Olivia Laskowski was in Nashville, Tennessee, and was scheduled to return to New York on December 2. 27 when she received a text from Southwest Airlines the day before her flight was canceled. Four days and over $600 later, Laskowski and his Siamese cat, Pretzel, were finally back in Brooklyn.
Southwest’s text message contained a link where she could view her other travel options. But when Laskowski, 25, tried to book with Southwest, the next available flight wasn’t until Jan. 1. 11. She ended up buying a new plane ticket for $478 (including $125 for a pretzel and $80 for bags) via JetBlue which took her home on December 1. 30. Southwest told Laskowski she would be reimbursed for her original ticket, and she also plans to submit her JetBlue receipt for reimbursement. So far, Southwest has offered him 25,000 points for his troubles.
“Sometimes you have extra expenses in life and you just brush them off and they’re what they are,” said Laskowski, who works as a marketing manager for Partners Coffee. “But that’s the kind of money I would really like to get back because as a youngster living in probably the most expensive city in the country, $600 makes a big difference to me.”
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Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights in December as bad weather scrambled vacation travel plans for thousands of travelers. But while other major airlines recovered quickly, Southwest’s inadequate computer systems locked out many of its customers for days. Others rented cars to make their journeys. Travelers have also incurred debt for having to pay for unplanned meals, hotel rooms and tickets on other airlines. As the chaos in the South West has eased, many travelers are still dealing with the financial repercussions of having to make other plans to get home.
Southwest is offering customers refunds and reimbursements on flights starting Dec. 1. 24 to Jan. 2 that were canceled or delayed by more than three hours in addition to the 25,000 points for each ticket, Chris Perry, a spokesperson for the company, wrote in an email to The New York Times. Points are worth approximately $300 in flight credits.
Airlines are required to reimburse customers whose flights have been canceled or “significantly” changed, according to the US Department of Transportation’s website. The site, in detailing major airlines’ obligations to travelers, says Southwest is required to offer vouchers when cancellation forces customers to wait three hours or more for a new flight, free hotel rooms for those affected by an overnight cancellation and free transportation to and from a hotel.
But for Dan Hughes, 53, who was returning home to Oregon after spending his 26th wedding anniversary in Nashville on December 21. 21, a refund might not be possible because his travel plans were outside of the refund dates.
“You blocked me in Denver on the 21st,” Hughes said. “At this point you say, ‘No, you’re alone until the 24th.'”
Hughes and his wife, who owns a small pizza franchise, were to fly from Nashville to Denver and then connect in Portland, Oregon. But their flight from Nashville was stuck on the tarmac in Denver for nearly two hours, Hughes said, and then he received a notification that their flight home had been canceled. He booked a flight and then another on Southwest which were delayed and then canceled.
Finally, Hughes booked a trip on United Airlines to Las Vegas, which would then connect to Seattle. But he and his wife got stuck in Las Vegas. The couple eventually took a flight southwest to Sacramento, California and then flew home to Oregon. They spent about $1,700 on the ordeal, and they still haven’t picked up their luggage with Hughes’ breathing machine for his sleep apnea. (Southwest contacted Hughes on Jan. 5 and told him his luggage was found in Nashville.)
Additionally, Hughes said, he and his wife incurred expenses at their restaurant as they had to pay employees to do their jobs when they couldn’t be there.
“I only do what my business does, so it turned out to be more of a financial hit than we anticipated, not to mention the extra expense,” he said.
Suzanne Durham, 56, had to use her bonus to pay for the extra costs of her travel disruptions. On his flight from Boston to Nashville on December 12. The 26th was canceled, she booked a new flight to the southwest for the following Thursday and was able to move it to Tuesday. Still, she said, she feared it would be canceled (which it eventually was) and purchased an American Airlines flight using nearly $1,000 in purchased points.
She ended up spending about $1,100 to $1,200 and was reimbursed $183 for her return trip to the Southwest. She also received the 25,000 points offered by Southwest.
“I’m going to put my gym membership on hold for a few months,” said Durham, who does promotion and marketing for a record label. “I don’t like having debts.”
JR Jones, 29, planned to travel southwest from Sacramento to Seattle with his fiancée to see his family on Dec. 1. 22, but their flight was delayed and then canceled. Southwest rescheduled their flight for Christmas Day, so the couple ended up renting a car for the 13-hour drive to Seattle. They hoped to fly back to avoid the long journey a second time.
Then their flight home in December. 28 was also canceled and they had to rent another car to get back to Sacramento. The cost of the extra trip came to about $1,000. For the canceled flights, the couple have so far only received flight credits from Southwest, in addition to 25,000 points. While Jones’ fiancée’s family was able to loan the couple about $500, they are hoping for a refund to repay them.
“The rest is just going to come out of our wedding fund, and hopefully we can get it back before the actual wedding,” said Jones, who works for an environmental engineering firm. “Otherwise, we’ll end up putting a little extra stuff on credit cards or something until we can recoup those costs.”
Michael Baxter, 47, was planning to take a trip with his family to San Diego for Christmas. Her 15-year-old daughter wanted to visit Legoland with her best friend, and the trip was her gift. But when Baxter’s flight from Tulsa, Oklahoma was moved to December. 29 dec. On January 25, he chose to borrow his sister’s Subaru and drive so his family could take the vacation as planned.
While Southwest offered to let him and his family keep the second leg of their flight, they couldn’t give up their car. They were reimbursed the full cost of their flight. Still, the family spent over $500 on gas and had to book a hotel room on the way back, which cost around $400. The family lost $430 missing the first night at a resort because of the long drive, as well as $130 on a rental car that was no longer needed.
Baxter and his wife are medical professionals and said the costs would not have a big impact on their finances, but the ordeal took its toll.
“It still hurts,” Baxter said. “My wife and I practically lost two vacation days.”
Baxter’s wife emailed Southwest explaining their situation and was told they would not be reimbursed for the additional charges. But now that the couple have calculated the total cost of the inconvenience, they plan to contact Southwest again.
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