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“Changed or canceled three of my flights in the last 45 days!”
Review of Southwest Airlines


Reviewed August 27, 2021

Today my flight to New York through Baltimore was canceled at 2:48 pm for a 6pm flight. This is the third time in 45 days. Each time I was rebooked for another day and arriving to my destination at least 24 hours later.
Southwest has really gone downhill. They also removed the canceled flight from the flight status when you look it up.
Based on the fact that they canceled 3 hours before my flight leaving me no time to rebook with another airline.
At this time I would not fly Southwest. Also waited on hold for over an hour for customer service to file a complaint.

Date of travel: August 2021
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
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    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
3  Thank maryfM5875PA
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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2,222 - 2,226 of 46,156 reviews

Reviewed August 27, 2021

Southwest gets lots of positive reviews, but I really don't understand why. If you're not checking luggage, they cost roughly the same as any other airline, and the experience was definitely worse.

The only reasonable connection Southwest offered between San Francisco and Minneapolis had me first stop in Burbank (remaining on the plane) and the changing planes in Phoenix. So I flew three segments on this trip, and none of them was enjoyable. The experience at the airports was even worse than on the planes.

I absolutely despise Southwest's bizarre boarding procedure. I paid extra for "early bird check-in", which gave me a boarding number on their "A" list. Even so, I had to wait a LONG time amid chaotic crowds at the airport and then race like the running of the bulls to board the plane. Even with that, on one of my flights I still had to stow my bag in another row. That's because even though I chose a row that was empty when I boarded, the overhead bins in that row were already filled.

Both of the planes I flew on were old and filthy. I know from the layover in Burbank that Southwest doesn't clean the planes at all when they stop. They didn't even spray or wipe down surfaces. All the flight attendants did was check to make sure the safety cards were still in the seat pockets. This is probably because Southwest tries to turn their planes in a shorter time than other airlines do. When it's 45 minutes or less between touchdown and take-off, there's not much cleaning that can be done.

On all three legs the only service was a tiny package of snack mix and a tiny cup of a non-alcoholic beverage. The flight attendants came across as rude and indifferent, as if they were doing us a big favor to be handing out that tiny treat. They said there was wi-fi available, but it didn't seem to work on any of the flights.

There were lots of children on all my flights, and many of them misbehaved badly. (One little girl spent the entire flight kicking my seat.) Neither their parents nor the flight attendants corrected them in any way.

When I landed in Phoenix I found that my onward flight to Minneapolis had been delayed. No Southwest employee ever gave a reason for this delay, and they acted annoyed that I had even inquired. We ended up 3 1/2 hours late, which got us into MSP around 3am. There were absolutely no apologies given--not by the gate staff, not by the pilots, and not by the flight attendants. Honestly, they were some of the least pleasant airline employees I've ever dealt with--definitely not who you want when there's a delay.

I e-mailed Southwest after this experience. Their response still had no apology whatsoever and no explanation for the delay. They did, however "as a gesture of good faith" give me a small credit for future travel. I'll likely never use it, because I really can't imagine flying Southwest again.

Date of travel: August 2021
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
4  Thank dmbia
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed August 27, 2021

Purchased a ticket in 2020 and due to COVID was not able to complete travel so had to cancel flight. Travel Fund was given with an Expiration date of Oct. 27, 2021. Travel again cannot be completed by expiration date because of COVID and customer service (After a 26 minute wait on the phone) states that "During the pandemic we were giving two year extensions but we are back to normal so there is nothing we can do, the travel fund will expire on Oct. 27, 2021." Asked for call to be escalated and customer service rep stated that, "call cannot be escalated but there another number you can call for customer support or you can write an email but there is nothing that can be done." When asked if my only option was to lose the money if I could not fly by expiration date, rep responded "unfortunately yes."

Date of travel: October 2020
    • Customer service
2  Thank AG1936
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed August 26, 2021

My husband and I booked a vocation to and from Jamaica with Southwest Airlines from BWI months in advance. There was no social distancing at air terminal and definitely not at Southwest Airlines terminal. The plane was full to capacity with no regard for social distancing throughout the flight. I had to ask a passenger to please wear his mask properly on his face. There were times when passengers talked freely with masked off and one particular passenger allowed his mask to fall below his nose while coughing and sneezing. It was awful. We also boarded flight 905 and experienced no social distancing on it or at the terminals as well both at BWI and in Jamaica. I don't want to take a flight anywhere if this is what is the now norm. Horrible.

Date of travel: August 2021
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
2  Thank Brenda_19501969
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed August 26, 2021

My children were flying alone and my youngest has a broken foot. I set up wheelchair service so she didn’t have to crutch all the way through the airport. When we arrived at BWI they helped me get an escort pass and set my daughter up with a wheelchair. The flight attendant at the gate was rude and seemed irritated when my daughter started crying because she was scared to fly without me. Finally I got her calmed down and they got her on the plane. The flight ended up being delayed and they ended up sitting there for about 50minutes before they departed. I confirmed that a wheelchair would be available for her upon her arrival and customer service stated that they would meet her on they jetway and take them down to baggage claim to be picked up by my family. When they arrived at Chicago O’Hare airport, no one met my daughter with the wheelchair. My older daughter tried to find out what was going on and was completely ignored and dismissed. So my daughter ended up having to crotch all the way down to baggage claim for no reason When she could’ve easily just met my family on the departure level. So needless to say my daughter was in serious pain due to the excessive walking. Very disappointed in Southwest.

Date of travel: August 2021
2  Thank stefanip426
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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