Southwest Airlines
Reviews and Complaints

My wife and I were leaving Chicago to go to our home in Norfolk and were checking 3 bags (October 7, 2017—9:20 direct flight). We get to the counter, and we were told to print out our passes (by "Rose"). I thought she meant boarding passes but she meant the stickers for the suitcases. This is no big deal, except she was rude when telling us this. Then, we didn't know how to put the stickers on, and they were really, really rude (seriously rude)--assuming we "should know" how to do this. Meanwhile, 15 feet away is the "full service section" with no passengers waiting. They could have told us to go there--if they didn't want to help us, but instead, continued just to be rude to us about our inability to put the stickers on. "Read the instructions" they kept stating to us--treating us like children (I have a doctorate, by the way). I quipped back something like—“they’re going to replace you as they’re making everything automated.” I don’t believe my tone was rude. My wife asked for the name of the attendee and was told “Rose” and that they don’t give out last names.

We ended up going to the “full-service section” because we never placed a large poster board on the “luggage” check-in with our other three pieces of luggage (because we had become so frazzled from the rudeness). They were extremely nice and helpful (there was a “Rose” there also). We told them about our difficulty with the “self-help” people and they retrieved a manager. He responded to us in a perfunctory manner. He mentioned we could submit a complaint online. Thus, I am doing this.
Bottom line, really really rude and condescending at the "self-help" check-in. This self-help section was new to us, and it would have been nice if we had received kind help instead of condescending, rude attitudes.

On Sept 30, 2017 i flew into Newark N J from. Oakland Ca
On arrival i went to pick up luggage and found out it had been taken by someone else.
I was in town for a class i had prepaid for at the Marriot Hotel which i was unable to teach my scheduled class because my clothes & retail products. & equip ment were not available.
When baggage was located i was told i could walk to the airport to pick it up which further unconvinced me. Not only did this incedent cause me embarrassment but i lost money and time trying to eleveate a problem that was not my causing

I wanted to get this story out for people to hear. A friend and I had planned a trip to Puerto Rico several weeks before Hurricane Irma. After several days of meeting the most amazing locals, we learned about the massive damage done to St. Marteen, and were expecting at least some what of a hit to Puerto Rico. Southwest Airlines had sent messages to us letting us know that our flight due out on Sept 9th was cancelled and we needed to rebook our reservations. We hunkered down and weathered the storm. Immediately we tried booking a flight out the next day only to be told that there were no flights out for another week or more. Even though San Juan was without power, we decided to head to the airport to check on possible flights and to rent a jeep to be able to navigate the weather torn streets of PR. Upon arriving at the airport, we met with an agent manning the Southwest desk armed with only a smartphone. She had given us her personal number and asked that we send her our original flight information. At this point we had no hope of leaving any time soon as the island was still battling down trees, power lines and little to no power service. On the Friday prior to our original return flight, Anita from Southwest sent a text message with our boarding passes for a flight out the following day.
But the story doesn’t end here. Hurricane Maria was right behind. As we all watched in horror the devastation of yet another hurricane and one that was about to punch PR right in the nose, we tried to maintain contact with our friends who had made reservations to visit us here in Charleston. Those flights were made with JetBlue. Maria was devestating, much worse than Irma and with PR just getting power supplied back to the outlying communities, all communication with our friends had been severed. Knowing how badly things were after the glancing blow of Irma and seeing the news reports of the widespread damage of Maria, it was clear getting out of PR again would prove to be a nightmare. I called JetBlue immediately to check on the status of the flights for our friends and as expected, were cancelled. Next available flights were almost two weeks out. Hot, no water, electric, cell service, food or even gas to power the few generators that were available down there, we had to get our friends out fast. I remembered what Anita had done for us just a few short weeks before and decided to reach out one more time. Again, Anita Santiago was there to get things done. Even though Annette was scheduled on a flight with JetBlue, Anita Santiago was able to get her on a flight that same day out of PR into Orlando. This was amazing. We all were thrilled. But again, the story doesn’t stop there. They not only got Annette out into FL, but provided her with a ticket into Charleston. All of this was done FREE of charge. Not a single penny was taken. SouthWest has been flying humanitarian aid in, nonstop since Maria and flying people out as they headed back to the states to pick up additional supplies. No one seems to be reporting on this and we thought it was important for them to be recognized for their service. Needless to say, I will be flying Southwest from now on. They are amazing.

I requested 3 seats together so me and my 2 kids can sit comfortably and safely together. It wqs confirmed with our boarding passes. They refused to allow us in our assigned seating. The stewardess was rude about it and the ticket man at terminal entrance. My daughter was terrified to fly and I am disabled, so they were not compassionate what so ever. I'm really disappointed with the services and the attitude. It would have been different if the plane was full of small children, service people or many disabled needing special services, but it wasn't. It was mainly business men and women who clearly could have sat in their assigned seats.

I was waiting at gate 127 in Florida returning from Jamaica to St.Louis, when I noticed a Lady at the booth pointing in my direction I turned to see what she was pointing at and there were six or seven wheel chairs with people waiting to board. When I turned around she was smiling at me I mouthed to her "who me" she made a motion with her hands and waist, than walked over and stood in front of my friend and said, " are you afraid? The customers are afraid to fly with you because your big". I told her that was no way to approach someone and to get away from me.
I saw she left the gate and told the other lady to call the supervisor when he came down it was not of any help he said it was the rules of the aircraft and that's ok but she publicly tried to emirs me, which is uncalled for. He than said that I refuse to give my name at customer service and was getting loud I relayed to him that was untrue the person that pushed my wheelchair and I through was there and even said he had his details wrong he than raise his voice and asked " what did I want him to do?" I said nothing and to leave me alone.
I have traveled often but never have I been so insulted by a person that is in charge of dealing with people many of the guests around me apologized for her and couldn't believe she acted this way, I would never recommend any person of large size to fly with you again. My flight boarded at 6:40 to St.Louis

I was a Business Select passenger on SWA Flight 3146 from ATL - BWI on 3 Sept 2017. I noticed that the flight attendant was serving drinks to other passengers but I did not have a chance to order. (I probably dozed off while she was taking orders). I attempted several times to politely gain her attention and ask for a drink. She clearly ignored my requests. I finally pushed the call button, which she eventually answered. I politely asked her for a drink and her response was, "were you asleep when others were ordering? You snooze, you lose!" She was sarcastic, impolite and unprofessional. The passenger seated next to me commented as to how rude she was. The flight attendant's nametag showed 'Cathi.'
This experience was surprising to me because I fly Southwest quite often and am always happy with the service; that's why I keep coming back. I hope this was an isolated instance and that Cathi usually represents your company well. She did not during my flight, however. Please feel free to contact me if any further information is requested.

Cordially,

Jim Hawkins

I was at the McCarran airport Tuesday morning and the agent by the name of Naomi was having a conversation with another airport employee at the gate my flight was supposed to be leaving from . I stood at the desk where they were talking for about 2 minutes trying to find a break in their convo. After waiting for what I felt was an appropriate amount of time I said "excuse me, I just have one quick question" She ignored me for a second to finish her convo and then proceeded to ask what I needed. While looking up the info I needed she blurted out "you know, you interrupted my conversation" I replied " oh I'm sorry I thought I gave enough time to wrap it up, i just had a quick question" she kind of went back and forth with me and I just decided to walk away, she tried to change her tone once I told her she had horrible customer service but it was too late I was already walking away . I fly southwest often and have never exiperienced anybody talk to me like that !

I flew flight 788 from Denver to Pittsburgh yesterday. They served snacks and drinks and a while later came around again and asked if we would like anything else. Me and another friend that were flying asked for more drink...she took our order came back with one drink for my friend which was wrong and would not bring mine...my friend said it was wrong and she got nasty and said I could not hear you...when she came through she would not collect our trash...not the way to treat a customer

8/21/17 my flight was delayed so I decided to grab some food and a beer. Once I boarded the plane, I took my seat and had everything under it and my seatbelt on. Next thing you know I have two individuals coming down the aisle pulling me off the plane and wouldn't tell me why. Once I got off the aircraft, they said I "appeared" to be intoxicated! To whom, I asked and I didn't get a response. At this point I'm in tears b/c I knew I had to make this flight for my job as it was a work related trip. So not only would they not let me fly that day, my luggage was stuck in Denver, I had no car at the airport and no place to stay. To top it off the next day i'm fired b/c I didn't make the flight. I am livid and will never fly southwest airlines ever again and will tell everyone I know not to as well.

We were in Reno suppose to fly out at 730PM had a connecting flight in California. Get on the plane and wait for everyone to get loaded which took longer because the plane was over booked. Then we get on the runway and the pilot said he had to turn around because of electrical issues. We had to wait a half hour to get gate to park then when we finally got there we set in the plane for 45 min so they can decide what to do. At this point we missed our connection. They tell us that we need to get of the plane don't know whats wrong but there will be customer service rep's there to help. Well they help alright the guy at the counter was screaming at people every one was upset it was horrible never seen anything like it before I was scared. My husband is not not in good health and disabled so he was in a lot of pain. They finally got us a plane but it wasn't tell the next day so, sent us to a hotel and by this time it is 1130 and have had no dinner and they didn't even compensate us for our pain. Nothing was open for dinner and my husband was sick and we had to deal with out bags and then you sent my toiletries back to Portland so we had no toothbrushes or nothing to clean up with. It was the wrest experience i ever had. Then the next day when we got home had to take my husband to ER from all the issues we went through. I use to love southwest but now i have lost all love and we being flying other airlines and will share my story. Mary Johnson

We flew to the Dominican Republic in May 2017. I called Southwest in March and asked them if I should wait until the tickets go down to book or I can book and get a refund if the tickets go down in price. The lady on the phone told me that I can book now and if the tickets go down I will get a credit that is good for a year. She did not mention that its one year from the time I booked and not from the time I called. I am planning a trip in March 2018 and when I called the Southwest rep informed me that my vouchers are only good until March 6th, 2018. I am traveling on March 31st. Can you please let me use my vouchers. We are a frequent Southwest flyers and its very unpleasant that we can't use our vouchers. Reservation number is 5BKGQD. Thank you

i came at 8pm this evening and check in with with my silblings our luggage. between my sister and i, we had two ice chest, suitcase and my daughter carseat. after our ice chest was checked, we asked for tape. the ladies gave us 2 almost empty rolls. i needed to tape the trash bag wrapped on my daughter carseat and my sister needed to secure ice chest. the lady asked us to not use all tape since it was the last two. okay, but we still need to secure our luggage. one lady kept giving my sister the side eye while she taped. i used two strands to secure my daughters car seat, we both try to minimize our usage while securing our luggage. before they placed my carseat on the belt, one lady asked in a condensing tone if i secure it enough. thats when i had enough. told her i secure it the best i could with as little tape i could. she proceeded to tell me, prople bring their own tape honey. i told her excuse me, i didnt think i needed to since all the other times the airport provided it willingly. she responded they only gave us 7 a day and thats ehy prople bring their own honey. i again reply, excuse me, im sorry they bit i didnt think i need to. she got me upset. while waiting for these two ladies, they were complaining about their job already, about their job only needing to throw the bag on the belt. when we left, a guy next to us asl for tape, one lady made a snide comment about this being the last of it. i get that its been a long day but heck i had a long day. i dont need to be greeted rudely or start my trip due to freaking tape. people forget small things all the time when going on a trip. if tape is an issue, place a sign saying bring your own freaking tape. i also don't appreciate being called honey. train your employees better to be greeted ma'am and sir. i may be young but i deserve some respect. these two ladies have caused us to be upset for last two hours over some freaking tape.

You just stranded five of us including 2 children and a man with dementia in a wheelchair overnight without hotel or meals or access to medication. And no attempt to contact other than change in flight status. Call it weather but no other airline had delays. Shame on you! Got anything to say for yourselves and your miserable company. I don't want just sorry. Anne Lewis [protected] [protected]@earthlink.net. Currently at the Hilton garden airport paying $248 for distressed traveler rooms - 2 of them we can't afford and going to eat at Wendy's with folks with dietary restrictions. Going to publish a photo if I don't hear back in 48 hours.

On August 5, 2017 flight 2414 from Phoenix Arizona to Cleveland Ohio the woman sitting directly held a small barking dog that pooped and vomited.
We the passengers had to hold something over our noses and mouths because the stench was unbearable. She sat in her seat and made no attempt to go to a restroom to clean the dog let alone herself. The flight attendants also made no attempt to rectify this unhealthy situation. Everyone within smelling distance had their faces covered for approximately 45 minutes. By the time we landed in Cleveland my stomach was on fire and a nasty headache. I am 80 years old and should not have been subjected to such a situation. I will have to fly back to my home in Phoenix and am truly leery of going Southwest Airlines. I have tried to call for 2 days. Today I was on hold for 78 minutes and finally hung up. I expect a response . Sylvia Sullivan [protected].

Flying from Orlando to Denver on flight 2888 8/6/17 and had the most rude FA ever. His name is McArthur. He was exasperated while doing the in flight safety briefing and when asked a question by someone who had not flown before, he rolled his eyes and walked away. Then while handing out snacks, he had a snide comment to everyone. There was a young boy who was watching a movie on his laptop on his tray table and when McArthur got to his row, he told his mother that he needs to sit the food box on that table. She said, "can you just sit it on mine?". His response was "you aren't special, I have set this on the middle tray table for everyone else, I am not going to just stand here and hold it for you." Then when he came one more row back to us, he was rude while getting drink orders and ignored my request after I tried to pay with cash not card. He later very rudely talked to a lady who was trying to get to the restroom and accused her of "trying to run him over" after she apologized, then said "watch where you are going". We started asking the flight attendant in the front for things as she walked by since no one wanted interactions with him anymore. My mother in law was sternly talked to by him over the restroom, she is frail and has to lean on things when walking. We took this trip because she was given 6 months to live. When we spend hard earned money on a flight for a family of 5, we expect to be treated with respect and kindness. We could have chosen any other airline.

I have a southwest airlines credit card that I charge everything to so i can get points. I have flown between Corpus Christi and Dallas Texas four times in the past month. The flights are either egregiously late or cancelled. As I am typing this I am stuck in Houston Texas. I was told to get off the plane in Houston at 9:00 am with no explanation. The next flight is not leaving until 11:55. I went to customer service at gate 41 and spoke with Ebony, who was very rude and offered no explanation and offered no compensation for the inconvenience. After attending a family funeral in Wyoming and driving 16 hours straight to Dallas, being delayed in arriving home by a consistently late/cancelled flight airlines with rude customer service was the last thing I needed. I will no longer be using your services...Jena Gonzalez... long time rapid rewards member

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: STEPHANIE RICHBURG-PERRY
Date: August 5, 2017 at 9:42:25 AM EDT
To: [protected]@yahoo.com
Subject: Southwest Flight 2078- Extremely Poor Customer Service

My husband and I booked the flight listed above on February 23rd, to attend our family reunion. We arrive at the airport two hours prior to this flight time only to receive an email at 10:21am ( 55 minutes before we are scheduled to start boarding) that the fight was cancelled due to the weather.

Fri Aug 4
2078
Depart RALEIGH/DURHAM, NC (RDU) on Southwest Airlinesat 11:50 AM
Arrive in BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON, MD (BWI) at 12:55 PM
Travel Time 1 hrs 5 min

BWI - weather below

Friday
08/0486 | 68 °F
Fri20 % Precip. / 0 in
A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Fri Night20 % Precip. / 0 in
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.

My sister whose currently at BWI awaiting our arrival said it was sunny there. I called the hotel that we were booked to stay at and they also stated no rain in sight and that they had nothing but sunshine. When I gave this info to the ticketing agent ( while still holding the phone line for a SW agent to come to pick ) I was then told the FAA cancelled the flight.. Then I decided to go online to southwest .com to see what was going on. I found our flight (2078) was scheduled to leave BWI at 2pm heading to Salt Lake City Utah...how as that? The very same flight number.It was do to arrive a little after 5pm... Interesting because for sure that doesn't just happen it has to go through a process and people have to be manually placed on that flight. Two totally different flight with the exact same flight number flying out in supposedly the same bad weather that kept us from flying into BWI. Now I know it wasn't breather related for sure because we had family at the BWI airport and at the hotel. Later a SW employee stated they had cancelled so many flights on Thursday (8/3) and didn't have enough crew to get caught up . ... And that SW failed to notify the customers in a timely manner. Southwest refused to engage or secure other flights for us on other airlines and being all out of options we headed home and missed our family reunion. Now I think you should be held accountable for you actions because you clearly chose to lie about the situation instead of facing it head on and being honest with you customers. Your customer service was one of the worst I have ever experienced with an airline. You had a ticketing agent ( Kiah) who stated oh she could deal with the attitudes because she was from NY... Really ? What kind of customer service commenting is that? All she needed to do was her job nothing more nothing less. So in a short time you manage to cancel 2078 from RDU- BWI and used that exact same flight number got and air craft, crew and passengers assigned to leave BWI enroute to Salt Lake City Utah... Interesting...you failed to inform your customers in a timely manner, you failed in getting us assigned to other flights, you failed in getting us to our destinations and you FAILED IN CUSTOMER SERVICE! I know first hand it wasn't a weather related issue as it was told to us because I we had family at the BWI airport awaiting us as well as family in DC. Then SW conveniently changed the story to shift the blame to the FAA. Southwest commitment to Customer service is the worst I have ever seen.
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Sent from my iPad

I flew on 8-4-17 from Corpus Christi Texas flight 667 to Houston, I then was to fly to Reagan on flight 103. 103 got cancelled I was told weather. I looked into it and it said possible delays and also no other carrier stopped flying to Reagan, I further accessed the FAA website and found Reagan was not in the list of delays. I was placed on a flight at 6:50pm flight 1086 and it is now delayed due to...yep weather but not 5 minutes ago they boarded a flight to Baltimore. I have now. Even sitting here in Houston 9 1/2 hours and still no closer to my destination or answers. The employees at the podiums will not answer my questions and there is no offer to do anything except have me wait until now 9:15pm if this flight goes I will have been stuck in Houston for 13 hours 45 minutes with no explanation or answers.

We have been sitting here since 730 just to hear what we thought was our flight was really a earlier flight from before now here it is 1057 and no one knows what gate where we are boarding this is really frustrating and poor communication skill with southwest, we was scheduled for an event and it's my husbands birthday and thanks to you guys it's all messed up my husband is upset and all plans has failed thanks to you guys

My name is Matthew Good and I was flighing out of Salt Lake City Wednesday July 26th on flight # 3587, Departure time 12:05p Heading to Las Vegas For work.

When arriving in Las Vegas all the passengers including my self waited at the baggage claim for a little over 1 hour to get our bags.

When my bags arrived the right wheel on one of my new luggages was broken. I was not sure what to do or who to file a complaint with at the time, I was already running late for a meeting also so I left.

While working I did some research and found this sight. I would like this to be taken care of and would like to get reimbursed for my broken bag threw SouthWest Airlines. That is only far as my luggage was like new.

Please get back with me in a timely manner by email or phone call.
Matthew Goog
[protected]@live.com
[protected]