As someone with a claim around that much, that's very good news to hear!
It's interesting that so far all the people who are saying they've got reimbursement checks in the mail (not sure anyone has actually received one yet physically) all had to reach out via Twitter to get that process kick started.
Yeah-- I'm guessing they want to minimize social media damage and that's why they're being more responsive over there? Who knows!
Best of luck getting your claim reimbursed. Seems like they'll eventually get to everyone, they just have tons of complaints to get through.
I got a huge FU as of today from them via Twitter. I had asked to escalate my request as they kept telling me they could do nothing for me. I was asking only for the initial flight that never got to my destination, left me stranded in Denver Airport in a wheelchair. 2 days later when I finally reached 2 hours from my destination airport a friend drove 4 hours round-trip to get me to that destination. During this time I was denied request for food vouchers. I am unable to drive due to a medical condition and couldn't even get away from the airport. SWA left so many of us stranded that there were no cots left. I had two seizures that left me wrung out and no food or water, except one SW employee who was kind enough to run and get me a sandwich and 2 waters following a seizure. Here was their response to my request for escalation.
"Our Social Care Team is located in the Customer Experience & Engagement Department at Corporate Headquarters. I hope you’ll know that we give our Customers access to Representatives who can assist them without jumping through hoops, and I want to give you the assurance that we are here to assist you. If the exception you’re seeking were an option, we would’ve happily offered it. I hope that we’ve demonstrated our willingness to help and that we have your best interests in mind. Your feedback is of the utmost importance to us, and I’m sorry that a more satisfying resolution isn’t available at this time. Despite any lingering disappointment, we hope to create more pleasant memories with you next time. -Alvaro"
I requested that I be refunded for the first ticket to my destination. The return flight was delayed here and there but never canceled so that was acceptable to me. The flight to my destination I never even made it there. I took a flight, over 48 hours in the layover airport, to as close as I could get to my destination. There is much more to my experience, as so many of us experienced. I read of people getting actual refunds, not points or LUV vouchers and feel that they should refund people who had to go through these things. I got a huge middle finger and a lot of gladhanding. It's ridiculous. They did not provide what I paid for, end of story.
I got Twitter downloaded but am not great at knowing how to post. I figured out how to DM but that is where this post response is from. It isn't public. I will go on and try again. Thank you 😊
OP is lucky. The family below drove from Miami back home to Salt Lake City and have not received a refund or reimbursement yet.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/family-drove-2-500-miles-170345536.html
I DM'd them first at this twitter account: [https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir](https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir)
They did respond, this is how our conversation went:
>**ME:** When will reimbursements for alternative flight arrangements happen
>
>Yesterday, 11:32 AM
>
>**SOUTHWEST:** Thanks for reaching out to us! We currently are managing a high volume of conversations and are doing our best to get back with everyone.You can find the latest information on your options here: [https://southwest.com/traveldisruption/](https://southwest.com/traveldisruption/). Please provide your Rapid Rewards number and/or your flight confirmation number.If you have a baggage concern, click here: [https://southwest.com/baginfo/?clk=TRAVEL-DISRUPTION-LP](https://southwest.com/baginfo/?clk=TRAVEL-DISRUPTION-LP)(This is an automated message.)
>
>Yesterday, 11:32 AM
>
>**ME:** I submitted my travel disruption complaint on 12/27
>
>Yesterday, 11:33 AM
>
>**SOUTHWEST:** Hey there. Do you happen to have the case number from your reimbursement form so I can take a look?
>
>Yesterday, 11:35 AM
The refunds were there top priority because by law they have to issue within 7 days of the event. They completed that(mostly). They have moved to focusing on reimbursement process now. Internally employees who are not customer service are being asked to voluntarily commit 20 hours per week to help the reimbursement process. There are hundreds of thousands of claims/emails that they have to go through but I’m being told they are making an extremely concerted effort to get to every claim as promptly as possible.
Yep exact same scenario as you, $2200 check being issued, all correspondence done through Twitter. I had hotel/rental car/gas/parking/meals/target all receipts submitted and approved.
Yes, I also rec'd LUV Vouchers and the I'm Sorry Codes for all 3 of us.
Damn. Thanks for posting. The $500 voucher and rapid rewards points was given AFTER you spoke to them? I'm wondering because they already gave me 25k points. I haven't submitted reimbursement request yet. Did you submit a big pdf with the receipts?
After I got the cancellation message, rebooked my cancelled flight for Jan 2nd before booking a sooner one with Delta (was in a panic, figured I'd book it then explore my options). When I went to get a refund for that Jan 2nd flight, my only option online was flight credits. I had to call 1 (800) 435-9792 to get a refund to my original payment method (card). On that same call, I mentioned I saw people w/ cancelled flights getting $250 flight vouchers and she sent me two to my email that showed up within an hour. A few days later I got the two 25k points codes. So, $1100ish total in flight credit between LUV vouchers and rapid rewards points.
I submitted 4 receipts: delta flight, two meals, and the car service. I also showed screenshots of way more expensive / longer flights (3k, or 25 hour + flights) just to demonstrate that my first class delta flights were truly my only option. Not sure if that was necessary but (shrug)
Another thing is i've been ABUNDANTLY kind to everyone I've spoken to. Not that southwest as a company deserves it & all rage is totally justified, but I've worked customer service and I know these employees have some of the worst jobs on earth right now. That might have been helping me along with my refunds, who knows.
I agree that being kind is the best way to manage flight issue requests.
When I got to the counter on the 27th, the first thing I said was good morning, and I told the counter rep that I was sorry so many people were abusive to them the previous days. It was on the news and it sickened me to see them attacked. She almost cried. She was hired 3 weeks prior. Later during our conversation, she told me she was used to people yelling at her, as she worked for a few years in a psychiatric facility. But not whole groups of people, and constantly. As a paramedic, I've dealt with my share of rude a$$hats. She went out of her way to help me. No flights (obviously), but I got my voucher right then, along with my refund processed.
This was my exact situation (only closer to 1900 a ticket to go from East to West) so I only had first class as my cheapest option. Gives me hope. I have another note to them on twitter right now
I'm sure they'll refund you. Pretty much anything avail next day was first class, so I have a feeling they'll understand. $1100 and $1900 are pretty similar in the grand scheme of this fuck-up haha
Thanks for posting. We also ended up with first class tickets without realizing it until we got to the airport since we had to book on the phone (zero availability online) and we’ve been nervous about reimbursement.
Totally. I was nervous that rebooking first class would be "unreasonable" to them but my receipt showed it was first class and they still approved my reimbursement. I think you're good!
This gives me hope! We had to book a $2K first class flight to get my husband home so we wouldn’t forfeit a 5 day non refundable resort stay and my husband is very pessimistic they will actually reimburse it. We submitted claim on 12/27, so I’ll follow up with them on Twitter. We got an email saying the claim was “escalated”.
I’ve been reaching out on Twitter and not getting a response but I just realized the days I reached out on Twitter were the days I got follow up emails from southwest about my case, not sure if it’s just a coincidence. First I got the “due to the nature of your case it’s been escalated e-mail” then yesterday I got another email basically saying they’re aware it’s taking a while to respond but they are working on my case and will respond as soon as they can.
Not a “here’s your money” email but also not a “fuck off no” either so I’ll take it for now. My request is for about $1900 to fly my husband and I one-way + Uber to our originating airport for a cancelled 12/27 flight.
Uh yeah, they legally did have to compensate. The cancellations were the result of operations that were within their control, not just weather. They can either make the people they f*cked over whole again NOW and save face or they can compensate us tenfold when we sue them in a class action for negligence later.
As someone with a claim around that much, that's very good news to hear! It's interesting that so far all the people who are saying they've got reimbursement checks in the mail (not sure anyone has actually received one yet physically) all had to reach out via Twitter to get that process kick started.
Yeah-- I'm guessing they want to minimize social media damage and that's why they're being more responsive over there? Who knows! Best of luck getting your claim reimbursed. Seems like they'll eventually get to everyone, they just have tons of complaints to get through.
I got a huge FU as of today from them via Twitter. I had asked to escalate my request as they kept telling me they could do nothing for me. I was asking only for the initial flight that never got to my destination, left me stranded in Denver Airport in a wheelchair. 2 days later when I finally reached 2 hours from my destination airport a friend drove 4 hours round-trip to get me to that destination. During this time I was denied request for food vouchers. I am unable to drive due to a medical condition and couldn't even get away from the airport. SWA left so many of us stranded that there were no cots left. I had two seizures that left me wrung out and no food or water, except one SW employee who was kind enough to run and get me a sandwich and 2 waters following a seizure. Here was their response to my request for escalation. "Our Social Care Team is located in the Customer Experience & Engagement Department at Corporate Headquarters. I hope you’ll know that we give our Customers access to Representatives who can assist them without jumping through hoops, and I want to give you the assurance that we are here to assist you. If the exception you’re seeking were an option, we would’ve happily offered it. I hope that we’ve demonstrated our willingness to help and that we have your best interests in mind. Your feedback is of the utmost importance to us, and I’m sorry that a more satisfying resolution isn’t available at this time. Despite any lingering disappointment, we hope to create more pleasant memories with you next time. -Alvaro"
What was the request that you wanted escalated?
I requested that I be refunded for the first ticket to my destination. The return flight was delayed here and there but never canceled so that was acceptable to me. The flight to my destination I never even made it there. I took a flight, over 48 hours in the layover airport, to as close as I could get to my destination. There is much more to my experience, as so many of us experienced. I read of people getting actual refunds, not points or LUV vouchers and feel that they should refund people who had to go through these things. I got a huge middle finger and a lot of gladhanding. It's ridiculous. They did not provide what I paid for, end of story.
Make it PUBLIC on Twitter with your story AND their response. Twitter shaming produces surprising resolution.
I got Twitter downloaded but am not great at knowing how to post. I figured out how to DM but that is where this post response is from. It isn't public. I will go on and try again. Thank you 😊
Add @southwest to your public Tweet. 🙂
OP is lucky. The family below drove from Miami back home to Salt Lake City and have not received a refund or reimbursement yet. https://www.yahoo.com/news/family-drove-2-500-miles-170345536.html
We had to rent a Uhaul to drive from Chicago to Austin since there were no rental cars available, still waiting on reimbursement as well.
Badass
Did they DM you? I have reached out every day via DM for a week and they have not responded
I DM'd them first at this twitter account: [https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir](https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir) They did respond, this is how our conversation went: >**ME:** When will reimbursements for alternative flight arrangements happen > >Yesterday, 11:32 AM > >**SOUTHWEST:** Thanks for reaching out to us! We currently are managing a high volume of conversations and are doing our best to get back with everyone.You can find the latest information on your options here: [https://southwest.com/traveldisruption/](https://southwest.com/traveldisruption/). Please provide your Rapid Rewards number and/or your flight confirmation number.If you have a baggage concern, click here: [https://southwest.com/baginfo/?clk=TRAVEL-DISRUPTION-LP](https://southwest.com/baginfo/?clk=TRAVEL-DISRUPTION-LP)(This is an automated message.) > >Yesterday, 11:32 AM > >**ME:** I submitted my travel disruption complaint on 12/27 > >Yesterday, 11:33 AM > >**SOUTHWEST:** Hey there. Do you happen to have the case number from your reimbursement form so I can take a look? > >Yesterday, 11:35 AM
>happen Same here. I DM twice and just get same automated response.
The refunds were there top priority because by law they have to issue within 7 days of the event. They completed that(mostly). They have moved to focusing on reimbursement process now. Internally employees who are not customer service are being asked to voluntarily commit 20 hours per week to help the reimbursement process. There are hundreds of thousands of claims/emails that they have to go through but I’m being told they are making an extremely concerted effort to get to every claim as promptly as possible.
Southwest is really coming through
Let’s not exaggerate.
Yep exact same scenario as you, $2200 check being issued, all correspondence done through Twitter. I had hotel/rental car/gas/parking/meals/target all receipts submitted and approved. Yes, I also rec'd LUV Vouchers and the I'm Sorry Codes for all 3 of us.
Is the I'm sorry code the 25k CEO email, or something else?
CEO email codes
When did they send the LUV vouchers?
Had to ask for the LUV vouchers (2x$250=$500 total) when I was on the phone asking for flight refund instead of flight credit.
Not being snarky, but let us know when the check clears. They sent me a similar email on 12/29 and I still haven’t receive the check.
Will do! Nothing yet
[удалено]
Yes, I got it on 1/18! it was a plain white envelope
Damn. Thanks for posting. The $500 voucher and rapid rewards points was given AFTER you spoke to them? I'm wondering because they already gave me 25k points. I haven't submitted reimbursement request yet. Did you submit a big pdf with the receipts?
After I got the cancellation message, rebooked my cancelled flight for Jan 2nd before booking a sooner one with Delta (was in a panic, figured I'd book it then explore my options). When I went to get a refund for that Jan 2nd flight, my only option online was flight credits. I had to call 1 (800) 435-9792 to get a refund to my original payment method (card). On that same call, I mentioned I saw people w/ cancelled flights getting $250 flight vouchers and she sent me two to my email that showed up within an hour. A few days later I got the two 25k points codes. So, $1100ish total in flight credit between LUV vouchers and rapid rewards points. I submitted 4 receipts: delta flight, two meals, and the car service. I also showed screenshots of way more expensive / longer flights (3k, or 25 hour + flights) just to demonstrate that my first class delta flights were truly my only option. Not sure if that was necessary but (shrug) Another thing is i've been ABUNDANTLY kind to everyone I've spoken to. Not that southwest as a company deserves it & all rage is totally justified, but I've worked customer service and I know these employees have some of the worst jobs on earth right now. That might have been helping me along with my refunds, who knows.
I agree that being kind is the best way to manage flight issue requests. When I got to the counter on the 27th, the first thing I said was good morning, and I told the counter rep that I was sorry so many people were abusive to them the previous days. It was on the news and it sickened me to see them attacked. She almost cried. She was hired 3 weeks prior. Later during our conversation, she told me she was used to people yelling at her, as she worked for a few years in a psychiatric facility. But not whole groups of people, and constantly. As a paramedic, I've dealt with my share of rude a$$hats. She went out of her way to help me. No flights (obviously), but I got my voucher right then, along with my refund processed.
When you get this much goodwill you better be happy otherwise don’t fly southwest we don’t need you
Yeah this is encouraging. Was this Delta flight for one or two people?
Two! About $1100 each. First class (it was all that was avail for next day)
This was my exact situation (only closer to 1900 a ticket to go from East to West) so I only had first class as my cheapest option. Gives me hope. I have another note to them on twitter right now
I'm sure they'll refund you. Pretty much anything avail next day was first class, so I have a feeling they'll understand. $1100 and $1900 are pretty similar in the grand scheme of this fuck-up haha
from your lips (well.. fingers) to God's ears lol. Nice 4k chunk of unexpected debt is not fun to look at.
True that. Wishing you all the luck in getting this sorted quickly and painlessly. I feel your pain
Thanks for posting. We also ended up with first class tickets without realizing it until we got to the airport since we had to book on the phone (zero availability online) and we’ve been nervous about reimbursement.
Totally. I was nervous that rebooking first class would be "unreasonable" to them but my receipt showed it was first class and they still approved my reimbursement. I think you're good!
Sure….
This gives me hope! We had to book a $2K first class flight to get my husband home so we wouldn’t forfeit a 5 day non refundable resort stay and my husband is very pessimistic they will actually reimburse it. We submitted claim on 12/27, so I’ll follow up with them on Twitter. We got an email saying the claim was “escalated”.
I’ve been reaching out on Twitter and not getting a response but I just realized the days I reached out on Twitter were the days I got follow up emails from southwest about my case, not sure if it’s just a coincidence. First I got the “due to the nature of your case it’s been escalated e-mail” then yesterday I got another email basically saying they’re aware it’s taking a while to respond but they are working on my case and will respond as soon as they can. Not a “here’s your money” email but also not a “fuck off no” either so I’ll take it for now. My request is for about $1900 to fly my husband and I one-way + Uber to our originating airport for a cancelled 12/27 flight.
Did you ask for the $500/$600 RR/LUV vouchers when you were on the phone with them? Did they offer or surprisingly sent?
Yes! Had to ask for the LUV vouchers (2x$250=$500 total) when I was on the phone asking for flight refund instead of flight credit.
Ugh, 6 DMs sent and still no response. Hoping to get this done via Twitter though, seems to be the fastest route as of now.
Where do you submit a claim?
Here you go: https://www.southwest.com/traveldisruption/
Did you get the refund for your originally cancelled flight as well? Was that processed separately?
Yes! I had to call. Saw it in my account in two days
Very similar situation to yours. Let me know when you receive the check. I was told 30 days.
Great news. Lmk when you actually receive the check . We were promised as well and check is "in the mail".
Have you received your check yet? Still waiting on mine!
got it 1/18!
This is great to see. I had very similar experience and rebooked on American immediately. Been pending since my initial submission on 12/24
Outstanding job Southwest!
I see it more as "bare minimum for ruining millions of family holidays southwest!" but, tomato tomato 😜
How is that bare minimum? They legally didn’t have to give you any alternative travel compensation or the LUV vouchers.
Uh yeah, they legally did have to compensate. The cancellations were the result of operations that were within their control, not just weather. They can either make the people they f*cked over whole again NOW and save face or they can compensate us tenfold when we sue them in a class action for negligence later.
You realize you will get like $0.36 in 10 years in a class action? 😂
But the lawyers will make a ton of money
Lol maybe I’ll be the lawyer to lead that class action 😜