Southwest Airlines Reviews 801

Southwest Unloyal A-Listers Lose 300-400 same day standby
Wow.. I made it a goal to only fly southwest.. as an A lister there was many benefits. Now.. it is almost impossible to utilize the same benefits. For example, you purchase a ticket and usually you can standby, now, new rules, you can only use the standby for the ticket price you purchased so, from my experience, that means NO. I pay an extra 300+ hundred from houston to LAX.,.Southwest, you ruined a good thing. I Pray.. that a competitor creates a better program for us LOYAL Southwesters, or You go back to valueing your A listers.. What a disappointment. I guess SW will see in their revenues... Maybe you'll made the best business decision. Wow.

Very disappointed in Southwest Airlines. First time using them to go from Baltimore to Detroit. Unlike other airlines they will not allow your wheelchair on the plane. They lost the seat cushion but refuse to take any responsibility for it. You cannot talk to someone on the phone other than a person working from home with limited authority. They will not give you a number to speak to someone that is a supervisor. They told me to contact Detroit baggage because that is where the cushion would be but Detroit baggage said it would be in Baltimore. No one to escalate the problem to.

The airline is definitely only interested in AVERAGE PEOPLE and have no desire wo welcome DISABLED PASSENGERS aboard their flights.

If you have a disability I strongly recommend you choose a different airline. Also, if you care about human rights for the disabled, please consider another airline.

In the case of Baltimore-Detroit, Delta has always placed my wheelchair onboard in the closet and always made sure the chair was undamaged. They treat the disabled with love and value them. Why then cannot the airline with the heart logo share in this type of treatment?

I hate these people they are incompetent and a disaster

They told me that my suitcase was too big, I zipped the expander and then it was fine. She let a bunch of people ahead of me even though it only took me a moment. The seats are plastic, uncomfortable, and do not accommodate tall individuals. The overhead bins are also smaller. And the ticket prices keep going up.

Service, quality, and reasonable accommodations all non existent.

I am not flying southwest again and I am cancelling my card. I have flown with southwest for 10 years but this is ridiculous.

I am so disappointed in what this formerly customer focused airline has become. What once was a model of excellence customer service and satisfaction is now reduced to mediocre service and overly complicated booking and baggage policies. Until it become customer focused again, I will fly another airline

After years of advertising “bags fly free” they changed policies and now charge for bags. No problem but assuming everyone has heard of the change is a problem. When booking online there should be a pop up asking for acknowledgement of the change so we’re not surprised when checking in

Title: Worst airline experience of my life - mishandled credits, false information, and possible internal fraud
I booked a family trip to Hawaii with Southwest, flying November 13-19, 2025. When our plans changed, I called August 13 to ask if upgrading would extend the travel credits. I was told yes.
On September 25, I paid to upgrade all flights and canceled only the OhioSan Diego flights. The credits still showed the original expiration date. Before canceling the Hawaii flights, I called again to ask why, and was told the credits "couldn't be changed," but I could get a refund for the Hawaii flights due to a schedule change. I accepted.
In this call, on October 1st, I was transferred to a LUV representative, who submitted a case herself and gave me LUV vouchers, saying the system should have offered a 5-year credit extension under a new DOT rule. I was told I would NOT get a confirmation email but to wait for the refund.
On October 13, the response to the LUV representative's case claimed there was a credit card dispute, which was completely false. When I called my card company, they confirmed there had never been a dispute with Southwest, or any transaction on my credit card for that matter.
I called Southwest back after this and I found out two of my five travel credits were fraudulently transferred to strangers using fake emails, even though neither I nor anyone else ever received or had access to the credit numbers. No one else I was taking even knew where we were going on the trip, since it was a surprise, so this could only have happened internally.
Seven days later, on October 20, I called again and was told the previous representative never submitted any escalation, meaning nothing would have ever happened if I hadn't called back. This representative was extremely rude, telling me that I'm making the situation worse because I'm calling so much. But, at this point, all that had happened was southwest took all my money and credits and they they closed the case numbers, with no option for me to call who was handling the case or respond to the emails closing the case and literally giving me nothing. What else am I supposed to do but call the only number they have again?
Since September 22, I have called 22 times, totaling over 13 hours, and my credits are half frozen, half stolen. Representatives give different information every time, close cases with no resolution, and I've even been scolded for submitting complaints -- despite only submitting them when instructed.
At this point, there is internal fraud and negligence, and zero accountability. I still have no refund, no credits, and no access to anyone who can actually resolve the issue.
This is easily the worst experience I've ever had with any airline. I wish I could give less than a one star rating.

Also, I would like to note, I am not inexperienced with travel or the bureaucracy of airlines. I have travelled for work for 4 years, handling all of my travel the entire time, and I worked for Delta airlines before this. Atleast Delta has a department you can talk to when your case is escalated or being mishandled. Southwest doesn't even have an option for me to talk to anyone on the phone.

I want to express my deep dissatisfaction with the treatment I received from the boarding staff on flight WN1282 to New Orleans. One of the employees treated me in a disrespectful and sarcastic manner, refusing to let me board with my carry-on bag, claiming the flight was full — even though there was clearly plenty of overhead space once I got on the plane.

His behavior was personal, abusive, and completely unprofessional, showing a total lack of empathy and customer service. This kind of attitude is unacceptable and leaves a terrible impression of the airline.
Because of this employee (of whom I have a photo) and the rest of the staff’s behavior, my experience with Southwest Airlines was extremely disappointing.
I absolutely do not recommend flying with this airline.

After trying to rearrange a flight from Dallas to BWI to MHT...I was afraid I had not done it correctly. I spoke with Debbie probably for a good 20min ..she found my mistake and rectified it! She was calm,considerate,polite! Many thanks to her! Suzan

I learned to this hotel due to my experience.

I have flown SW several times with no major problems
Now I have to pay for luggage and soon for a seat - I just tried to book a flight using my points and what a hassle
First, it said there was a problem so to call. I started all over and then it said I didn't have enough points! I called customer service and they said it was booked! I told them it said there was a problem and it didn't say confirmed! It WAS booked. I just took a trip with my partner and he tried to use his points and he got the same msg that there was a problem - he gave up and paid for the trip so I will have him check as they may have deducted his points.

I flew Southwest out of MSP where it is supposed to be a discount airline. I would challenge that I this is the most I have paid for airfare in some time. Also was not able to find a direct flight. I chose this flight on Oct. 12th because it was about the only one that arrived at a reasonable hour. I am a senior, so I did not want to be getting in after midnight. There were weather problems so my original flight in Boston was delayed. Had to change planes in Chicago and that is where things went from bad to worse. It was a really long walk between flights. In spite of that I did get to the gate before boarding started only to be informed, I had been rebooked onto the next flight. I had paid $100.00 more just for the purpose of getting in at a reasonable hour. It made me really angry to be told that the plane was full and couldn't get me on there is spite of the fact I had a confirmation and had paid for a seat on that plane. Instead, I had to sit around the airport for 3 more hours and then when we finally did get boarded, we had to sit and wait for a while because they had to wait for paperwork regarding luggage. I called to file a complaint and can't do that over the phone. Have to go online and produce receipts for a hotel or food at airport before any reimbursement. I don't have those things. I do feel like that is very poor service when somebody is booted off a flight and told that although they purchased a seat there is no room on that flight. I feel like they should also provide some accommodations to people haven't difficulty with the walking required to get to their gates. Not at all sure I will ever fly Southwest again. I found them very cold when voicing my feelings about not flying home on the flight I purchased a ticket for. Instead, I got home at 1AM. If I had wanted to get home at that time, I had several options that would have saved me $100.00. I may also add that some of those flights had a rather rough touchdown.

I had a truly disappointing experience with Southwest. Despite my luggage being visibly damaged, I was forced to gate-check it even though there was plenty of space on board. What shocked me most, however, was the arrogance and unprofessionalism of the gate personnel. When I politely asked not to board my bag, the agent threatened to rebook me on another flight instead of trying to help. This was by far my worst experience with an airline — extremely poor customer service and zero empathy.

Upon checking in to our flight, we were coined for being the first people to check our bags for whatever reason they decided. We had to check our carry ons and when my husband said he had planned to work, a worker walked up and asked if he had a problem. It sure does feel like if you voice any displeasure, you are quickly reminded they can remove you. Some flex of power. I asked why we had to check our bags. They told me there was no more space, but when we entered the plane, there were many open spaces for our bags. We are about to close up to fly, and there are multiple, many open spaces for our bags. We are very upset we were forced to relinquish our personal belongings with no explanation. I hope southwest can explain themselves for this. We felt threatened to do what they said or we would be asked not to fly. I have a family wedding to attend, so we complied.

I had a flight booked to leave at 6:15 a.m At 1:15 a.m. I got a text saying the flight was rescheduled for 11:00 a.m. which would make me late for an important appointment. Thank goodness I slept through it. Shortly after that, I got a text saying it was rebooked for a much longer flight through Denver (instead of Phoenix), leaving at 5:35 a.m. I also slept through that and once I woke up for the flight leaving at 6:15 a.m. It took me a little time to make sure exactly what was happening and verifying that we had to race to the airport right away in order to make the flight. There was no explanation. Did they not know that there weren't enough that booked the first flight until the middle of the night when they cancelled it.

Flew from Dallas (Love Field) to Phoenix. Service was just okay the staff did their job but weren’t particularly friendly, even though my wife needed extra assistance due to an injury.

We also had to pay for a checked bag, but it couldn’t be done during online check-in. At the airport they don’t accept cash or phone payments, only a physical credit card. Luckily I had one with me, but what if I didn’t? The whole process feels outdated and inconvenient.

Talking by telephone to book a flight was a constant upsell, including the airline's credit card. Also, a petfare, which does not take an extra seat, costs more than a peoplefare. There is a limit of 6 pets per flight, so I reserved a spot expecting to be charged. It did not appear on my booking so I called a different customer representative who assured me that the spot was reserved, but it doesn't appear on my booking because it isn't charged until I check in at the airport. I said that this was confusing, since there isn't any apparent reason it couldn't be programmed in. Then the rep said something about pets in the lap that didn't make sense. I said, "How does this relate to my question?" He became snippy, and that was the end of the conversation. In both rep contacts, I sensed a lack of patience and also poor communication, perhaps both signs of lack of good customer service skills training.

I used to like the flights from FLL to SJU but now everything is re route from FLL through Orlando and then to SJU making it from 2 hours and change to 6 hours plus….
I am canceling soon my SW Visa and looking for non stop flights to SJU….
Bye, bye Southwest 💥

No perks for southwest airline credit card unless primary is flying with. They didn't think of family's. I can't send my minor child to fly and get the benefits of a free bag with my southwest card. Not worth it.