Well, they did it again. After having their outbound flight canceled shortly before heading to the airport, yesterday Erik and Pebbles had their return flight canceled by Southwest as well. This time, they were already at the gate, bags checked, when they got the bad news. And it was late afternoon/early evening, so they pretty much knew they would not be getting another flight out that day.
Like last time, Southwest automatically rebooked them on a three-flight itinerary, this one at least for the next day rather than two days later. Since Erik heard from other folks waiting in line at the airport that Southwest wasn’t giving out any hotel vouchers or meal coupons or anything, he decided to just accept the new flight he’d been given and return to the Milwaukee airport the next morning.
Since the new flight was before 7 a.m., I decided to use some of my Hyatt points to book them into an airport hotel rather than have him call family to pick him up and then go back to the airport the next day. I mean, how awkward is it when you say all your goodbyes and hug all your hugs, only to call back and say, “Hey Mom, can you come pick me up?”
While all this was happening, Erik happened to check his email and saw the above message. Since their outbound itinerary had two paid passengers plus one free companion, they’ll be getting $500 in vouchers. Since this flight only had one paid passenger and one free companion (Erik left our youngest in Wisconsin for some grandparent time) I fully expect to get another email in about two weeks letting them know we’re getting another $250.
Is $750 in free flights worth the aggravation of two different canceled travel days? Since Erik and the kids didn’t miss any important events, I guess? It was certainly a pain to have to book (and pay points for) a hotel rather than sleeping in their own beds last night, but it wasn’t the end of the world either. And it’s kind of a laugh to receive money toward free flights when we already have so many miles we can hardly imagine using them all. But, since Southwest miles don’t expire
, I suppose we will use them all eventually. (Not the worst problem to have, right?)
Do you think there is any point in writing Southwest customer service and asking for more compensation? In general, I feel like, always ask! But if anyone out there has had success in something like that, I’d love to hear about it.
The Miles Mom 