Boston.com readers share their Southwest travel stories
"I was not able to spend Christmas with my family."
After canceling more than 13,000 flights in the past week during a company “meltdown” following last week’s storm, Southwest reported a return to normal operations on Friday.
The airline totaled 43 cancellations on Friday after more than 2,300 on Thursday — and had one cancellation at Logan Airport by noon, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.
Though operations seem to have steadied, more than 1 million air travelers were impacted by the tumultuous week, according to the Associated Press.
“Dec. 25 flight canceled; Dec. 26 flight canceled; Dec. 28 flight canceled; Dec. 29 flight canceled,” wrote Patricia M. from Canton, Conn. “American Airlines got us on a flight on Dec.27.”
Ahead, Boston.com readers share their recent travel frustrations with Southwest.
Christmas plans compromised
“I was stuck at the airport in Denver,” wrote Ozzy T. from Meriden, Conn. “I flew from Bradley International Airport on Friday night, my destination was to be Seattle, due to the cancellation on my connecting flight I had no choice but to take an Uber to downtown Denver and check into a hotel until Tuesday, which was the only date I found. Aside from having to stay at a hotel for three three days, the fact that I had to spend Xmas by myself.”
“I was not able to spend Christmas with my family,” wrote David S. from Nebraska.
“I was scheduled to fly out of Milwaukee on Saturday, Dec. 24, from college to visit my parents and brothers, but the flight was rescheduled for the following morning, Christmas Day. I was already to have a connecting flight to Baltimore, and when I got there, that flight was delayed pushing my time to get to Indianapolis to late Christmas evening,” wrote Jeanessa G. from Wisconsin. “I missed my family meal, Christmas service at church, and opening of gifts. I do understand the weather being an issue, but the constant push back of time was very disappointing. I don’t think I’ll ever fly Southwest again if something like this is going to occur.”
“I was to fly with my mother to Phoenix from San Jose on the 23rd of December and return back on the 2nd of January 2023,” wrote Arun M. from California. “But since the flight on the 23rd itself was canceled, I had to make other plans. Therefore, I cannot even return back on the 2nd of January since we are going someplace else anyway. So, I am requesting a full refund.”
The trip never happened
“My wife and I were booked on Flight 368 for NYC,” wrote Raphael C. from New Orleans. “Although we had been checked in, the flight was canceled, and there were no subsequent flights over the next two days. Our hotel stay was from December 27-30; as a result, we never reached our destination. Therefore, we would not need a return flight and are requesting a refund for our round-trip fare.”
“My daughter-in-law’s family came here from Honduras, and her younger sister was supposed to go to California from Arkansas and got canceled,” wrote James P. from Arkansas. “She hadn’t seen her father in 20 years. The cancellation ruined a reunion. How do you reconcile this?”
“Our flight was canceled to Cancun,” wrote Mary W. from Iowa. “There were no other Southwest flights to be rescheduled on. We even checked Kansas City, Chicago, and Omaha. We lost our money for the resort even though we bought insurance because we didn’t let them know 72 hours in advance. We didn’t know 72 hours in advance. That loss was about $3,000. There were several other things we had to cancel and didn’t get our money back totaling over $5,000.”
Unexpected road trips
“Our flight got canceled from flying back from Nashville to Boston so we booked a car to drive back to Boston,” wrote Kaitlyn M. from Boston.
“My flight to ATL on 12/29 was canceled, I’m heading down for a family wedding on NYE,” wrote AWilkie from Winthrop. “The first available flight was not until 1/2! Rental car and 17-hour drive it is. 17 hours is turning into 23 now with traffic. We are tired, annoyed, and missing family wedding activities. Thanks Southwest!”
“My flight on December 27th from Nashville to Pittsburgh was canceled on the 26th,” wrote Shelia K. from Pennsylvania. “We had to drive home with additional expenses for fuel, food, and a night at a hotel.”
“Scheduled to fly from St. Louis to Boston Saturday, December 24th, canceled, rescheduled to Monday, December 26th, canceled, rescheduled to Tuesday, December 27th, canceled,” wrote an unnamed reader from Walpole. “Rented a car on Wednesday and drove home to Boston, with a stay at a hotel in Pennsylvania, 18 hours of driving. I was very lucky to get a car rental, very few available.”
“I was headed back on December 28 from San Francisco to Los Angeles and my flight was canceled,” wrote Diane S. from California. “I had finally rented a car which I couldn’t even get on the 28th. At the 11th hour a young relative found a flight on Alaska Airlines to Orange County. I took it then in Orange County all cars were booked so I took a Lyft from there to Marina del Rey where I live.”
“I was unable to leave New Orleans to Nashville on 12/26 and incurred meal expenses and lodging fees and had to arrange for a relative to drive me to Nashville and come get me,” wrote Robin S. from Nashville. “Very upsetting. I was dealing with a foot injury on top of it.”
“Family visiting in Omaha,” wrote Ernest B. from Omaha. “My daughter and boyfriend had their flight from Omaha, NE, to Portland, OR, canceled on Tuesday, December 27, and they could not find another flight until Sunday, January 1, 2023. She had to be back to work as a nurse at the hospital Wednesday. They didn’t want to take a chance with Southwest and booked Greyhound bus tickets for Thursday. This cost was $700.00+ not to include the time they both missed at work, food, etc. My son was leaving Wednesday, December 28, from Omaha, NE, to TFG in Rhode Island and his flight was canceled. He had to rent a car from Omaha and drive to Rhode Island. This cost was $400.00+ dollars, not including gas, tolls, hotel, and time. He also missed two days of work. The worst thing was the poor notifications from SW, my daughter was checking on the flight and happened to notice it was canceled. My son checked and his wasn’t, but the next day that changed. I am not sure we can ever trust SW Airlines again.”
“Flying out my flight was canceled but rebooked and I was able to get on the flight 12 hours later with that flight leaving 2 hours late,” wrote William C. from Florida. “Returning home at the last minute I found out that my flight had been canceled when I was needing to get home to be at work the next day. I wound up having to drive 700 miles home by car.”
Trouble getting home
“Flight delayed going to Christmas and canceled returning,” wrote Lauren from Boston. “Had to reroute and add two days to trip via completely different city. However, all Southwest flight staff were great.”
“I was in Buffalo for a funeral, and I was supposed to fly back to Raleigh, NC, on Dec. 23rd at 5:35 a.m. but my flight was canceled on Thursday,” wrote RYC from North Carolina. “My flight was rebooked to fly out Christmas Eve, but that was canceled by the airline, too. As a result I got additional hotel and rental car I was not expecting. My question is why are refunds starting from Saturday the 24th, when they started canceling flights well before the blizzard started?”
“I had a great flight from Buffalo to Savannah on December 21st, but our return flight was canceled,” wrote Kathy from Jamestown. “While we didn’t use a hotel, my daughter lives in Savannah, we incurred extra costs for staples and lost wages due to being unable to return home for work. Shame on the airline!”
“We were lucky to get out on Wednesday evening,” wrote Lynn from Illinois. “Then came our return flight on Thursday, December 29. It was canceled already on Tuesday. My husband and son needed to get back home to Chicago, and we were unable to rebook until Saturday. So we rented a car and drove home Wednesday from North Carolina. What a mess!! We feel blessed that we were able to spend Christmas with our family at Camp Lejeune since it had been a year since we had all been together. But all the anxiety that we had about getting home was terrible!! We will think long and hard if we fly with Southwest ever again. I hope they really will refund and reimburse for all of our added expenses.”
“My flight home was delayed three times then canceled,” wrote Amy I. from Tucson. “I was receiving text alerts hours after the fact. I was unable to get another flight home as nothing was available for the following 5 days. I had to drive 2 hours to another airport (Jackson, MS) and book a new ticket on another airline. I was unable to talk to anyone at the airport (New Orleans) as the line was a 3- to 4-hour wait!”
“Canceled flight, stranded,” wrote Briana L. from Texas.
“It was terrible,” wrote Monica B. from Texas. “We got a text about the cancellation 3 hours before our flight. I tried to call Southwest for 3 hours so I decided to go to talk to them in person. I stayed 3 hours in line. Besides this nightmare was the lack of information and customer service. We are kind of Southwest refugees right now and waiting to fly back home.”
Lost luggage
“I was just a single flyer heading to Louisville on a Dec. 24th flight,” wrote Adam S. from Arizona. “I arrived at PHX, the flight was supposed to be 8:30 a.m, but it was delayed all the way till 2 p.m, until they finally canceled. Figured out I needed to stand in line in order to rebook or refund, because the app doesn’t allow you to do this. They rebooked for the 25th, and instead of it being nonstop to Louisville, it went to San Antonio, Chicago, then Louisville. The flight did take off, but I arrived in Chicago and the Louisville flight was canceled without doing any delays. Stood in another line for 2.5 hours, rebooked for the 28th, so I stayed in a Fairfield Hilton, pretty modest. I’ll attempt to get a reimbursement. The flight on the 28th took off, but now I do not have my baggage. Today I still don’t have my bag. I submitted a claim to have me pick it up at SDF airport. But I gotta be in Seattle by the 2nd, so hopefully they can get the bag here by then.”
Responses lightly edited for clarity.
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