Southwest is the major American low-cost airline headquartered in Dallas. It started its operations within three major places Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Currently, it is serving 101 destinations in the United States and ten additional countries. Those who are going to fly with Southwest must check the scheduled change policy and other rules before booking a flight.
Also, sometimes passengers have to face some issues of delay, diversion, and cancellation. At that time you must take some essential steps to avoid unnecessary hassles. For that, you should be aware of the specific rule of the airline.
Southwest Flight Schedule Change Policy:
There are so many times when you might notice a sudden change in the scheduled take-off time of the flight. The airline may notify you about the change a few hours to few days ahead of the time of the flight, depending upon the situation they are in. Of course, the airlines do not make such changes randomly. There are several reasons that can lead to such a sudden change. Of course, in the case of Southwest ticket cancellation due to a change in the flight schedule, the airline offers a refund and other supports to the passengers.
Southwest can change the schedule of flight in the following four situations:
- When the seasonal demands and new routes occur
- Due to changed time from daylight to standard time or vice versa
- When there is a change in the operating time.
- If the flights no longer operate
At that time Southwest has some commitment towards its passengers. Also, if the changes are done by the passenger there are some different rules as mentioned below:
Customer Service Commitment of Southwest Airline:
- The flight tickets can be reserved or purchased directly from the website of Southwest Airlines, its mobile app, or at a Southwest ticket counter.
- The airline is responsible to provide their customers with the notification of known delays, cancellations, and diversions for the flights within seven days of departure.
Fare Information:
- Fare may vary depending on the date and time of flying.
- Fares are subject to change until the ticket is purchased.
- The fares can be refundable, non-refundable depending on your choice.
- While combining the fare all rules and regulations may apply to it.
Fare Categories in Southwest Airlines:
Southwest Airlines doesn’t offer any categories of business class, extra legroom, and basic economy, but it does have three different fare categories i.e Business Select, Anytime, and Wanna Get Away.
- Business Select (Refundable): Business Select is Southwest’s top fare whose passengers will get different facilities like priority boarding, bonus Rapid Rewards Points, and complimentary beverages. It can be compared with the first class of Southwest. You get the extra perks for the tickets such as free changes or cancelation with a full refund. The refunded amount can be used for future travel of the original passenger only.
- Anytime (Refundable):: The Anytime Fare of Southwest is fully refundable “Y” fare. This fare allows you to change your ticket at any time without any penalty fee.
- Wanna Get Away (Non-Refundable): These fares are non-refundable. Under this category, passengers get the facility of checking two bags for free.
Canceling a ticket:
While the Southwest airline will extend its support and cooperation to the passengers if the airline has canceled the flight, it also offers a similar convenience in case the passengers have canceled the tickets as per the Southwest cancellation policy.
Customers of Southwest airlines are allowed to cancel their tickets within 24 hours of booking without paying any charges. They can ask for a refund without paying any penalty within these 24 hours.
Changing a Southwest Flight:
Passengers may wish to change their flight schedule for varied reasons such as a change in the plan or some other personal reasons. One of the rare reasons can be a change in ticket itineraries. While you should check once with the customer support team of the airline whether your changes match with the Southwest airlines name change policy or not, the other option is to cancel your ticket and book another one.
You can make changes in your flight 1 hour prior to departure and if you fail to do so then you’ll need to cancel your flight up to 10 minutes prior to departure. Southwest does not charge any change fee you only have to pay the fare difference.
Basic Steps to change a flight:
1.>> On the browser go to www.Southwest.com and then sign in to your account.
- From the flight tab click the “Manage Reservations” button.
- For making any change in the flight click “Change Flight”.
- Select your self-service option to change or cancel your reservation.
- Select continue to complete the changes in your flight and you are done.
During Tarmac Delay:
- For the delay of 30 minutes or more in a flight, if it is canceled or diverted then the airline will notify you within 30 minutes by email, voice, or text, FIDS (Flight Information Display Screens), depending on the selection made at the time of reservation.
- Customers with special needs or disabilities are properly accommodated in case of a lengthy delay in flights.
- For the delays of two hours, the airline will provide water and snacks to the passengers.
- Southwest Airline will provide medical assistance if necessary during the delay.
- The passengers of delayed flights will receive the notification of the status of the flight after every 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time.
Delay in Baggage:
Even if you are a frequent flyer, you will always feel a strange fear about your baggage until and unless you do not grab your hands on them from the conveyor belt. Usually, Southwest Airlines is very much responsible for managing and handling the passenger baggage and most passengers get along with their luggage time. But exceptions can happen when the baggage is delayed but the airline makes sure to be supportive in such a case too.
Southwest Airline will make efforts to deliver the baggage of the passenger on time. They will make reasonable efforts to return your luggage to you within 24 hours in case of a delay. If the luggage is delayed or lost for any reason outside of your control, you can file a report at the airport and submit a claim of reasonable expenses for consideration.
Refund Policy:
In the case when a Southwest airline refund is due, refunds are provided according to the ticket and rules associated with it. The ticket purchased with the credit card will be refunded within 7 working days and in case of cash payment, it will take 20 business days to refund after receiving the refund request.
- Unused and fully refundable tickets are applicable for a refund which can be used for future travel or can be used within one year from the date of issue.
- If you do not want to travel then cancel the tickets 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departure. Otherwise, it will be considered as “no show” and the entire refund amount will be fortified.
- The refundable tickets can be requested by directly calling them or writing to them.
- If the outbound flight has departed then you are eligible to send a refund request as per the Southwest refund policy.
- The non-refundable tickets can be canceled if you call or cancel online at Southwest.com within 24 hours of booking, you can get the original form of payment, or you can retain the credit that can be used toward future travel.
- All the refunds will be provided in the original form of payment.
In the last words, don’t forget to recheck your reservation or changes made in flights of Southwest. For canceling a ticket you get an option of getting credit back to your card or in the form of travel funds depending upon the Southwest airlines cancellation policy. Make sure you use those travel funds within one year otherwise they will expire.
