Were your huge vacation journey plans canceled, delayed or in any other case disrupted this 12 months because of Southwest’s operational meltdown? If so, you are not alone.
Friday marked the primary day since Christmas that Southwest Airlines did not have a double-digit share of its flights canceled, a quantity that CEO Bob Jordan attributed to “an unprecedented storm for all airways” in an interview with “Good Morning America.” More than 15,000 Southwest flights have been canceled, leaving hundreds extra vacationers within the lurch in the course of the busiest journey season of the 12 months.
Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, nevertheless, mentioned in a tweet that the Southwest cancellations are “not climate associated,” and as such, the corporate is required to cowl not solely the price of airfare however of meals, transportation and lodges in case you are stranded away from dwelling.
Southwest has pledged to refund its prospects for canceled flights, in addition to bills corresponding to rental automobiles, lodges and airfare booked by way of different airways. Other prices can be dealt with on a case-by-case foundation, executives mentioned.
If you have been one of many hundreds stranded, here is how one can get your a reimbursement.
Request a refund from Southwest
According to the Southwest web site, “In the occasion your flight is canceled or considerably delayed in the course of the journey interval starting on December 24, 2022 by way of January 2, 2023, it’s possible you’ll request a refund of your unused ticket to the unique type of fee.” To start, you will need to fill out an internet kind along with your title and reservation affirmation quantity.
You ought to count on to obtain your refund promptly.
“Under the regulation, Southwest should present immediate refunds when a service cancels a passenger’s flight or makes a major change within the flight, whatever the motive, except the passenger accepts rebooking,” Buttigieg mentioned in a letter to Southwest earlier this week. “This means Southwest should present refunds inside seven enterprise days if a passenger paid by bank card, and inside 20 days if a passenger paid by money, verify or different means.”
You can even fill out a separate kind should you’ve been separated out of your baggage or different belongings throughout journey.
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Request reimbursement for bills
Southwest says it would honor “affordable requests for reimbursement for meals, resort, and alternate transportation (corresponding to rental automobiles, or tickets on different airways)” incurred by cancellations, in accordance with its web site. For that, you will need to e mail Southwest’s helpline straight along with your request and fasten copies of your bills for assessment.
After that: Sit tight. Southwest has mentioned it is experiencing a backlog of complaints, and it sadly might take some time for all points to get sorted out.
Related: What you may ask from an airline after a delayed or canceled flight
Long wait? File a client grievance
If you are still ready previous the time frames specified, Buttigieg recommends vacationers file a client grievance with the Department of Transportation. The DOT requires airways to acknowledge client complaints inside 30 days of receiving them and ship shoppers written responses inside 60 days.
Check your bank card for journey protections
Several bank cards additionally provide journey insurance coverage protections corresponding to journey delay, baggage delay, journey cancellation and journey interruption for simply a majority of these conditions.
Should you run into points receiving reimbursement in your bills from Southwest, verify to see if the bank card you used to ebook your flight presents any journey insurance coverage protections, and make sure to take a look at our listing of the greatest bank cards with journey insurance coverage to assist mitigate future disasters.
Bottom line
If you have been one of many hundreds stranded by Southwest this vacation season, observe the above steps to make sure you get your a reimbursement.