Passenger forced to buy new ticket after Southwest cancels reservation 2 hours AFTER takeoff

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: StoutBroux

If you don't fly one leg, then how does the airline prove you are who you say? What would prevent you from buying a ticket, claiming you missed the flight and drove out, and sending the ticket to someone else? Or taking up a seat that they could sell to someone else?

Here's part of Southwest's Air Passenger Rights: "If the status of a flight changes with respect to a known departure delay of 30 minutes or more or a cancellation, Southwest will, within 30 minutes, notify customers of the best available information regarding such known delay or cancellation through the Automated Outbound Notification system, via the means selected at the time the reservation was made (email, voice call, text) and at the airport via the flight-information display screens and gate announcements." If they can do that, they can call to find out why you aren't on your flight and whether you want to keep your return reservation. After all, somehow they were notified, correctly or not, that the passenger had missed the flight and Southwest canceled the return flight. Why not call first?

Let's say you're on your way to the airport and there's an automobile accident or bad weather which causes you delays and you miss your plane, so you choose to take another flight with another airline or even the same airline to get to your destination and plan on returning as previously scheduled, the following week. It happens all the time.

The protocol for proof of identity in purchasing a ticket is SOP. I haven't flown for 10 years but I believe I had to show my ID and my boarding pass at the gate prior to boarding.

a reply to: DrakeINFERNO

And he paid for and received a service. Just because you have a hard time with Customer Service doesn't mean you get that service free.

a reply to: StoutBroux

It's the AUTOMATED Information Service. If you don't show they have to have a person call you. For a carrier like Southwest that could potentially be a lot of phone calls in a day.

For those saying he should be compensated just for the stress alone, hell, I wish we ALL could be compensated for stress in life, but it doesn't work like that. Stress and life go hand in hand. The guy asked for a service and received said service, one flight. He paid for said service. There was a computer error, and he was forced to pay for a second service he did not receive. That and only that is what he should be compensated for, NOT the stress. C'mon guys, let's all use common sense, put our thinking caps on, and take the greed out of the equation. He should be refunded the second ticket from the computer error and that is it, nothing more. I'd LOVE to be compensated for stress! Can you imagine how rich I'd be?

a reply to: Zaphod58

this was more than a hard time. you are straight up wrong about that. have a good day.

a reply to: [post=19112978]Anyafaj[/post

its not stress it is his wasted time. why are you on the corporate d so hard.

a reply to: DrakeINFERNO

So any time you have to deal with Customer Service you should get out of having to pay for a service? Got it.

a reply to: Zaphod58

ahh a good argument always takes it to the extreme. they made an extreme error... never mind. although you consider your time worthless, i do not and will take my leave.

a reply to: DrakeINFERNO

I don't consider my time worthless, but at the same time if I receive a service then I expect to pay for it. He received said service, therefore the airline required payment for that service. It's not like he was stuck in the middle of nowhere because the airline dumped him somewhere.

The airline made a mistake. They corrected it. He doesn't deserve additional compensation because he might have had to spend a couple hours on the phone.

In light of their errors, he obviously did not consider the 'service' to be worth what they were asking for it. Like it or not, this is a civil dispute, and they need to sort it out between themselves, with the adjudication of a civil court if necessary.

In my opinion, he should get a full refund on the second ticket he was unfairly forced to buy, and a partial refund on his original ticket as a goodwill "we're sorry" gesture.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I agree, this is a stupid story, it's not unheard of when the airline tabs a no show to your outbound due to a boarding pass error. That canceled the onward or return flight segment and ticket number.

This guy is a bit loony tbh. He got to fly, he pays for it.
They refunded the new ticket, that is a correct procedure for any airline. I don't know whats sadder, that this made the news, or that Ive bothered to comment.

a reply to: zazzafrazz

I'm gonna go with "that it made the news".

Also, I didn't even know this kind of error was technically possible. It makes me very wary of multi-part flights in future.

a reply to: BMorris

Nah its not all that dramatic.

If you buy separate sectors it will cost you more.

a reply to: BMorris

I've flown a lot and it never once happened to me.