Consequently, I missed my flight to Ft Lauderdale and had to hastily book a flight to Orlando at 7 PM, which landed at 10:30 PM. On top of that, I had to endure a tiring 2.5-hour drive to WPB, knowing that I had work the next day. As a frequent traveler, missing a plane was a first for me, and it has left me with a strong resolve never to fly with Southwest again. What truly bewilders me is the stark contrast in treatment when delays occur. On numerous occasions, I have arrived on time only to experience flight delays for various reasons. As customers, we are expected to accept such inconveniences, but the differential treatment when delays happen to us is disheartening. Southwest has unequivocally lost my business. To add insult to injury, I had to personally retrieve my luggage from the Ft Lauderdale airport since I was not eligible for free delivery. This entire experience has further deepened my dissatisfaction.

THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CUSTOMER CARE. CLEAN AND SANITIZE AIRCRAFT. EXCELLENCE CREW. THANK YOU SOUTHWEST AIRLINES TO BE IN MY TOWN BNA. 🫶❤️

I think there are some things that they can upgrade, but TSA and security were amazing, and all of the employees were friendly. The thing that I think they can improve is luggage care. When I was on a plane to KC I saw that the guys who were putting luggage into planes were NOT careful at all, plus this is how they broke my wheel on the suitcase, they tossed it, then the wheel snapped right off. 3/5 for this one.

I can’t fly to Chicago for two days due to a rescheduled flight!!! for the first time we got on a plane and everyone just dropped us off and said that you were leaving tomorrow! and the next day they promised a direct flight to Chicago, but again they outplayed everything and changed the flight 3-4 hours before departure! Now I need to fly with a transfer to Dallas! I also have my own business, job, family waiting for me at home! I paid money for this! Is this an airline or a taxi on call?! If you are saving your time, don't fly with this airline!!

I booked a group travel ticket for 10 people and when I made the reservation over the phone, I paid the required $500 deposit at the same time. After I made the payment, I received an email that the deposit was non-refundable and I needed to make the final payment by May 2023. I went in today (5/18/2023) to make the final payment and was told that my reservation was cancelled because I did not make the payment by May 5 and that my deposit was forfeited. This is a scam - DO NOT make your deposit payment at the same time you make your reservation. Be sure to obtain the contract before forking out any money and read the very, very fine print carefully and several times. Better yet, fly a different airline!!

I know there are some poor reviews on American local carrier Southwest. But I flow from San Jose to Las Vegas and back on Southwest in the last two weeks, and they were brilliant. The staff are caring and helpful, and they actually socially engage with their passengers. Plus they give you a free drink and snacks on the plane, for a one hour flight I thought that was fantastic. I'm not even going to say airlines that service UK like Ryanair can learn from them, because I don't think Ryanair wants to learn anything from anyone!. So, southwest thanks for taking us to Vegas and back on your planes, we will definitely fly with you again in future.

On Sunday, May 14 (Mother's Day) I was researching info for my 2 80+ yearly friends that were flying to Long Beach on Thursday, May 17. They both had request wheelchairs both directions, but I was trying to find the protocol when they arrived at Long Beach, CA as it doesn't have a pull-up ramp but deplane using stairs. My male friend will not be able to do that as his legs not strong enough. KEYSHA, Houston reservationist, did not know , but made several telephone calls while I was on hold to get the proper information. Her willingness to go beyond answering the phone; her constant checking to see if I was still on HOLD; and her desire to make sure I received the proper information was so much appreciated. It is so frustrating not to be able to find the right number to call for my answer, but was relieved to find a person willing to go beyond Thank you KEYSHA for you help. FYI, my husband and I have been lucky that all our SW flights have been great and the men at the outside curb-service have been more than wonderful I recently flew from Cambodia to San Francisco (4/15) and I believe Arthur at curb-service was incredible for me and my 2 friends. I needed a wheelchair and he ran inside to get one so I didnt have to stand there. The 3 of us were so exhausted due to our long flight. Then, I had a wonderful wheelchair assistant to take me the rest of the way. I have nothing but positive comments to make about Southwest

I was leery about flying SWA after all the cancellations these past holidays. But I decided to give them a chance and my flight to Tampa was totally fine. Even though it was an evening flight, it was only delayed 20 min due to waiting for the plane to arrive. Smooth flight, good staff on board. No issues!

Hello readers. This message regarding Southwest Airlines ticket counter extension. I miss my first flight to visit Nashville Tn. So I was put on standby, ones I learned that I was to put on the next. I had to go get my new ticket from the customer service. That’s where I’ll meet Mr. David who was not friendly or nice at all. Mr. David had to re-inform dad how lucky I was that I was not supposed to be on this flight either but someone showed up late as well. My reply was oh I’m so sorry to hear that. Thank you so much for helping me he reply he just make sure you get on this flight. I’ll reply back to let Mr. David know that I will be sitting here and will not miss this flight. His response was a model silence. For customer service to do their job with a smile on their face when people like myself pay good money to fly with Southwest and get a Southwest experience when we fly south with respect to the customer service skills. Thank you once again, Mr. David.

Great Job by Ms. Lisa (Lisa51 from Chicago Call center) Lisa from Chicago 51 is the most helpful since i called three times if you look at the log i called from the 1 407 310 7933 to check in - but before that i was not able to logon at the portal i wanted to set up She was so keen, eager to help as well as resolve. She has the patience Tenacity Knowledge Highly helpful outstanding customer service She is asset this happened on March 4/27/2023- Thursday and the flight crew from Baltimore to Orlando-MCO on 4/28/2023 like people like Stephanie and the crew make a difference on 5/2/2023 from Nashville, TN to CHS, SC -awesome person at the end- i think it was courtney or i will check out

So done with Southwest, booked a flight to Tampa 4/27/23, got a text flight delayed 25 min, ok no big deal, get to the airport, park the car, go through security, get on the tram and by the time I got off the tram another text saying flight was cancelled!!!! Seriously, lame excuse saying problem in Tampa with air traffic control, but funny no other airline cancelled going to Tampa! They rebooked me for 5:45 am next day, should I go next day and have that cancelled too? why and issue one day but resolved next morning? I already had to pay for parking and drive 45 minutes to home again! Now I have to fight for my money back because I used points from another flight I had to cancel due to covid! Of course no one could explain what the problem was in Tampa, typical southwest internal issues that were to be upgraded, but probably were not. I will NEVER trust them again or fly Southwest, save your selves the aggravation people and use another airline!! Done! I want a check sent for my points! flight confirmation #3VDADL

I purchased $1,500 worth of gift cards from a third party for Southwest airlines to use for our honeymoon. When I went online to use the electronic gift cards for the trip we had been looking at, the codes generated by Southwest airlines were no good. You see on Southwest gift cards you need 19 digits they only generated 16 digits so my gift cards were of no use. When I was finally able to get my money back for the gift cards from the original vendor the prices had increased and the promotions had changed. Our original trip to Mexico was going to cost about $700 per person in the trip now is between 1,000 and 1,100. After 2 weeks of trying to reach someone at Southwest that could help me I was told that there is nothing that they can do to honor the price I was going to originally purchase them at. I told them that the error and mistake was on their part and they should be liable and be able to honor the original price we were looking at. They are refusing to help but have the audacity to tell me that I'm a valued customer and that they are more than willing to help me if I agree to play 7 to 800 dollars more for the same trip. With all of the problems Southwest airlines has had in the last 4 to 6 months you think they would try to do a little bit more to help the consumer. Go to Expedia or funjet tours or any other tour company to book your trip.

Southwest can burn in HELL!! I don't see how they are still in business.

I will never use Southwest Vacations again unless it’s some sort of crazy “travel emergency.” They make it very difficult to change your flight. You can’t do it through SWA & there are change fees. Don’t be deceived. I think they must be a second party travel agency. The reps are in an outside the US call center & don’t always speak good English. I had to pay for another ticket because I could not just go on the app & change my flight. My trip cost an additional $260!! So, it’s definitely not worth the “savings.” It’s so much better & easier to book through Costco Travel where they actually care about their customers!!