Southwest Airlines in a nationwide meltdown

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:NP. I'm truly amazed by the poster(s?) who's hellbent on blaming the stranded travelers. The total lack of humanity or empathy is breathtaking.

+1

It’s disgusting.

My favorite was the poster that said poor people shouldn't travel. I think DC moms are winning the title for sh!ttiest people.

In general, people shouldn't do things they can't afford.

Even poor people want to travel to see loved ones once in a while. You don't know if someone is traveling to see their terminally ill relative.

Have some humanity and just shut up already.

We want lots of things we can't afford. That's just life. People who spend money they don't have is a big part of the problem in this country.

No. Insufferable dickheads are a big part of the problem in this country.

Life isn't free and you can't have everything you want. Sorry that's so triggering for you.

They bought and paid for a flight. They are not receiving the service they paid for or being accommodated for their inconvenience. That's a a failure on the company's customer service not being poor.

So airlines should risk everyone's life to fly when it is unsafe because that is what people paid for.

Why don't you petition congress to make a law that says airlines must have enough back up aircraft to rectify all situations within 24 hours. Then the poor and a good chunk of the middle class will not be able to fly because the cost and seat availability will be extremely limiting.

Every other airline is doing fine. This is a SW being incompetent problem. Regulation would be great, Europe has passenger rights and cheap flights- the two aren't mutually exclusive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Hawaii last winter break and remember worrying our flight would be cancelled as thousands of flights were being cancelled daily. This seems like a repeat of last year except there really was a weather emergency. Add in Covid, flu, RSV, what a disaster.

Its such a stressful time to travel, I really don't understand why people do it. Especially rich people who presumably have very nice homes to spend the holiday in.

The kids have two weeks off from school. I am pretty sure we traveled every winter break besides 2020.

That's totally fine, but surely you are not shocked that its expensive and stressful and sometimes affected by weathe or illness? These are just known risks. We have sometimes traveled during this two week period too, but we mostly have concluded its not our preferred time of year to travel for all of these reasons.

This.

I got unbelievably sick from food poising while in Paris several years ago. Couldn't get out of bed without passing out. Was in no condition to travel to airport let alone fly for 7 hours. I had to pay for 2 extra days in a hotel, a private medical service to administer IVs, a massive rebooking fee that was only $100 less than a new ticket, plus a very generous tip to hotel staff who had to deal with cleaning up a mess and kindly went above and beyond took care/assist me. It is part of traveling, things happen and unexpected expenses pop up.

[Anonymous]

There are several ways in which the FU is different from normal weather delays:

1) SWA software collapse. We were sitting in BWI for hours watching a slow motion disaster. One flight attendant was stuck somewhere. They found a replacement flight attendant. They were then on the phone for hours trying to reach someone at SWA to update the crew record to put the replacement attendant on. As my teenager said, she could write the code to automate that in a day. It’s ridiculous that they did not have software to handle this.

2) we were on a flight with tickets purchased months ago. No weather issues, no crew issues, no mechanical issues. They bumped my children from that flight to accommodate A list preferred people from other flights that had been cancelled. I e never heard of an airline bumping passengers just because they want to accommodate other passengers. Ironically, my husband and I are A list preferred (so did not get bumped but couldn’t leave our kids standing in the airport). I thought this policy was absolutely outrageous and I’ve never heard of that happening before. They also rank the stand by list by whether you have status so there was no way for the kids to get off stand by.

3) also oddly they loaded our luggage even though we had been bumped from the flight hours before the plane took off. Most airlines have the capacity to pull luggage in that circumstance — I assume this is another failing of the SW software. I thought there was an FAA rule that the luggage couldn’t fly if the person wasn’t checked in for the flight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I'm truly amazed by the poster(s?) who's hellbent on blaming the stranded travelers. The total lack of humanity or empathy is breathtaking.

+1

It’s disgusting.

My favorite was the poster that said poor people shouldn't travel. I think DC moms are winning the title for sh!ttiest people.

In general, people shouldn't do things they can't afford.

Even poor people want to travel to see loved ones once in a while. You don't know if someone is traveling to see their terminally ill relative.

Have some humanity and just shut up already.

We want lots of things we can't afford. That's just life. People who spend money they don't have is a big part of the problem in this country.

No. Insufferable dickheads are a big part of the problem in this country.

Life isn't free and you can't have everything you want. Sorry that's so triggering for you.

They bought and paid for a flight. They are not receiving the service they paid for or being accommodated for their inconvenience. That's a a failure on the company's customer service not being poor.

If you aren't stranded at the airport over this why are you so invested? Don't fly SW again. But you seem oddly concerned about this situation that doesn't seem to directly impact you. What is your agenda here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are several ways in which the FU is different from normal weather delays:

1) SWA software collapse. We were sitting in BWI for hours watching a slow motion disaster. One flight attendant was stuck somewhere. They found a replacement flight attendant. They were then on the phone for hours trying to reach someone at SWA to update the crew record to put the replacement attendant on. As my teenager said, she could write the code to automate that in a day. It’s ridiculous that they did not have software to handle this.

2) we were on a flight with tickets purchased months ago. No weather issues, no crew issues, no mechanical issues. They bumped my children from that flight to accommodate A list preferred people from other flights that had been cancelled. I e never heard of an airline bumping passengers just because they want to accommodate other passengers. Ironically, my husband and I are A list preferred (so did not get bumped but couldn’t leave our kids standing in the airport). I thought this policy was absolutely outrageous and I’ve never heard of that happening before. They also rank the stand by list by whether you have status so there was no way for the kids to get off stand by.

3) also oddly they loaded our luggage even though we had been bumped from the flight hours before the plane took off. Most airlines have the capacity to pull luggage in that circumstance — I assume this is another failing of the SW software. I thought there was an FAA rule that the luggage couldn’t fly if the person wasn’t checked in for the flight.

What did you ulitmately do PP? Your situation is especially maddening because your flight actually took off.

[Anonymous]

"From what I can tell, Southwest is unable to locate even where their own crews are, let alone their own passengers, let alone baggage," said Buttigieg, adding that he also spoke with leaders of the airline's unions representing flight attendants and pilots.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/southwest-flight-cancellations-wednesday/index.html

If they don't even know where everyone is, how do they even begin to unwind this? Its mind-boggling!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"From what I can tell, Southwest is unable to locate even where their own crews are, let alone their own passengers, let alone baggage," said Buttigieg, adding that he also spoke with leaders of the airline's unions representing flight attendants and pilots.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/southwest-flight-cancellations-wednesday/index.html

If they don't even know where everyone is, how do they even begin to unwind this? Its mind-boggling!

Moral: invest in modern IT solutions and don’t use wonky flight paths - spoke and wheel works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"From what I can tell, Southwest is unable to locate even where their own crews are, let alone their own passengers, let alone baggage," said Buttigieg, adding that he also spoke with leaders of the airline's unions representing flight attendants and pilots.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/southwest-flight-cancellations-wednesday/index.html

If they don't even know where everyone is, how do they even begin to unwind this? Its mind-boggling!

I think the only way to start is just to pretend that they are in a pre-computer era and go from there.

Someone can put together a quick system (either a rudimentary database or a more durable, complex system). They need one set of phone numbers for crew to call into. One set for pilots. Once they are clear where people are then they decide which flights are going where when and put people on them. Just start from scratch. And then when people are back where they need to be, they start following the previous schedule. Cancel all flights until then.

[Anonymous]

I want trains.

I want high-speed, reliable trains, that go everywhere, on time.

Heck, if we’re the Best Country In The World, these trains should be solar powered, have 5G connectivity, have cars with pet compartments so people can bring their dogs, and have both kid-friendly and kid-free cars. And while we’re at it, give the crew & railway workers paid sick leave.

Why can’t we have nice things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I'm truly amazed by the poster(s?) who's hellbent on blaming the stranded travelers. The total lack of humanity or empathy is breathtaking.

+1

It’s disgusting.

My favorite was the poster that said poor people shouldn't travel. I think DC moms are winning the title for sh!ttiest people.

In general, people shouldn't do things they can't afford.

Even poor people want to travel to see loved ones once in a while. You don't know if someone is traveling to see their terminally ill relative.

Have some humanity and just shut up already.

Here’s a better idea: Airline executives take less in bonuses, stop making stock buybacks, and instead invest in more, better paid staff, and up-to-date scheduling software.



We want lots of things we can't afford. That's just life. People who spend money they don't have is a big part of the problem in this country.

No. Insufferable dickheads are a big part of the problem in this country.

Life isn't free and you can't have everything you want. Sorry that's so triggering for you.

They bought and paid for a flight. They are not receiving the service they paid for or being accommodated for their inconvenience. That's a a failure on the company's customer service not being poor.

So airlines should risk everyone's life to fly when it is unsafe because that is what people paid for.

Why don't you petition congress to make a law that says airlines must have enough back up aircraft to rectify all situations within 24 hours. Then the poor and a good chunk of the middle class will not be able to fly because the cost and seat availability will be extremely limiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Hawaii last winter break and remember worrying our flight would be cancelled as thousands of flights were being cancelled daily. This seems like a repeat of last year except there really was a weather emergency. Add in Covid, flu, RSV, what a disaster.

Its such a stressful time to travel, I really don't understand why people do it. Especially rich people who presumably have very nice homes to spend the holiday in.

+1

So they can gather with family and friends mostly

Not worth the stress. Visit these people in mid January.

Not everybody can be a boomer like you and travel whenever you want. Those of us with kids in school cannot travel during the school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I'm truly amazed by the poster(s?) who's hellbent on blaming the stranded travelers. The total lack of humanity or empathy is breathtaking.

+1

It’s disgusting.

My favorite was the poster that said poor people shouldn't travel. I think DC moms are winning the title for sh!ttiest people.

In general, people shouldn't do things they can't afford.

Even poor people want to travel to see loved ones once in a while. You don't know if someone is traveling to see their terminally ill relative.

Have some humanity and just shut up already.

We want lots of things we can't afford. That's just life. People who spend money they don't have is a big part of the problem in this country.

No. Insufferable dickheads are a big part of the problem in this country.

Life isn't free and you can't have everything you want. Sorry that's so triggering for you.

They bought and paid for a flight. They are not receiving the service they paid for or being accommodated for their inconvenience. That's a a failure on the company's customer service not being poor.

If you aren't stranded at the airport over this why are you so invested? Don't fly SW again. But you seem oddly concerned about this situation that doesn't seem to directly impact you. What is your agenda here?

What’s your addenda needing to know mine? How does that help you here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Hawaii last winter break and remember worrying our flight would be cancelled as thousands of flights were being cancelled daily. This seems like a repeat of last year except there really was a weather emergency. Add in Covid, flu, RSV, what a disaster.

Its such a stressful time to travel, I really don't understand why people do it. Especially rich people who presumably have very nice homes to spend the holiday in.

+1

So they can gather with family and friends mostly

Not worth the stress. Visit these people in mid January.

Not everybody can be a boomer like you and travel whenever you want. Those of us with kids in school cannot travel during the school year.

I do have school aged children. There are all sorts of random days off and even spring break, any of which would be better than traveling at Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I'm truly amazed by the poster(s?) who's hellbent on blaming the stranded travelers. The total lack of humanity or empathy is breathtaking.

+1

It’s disgusting.

My favorite was the poster that said poor people shouldn't travel. I think DC moms are winning the title for sh!ttiest people.

In general, people shouldn't do things they can't afford.

Even poor people want to travel to see loved ones once in a while. You don't know if someone is traveling to see their terminally ill relative.

Have some humanity and just shut up already.

We want lots of things we can't afford. That's just life. People who spend money they don't have is a big part of the problem in this country.

No. Insufferable dickheads are a big part of the problem in this country.

Life isn't free and you can't have everything you want. Sorry that's so triggering for you.

They bought and paid for a flight. They are not receiving the service they paid for or being accommodated for their inconvenience. That's a a failure on the company's customer service not being poor.

If you aren't stranded at the airport over this why are you so invested? Don't fly SW again. But you seem oddly concerned about this situation that doesn't seem to directly impact you. What is your agenda here?

What’s your addenda needing to know mine? How does that help you here?

Its AGENDA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to Hawaii last winter break and remember worrying our flight would be cancelled as thousands of flights were being cancelled daily. This seems like a repeat of last year except there really was a weather emergency. Add in Covid, flu, RSV, what a disaster.

Its such a stressful time to travel, I really don't understand why people do it. Especially rich people who presumably have very nice homes to spend the holiday in.

The kids have two weeks off from school. I am pretty sure we traveled every winter break besides 2020.

That's totally fine, but surely you are not shocked that its expensive and stressful and sometimes affected by weathe or illness? These are just known risks. We have sometimes traveled during this two week period too, but we mostly have concluded its not our preferred time of year to travel for all of these reasons.

This.

I got unbelievably sick from food poising while in Paris several years ago. Couldn't get out of bed without passing out. Was in no condition to travel to airport let alone fly for 7 hours. I had to pay for 2 extra days in a hotel, a private medical service to administer IVs, a massive rebooking fee that was only $100 less than a new ticket, plus a very generous tip to hotel staff who had to deal with cleaning up a mess and kindly went above and beyond took care/assist me. It is part of traveling, things happen and unexpected expenses pop up.

oh no! I'm so sorry for this. That's why I always travel with zofran and immodium. I travel to 3rd world countries and one time almost missed a flight because I was so sick, never again.