Southwest Airlines
Reviews and Complaints

Complete scam. I was on a Southwest airlines flight this weekend and tried to access their service and got nowhere. None of the flight attendants had been trained on how to solve issues, and they had no idea how to refund me. I brought it up with an agent on the ground, and all she could say was that I had to contact the company. I will NOT be flying Southwest in the future!

I checked in my baggage at4:00PM on September 22, 2010 a tSan Francisco Airport. There were two pieces of luggage check in. When I arrived home the next day I discovered that Jewlrey and several other items (cash, giftsand sunglasses)that were in one of the bags was missing. I have tried to reach different departments, but to no avail. My phone number is never accepted so henceforth I can not get thru to your claims dept. My missing property amounted is around $2500.00.

I flew from San Francisco to Orange County, Calif.

Janice Stanger
45 Joya Drive
Palm Desert, Ca. 9226

E=mail: [protected]@yahoo.com

Southwest was running a promotion called "Faster A-list" for their rapid rewards members for "A-list" seating (priority boarding) in half the number of flights (16 instead of 32). I signed up for this promotion, and it was shown when I logged into my rapid rewards account. I bought 5 flights under this promotion over the course of several weeks, and then suddenly the promotion disappeared off my account! Computer glitch, right? Call customer service and get it taken care of, right? Wrong.

So I call Southwest customer service at [protected] and speak to Sherrone, agent # 91963. She not only tells me "Tough luck" but is exceedingly rude on top of that! I basically get a big "screw you, buddy". I called back and spoke with another agent who had better phone mannerisms but basically gave me the same bottom line. Southwest would not help me, even though the promotion had been reflected on my account for over a month, and I had bought multiple flights under the illusion that this promotion applied to me. This is a classic bait and switch, and would have cost Southwest absolutely nothing to fix. Even when I said I was going to file complaints, they refused to budge. I mean, when someone says they are going to file complaints, and all they are asking for is an existing promotion that would cost the company NOTHING (priority seating? Really?) you would think it would make sense for the company to try to help out. Not in this case.

I asked to speak with the VP of customer relations, Jim Ruppel, and they told me he was not and would not be available at any point.

Just bad customer service.

I filed a claim for damaged luggage at the end of April '10, it is now July 7 and I still have not heard a response. Whenever I call, the reps are ignorant and just today when I called, no one could locate my claim. Completely disorganized and unprofessional. I would strongly advise letting them handle your carry on luggage, if you have a seat you should have a space for your carry on. There was no room for mine, so they took it from me and gave me a brown tag and just threw it under the plane. Needless to say, it was damaged. They seem to be very reluctant to provide me with any info on the claim let alone address the problem in a prompt and professional manner. Because of this experience, I will NEVER fly Southwest Airlines again. If you choose to, be very careful and DO NOT let them handle you carry on...IT WILL GET DAMAGED, then good luck trying to recover your losses. Just a fair warning...

I flew from Philadelphia to Atlanta. My bag contained a number of items that are VERY important to me. Someone on board the flight took my bag (I'm assuming, by mistake). I would imagine that when they returned home and realized they had the wrong bag, they would have returned it somewhere. AirTran won't do anything about this. They don't care about my claim... their staff has been rude, they won't follow up with the people sitting near me to see where the bag might have been dropped off at. They tell me that they will call me back, then never do. I hate AirTran and will never fly with them again.

I am a frequent flyer. I had to experience AirTran in 2002 when I took a flight from New York (LaGuardia) to Kansas City, MO. I was really disappointed, but a few months later decided to "give it another try" and as I had to make an emergency trip to Minnesota, took AirTran again. It was a nice experience till last week when I realized that the first impression was so true, and I COMPLETELY lost my faith in the airline. I booked a flight on-line (www.airtran.com) from Minneapolis, MN to Washington, DC (DCA) with a layover in Atlanta, GA for 45 minutes for my husband. We had an international flight from Washington, DC the next morning. The flight was delayed from Minneapolis for 2 hours. The reason indicated on the screens at St.Paul Airport claimed there was technical issue with the aircraft. It arrived late at Minneapolis. When I called the Airtran hotline, I was on hold for an hour being promised "someone will be with you shortly", then I was disconnected ( I spent 1 hr and 3 min on the phone), I called back, waited for another 38 minutes - talked to a representative. This is the information I received from her:The flight was delayed due to weather conditions in Atlanta. Though when he arrived in Atlanta, the weather was good and all the flights were leaving on time. The original flight he was supposed to take Atlanta - Washington (National Airport) departed just 20 minutes before he landed in Atlanta. When I talked to the representative over the phone, she said that they could not delay that flight! While I was browsing the flight information on Airtran web-site, I found another flight Atlanta - Washington DC (Dulles Airport) that was being delayed as well, and it WAS still at the gate when my husband came up to the Customer Service Stand. The representative on the phone hot-line said that there were seats remaining on the flight to Dulles airport and theer was another one to Baltimore, MD. Or he could stay in Atlanta's airport overnight and leave for DCA the next morning. These were the 2 optons given to us ! Noone even mentionedthe flight to Dulles airport! Only when I told the representative there was a delayed flight - right at the gate where the Customer Service stand (gate C15 in Atlanta's airport!) When he was talking to me, he seemed to be helpful. In fact (that is what my husband told me later) when he came up to gate C15, they refused to take him on board and issued the boarding pass for the next morning! And that is after I've spent so much time ans effort to explain the situation to everybody, but noone would listen? I Talked to that gentleman again, he finally walked my husband up tothe flight to Baltimore ( btw, it is a 50 mile drive one-way from washington DC where I live to Baltimore, and it was in the middle of the night!), AND he asked for tips from my husband (this is extremely inappropriate! and is absolutely unacceptable!) My questions are (and I really would like to hear the answers before I move forward) 1) why wasn't it possible to delay theflight Atlanta - Washington (DCA) for 20-25 minutes? you had the reservation and knew there was a connecting passenger, esp. if there were weather conditions? 2) the other delayed flight to Washington (IAD) . Why wasn't it possible to put the passenger on to that flight if there were seas available? 3) there was no reimbursement whatsoever! If the passenger has to stay at the airport for more than 10 hours? and it IS NOT his fault that there "were weather conditions". Do you have any official report from the weather services? It seemed like all the planes were departing on time from Atlanta but for these few flight that were delayed? Or is it the way of communication with customers - providing them with the INCORRECT information for the sake of the airline? Even when the airline did a favor - and put him onthe flight to BALTIMORE, how was he supposed to get from there to Washington DC at 2 AM? 4) which is just so frustrating and annoying, highly inappropriate, impolite and unacceptable inCustomer Service - why would you ask for a tip (non-verbally, just with a gesture, but still!) for tips! You are being paid for your job, and should be providingcustomer service . What the management team has to say about this? Does it go with the "Our mission statement sets the standard to "Be the Best" in everything we do every day: Innovative people dedicated to delivering the best flying experience to smart travelers. Every day." ? Any of these?

What the airline said?

As a gesture of good will, I have authorized a $50.00 travel discount that may be applied towards any future AirTran Airways flight reservation.

In response to your e-mail, the reason you are unable to find flights between the cities you are traveling is because our flight service to San Diego is typically operated between spring and fall; the service discontinued at the end of October 2009 and will return on May 27, 2010. The decision to operate this route seasonally was made in consideration of many variables.

Complimentary travel is non-transferable. It can only be used on AirTran and by the person indicated on the voucher!

Not even if it is my husband, and despite the fact that the codeshare airline (frontier) has the flights to the destination I need to be at!

What is $50 when I talk about almost $200 spent on a cab, sleepless night and if not then a missed international flight (over $1100 worth)?

I recently traveled with Southwest Airlines from Omaha to Phoenix on Flight #620 (Departed Omaha at 6:05 p.m. with arrival in Phoenix at 8:05 p.m.) on February 24, 2010. After arriving to my hotel room in Phoenix, I noticed that my luggage zipper was at the bottom versus the top of the bag – as I had packed and closed by luggage bag. Upon opening the bag I noticed that clothing was disheveled and that no TSA Notification Document was present in the bag. At that time, I noticed that my new Ray-Ban prescription sunglasses and case were missing. I double and triple checked my luggage and no sunglasses. I thought, gee - maybe I did leave them in the care - although I knew this was not the case. On my return from my trip, they were were not there and were obviously stolen by someone who had access to my luggage from time of checking in my baggage and picking it up in Phoenix. I travel a lot and this is the first time this has ever happened. I am very upset with the fact that my sunglasses were stolen and that I was unable to use these during my Arizona business trip and vacation. I immediately contacted Southwest Airlines on my return and they took a week to send me the paperwork. Then after waiting two weeks, I contacted them and they then denied receiving my complaint. so, I faxed it and then had to follow up a week later. southwest then denied the claim after two more contacts with no response because they want video proof!. I cannot believe that anyone can allow this to happen. The message is that no item is safe in a checked in bag with Southwest Airlines. Although bags fly free, you end up paying more to purchase items stolen by their employees! Shame on you Southwest!

In October 2009, I bought a round trip ticket on Southwest Airlines and was given confirmation # NHR26T. I was to fly from Chicago to New Orleans on 1/7/10 and return 1/10/10. On January 6, I paid $20 ($10 per flight) for early bird check in. According to SWA's website, early bird check in would automatically check me in 36 hours before the flight, "12 hours before general boarding positions become available".

This seemed like a good deal, because I would not be able to log into the Southwest Airlines website while in New Orleans. On 1/6, I received a boarding position of A43 for my flight on #2842 on 1/7. It wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. However, on 1/7, a large snowstorm hit the east coast, preventing the plane I was supposed to be on from arriving to Chicago.

I received a call from an SWA employee telling me of the problem, and she booked me on flight 2837 (confirmation # NS2P9U), giving me a boarding position of B2. I told her about how I paid for early bird check in, and she said it would not apply, but I would receive a refund within seven days. More than 50 days have passed, and they have not credited me my $10.

The return flight 1530 was even worse. When I arrived at the New Orleans' airport, I was given a boarding position of C19. I immediately complained to the ticketing agent, telling her I paid for early bird check in. She said she had no record of me having early bird check in, so I showed her my receipt. She said there was no record of me paying for it, so I was stuck with C19.

I didn't pursue the issue for two reasons. First, I didn't want a disgruntled airline employee calling an uptight security officer. Second, I thought the SWA representative I spoke with on 1/7 may have canceled my early bird check in for my return flight, as well as my departing flight. It turns out, she canceled neither.

I was on that return flight with four coworkers, none of whom had early bird check in. All of them had received better boarding positions than I did. I decided I would wait until I was home, and check my credit card history. On 1/12, I reviewed my credit card, and there were two $10 charges from Southwest Airlines, but no refunds.

That night, I called the customer service number, 1-800-I-FLY-SWA, to complain. The representative refused to reverse the charges and said I needed to call Customer Relations at [protected]. On 1/13, I called that number during business hours, and no one answered.

I immediately wrote a letter to their e-mail address, complaining of the situation. On 1/17, I received an e-mail from Southwest saying I would receive a response within 45 days. The 45 days have passed, and I have not received my refunds.

This was the first time I used Southwest Airlines, and I learned their marketing slogan of "Our #1 Mission is Customer Service" is just that, a marketing slogan. Further evidence: On January 15, I received a letter from SWA. The stamp on the envelope was dated January 12. It was an itinerary with the message "Bring a copy of this itinerary with you to the airport". Thanks for getting that to me five days after my trip ended.

I'd purchased a Southwest Airlines ticket on 3/10/2009 for $126.80 confirmation # JB27JW parts of the payment I used to pay for this ticket were: 1) a refund credit from confirmation# J4F677 for $63.00 2) a refund credit from confirmation # 225HYJ for $28.70 these two refund credits would be expired on 7/3/2009 if I don't use them 3) I also paid with my credit card for $35.10 for the totals of $126.80
On 5/22/2009 I called and cancelled the ticket since I couln't make the trip, I used $30 credit from $126.80 refund credit to pay for part of my niece's travel, so I still have $96.80 credit in my account, this amount would also be expired on 7/3/2009. I called Southwest Airlines the 1-800 number again around June the 20th, 2009 and asked if I could extend the $96.80 credit that would expired in July and were told by Southwest Airlines ticket representative that I would have a year from July 7/3/2009 to extend and I will need to pay $50 for extending the expired ticket, as always I believed what the representative told me as I
know in the past their policy for extending credit is always within a year and I've done this before so I wasn't worry. Last night I called the 1 -800 Southwest number to extend the credit since I will need another trip in April and can use the left over credit, after being on held for 30' the representative told me to call the Customer relation corporate number instead to extend my credit. I called the Customer relation [protected] this morning and was waited for almost one hour to get someone on the line.
This guy named Stewart told me all my credits were expired in July 09 and I had 6 months from the expired date to extend since this is Feb 11 all my credits were lost. I told him that not what I was told, I was told by Southwest ticket representative that I have a year from the expired date to extend, no matter what I'v tried to explain to him, he was rude and arrogant, he kept trying to hang up on me he told me that I was misinformed by Southwest representative and the case is closed he won't give me any credit back. I asked him I need to talk to a supervisor to get to the bottom of this matter since I didn't know they change the rule from a year credit extending to 6 months and didn't even notify me
even the Southwest 1-800 number people told me it's a year. He refused to transfer me to a supervisor, he said he is a supervisor and can't help me. I told him I'll report this incident to Channel 7 he said and I quoted " Go ahead and report to Channel 7, say hi to them for me"
THIS GUY IS A JERK! he shouldn't be representing Southwest Airlines at all, what kind a customer relation is this?

After years of almost hassle free air travel throughout the United States, we are utterly appalled and disgusted at the way we (and several fellow passengers) were treated as NEW and paying customers of AirTran Airlines. The fiasco that was Flight 884 from Nassau, Bahamas to Orlando, FL on January, 3 2010, was a shocking and disappointing experience. It has forced us to file an Official Complaint in regards to the blatant lack of customer service expressed by the employees of AirTran Airlines.
On November 4, 2009, my brother David and I booked a round trip flight to Nassau, Bahamas to be a part of our best friend’s wedding. After months of shopping around, we decided to choose AirTran as our carrier. Traveling often, especially during times of heightened security, we normally stick to the airlines that we TRUST and feel most SECURE with, but we went against our intuition and chose AirTran. It was a grave mistake. We had a decent flight to Nassau on January, 1, 2010, however the returning flight was a complete nightmare.
Upon arriving at the airport we immediately noticed a line of passengers outside leading into the terminal. We entered the terminal though another door and realized that it seemed to be an issue with our flight (884) to Orlando. There were four AirTran employees talking to a group of passengers at the kiosk. We waited thirty minutes and noticed that the line hadn’t moved any. We then began to ask other passengers in line if they knew anything about the delay. No one had any information although some had been waiting for over an hour. After forty-five minutes, passengers began to get a little uneasy because no AirTran employee had yet made an announcement as to what the issue was or provide any updated information. We were basically stuck in the terminal, luggage beside, with NO progress and NO information. After another forty-five minutes an employee finally tells us that the plane has a maintenance issue and that we will not be making the flight that evening. She continued to announce that they were working on accommodations for the night, and went back behind the kiosk as we all tried to ask other very important questions. Of course, frustration ensued.
At this point, we now have limited information, dealing with major changes that directly affect our future schedules, and NOT ONE AirTran employee has even attempted to facilitate our questions and concerns -OR- show any level of empathy or compassion. Only the people at the Kiosk were getting questions answered and they had been there for over two hours. The rest of the passengers in line were completely ignored. No one came over to say calm down, everything’s under control, we apologize. Nothing. It was obvious that they were very confused, unprepared, and wanted to avoid the tough questions. Several of us then asked to speak to the manager. An employee told us that the manager was in her office and could not come to speak with us at that time. Initially, we had no problem with that. We waited almost another HOUR before they finally began moving the line. By now, the other airlines have begun to close and we are the only group left in the airport.
Extremely frustrated and still waiting, we noticed that NO OTHER employee has uttered an apology other than the young lady that made the initial announcement. [STILL NO SIGN OF THE MANAGER]. A group of passengers ahead of us went to the manager’s office in hopes of speaking with her. SHAMEFULLY, she did not come to the door after they knocked several times. We never received an apology from her. She never came out of her office. That is completely unacceptable!
After awhile, we finally made it to the kiosk to learn that there may not be a flight available until that WEDNESDAY. It was Sunday. While processing the fact that we are stuck for three days, two employees grab their belongings and leave while several people are still waiting to be helped! It’s now only two employees working! After receiving the hotel vouchers, we became aware that there had been a shuttle available to take passengers to the hotel. By the time we made it to the kiosk the shuttle was full and had already departed for the hotel. We asked an employee how would the remaining passengers ( about 15 of us) get to the hotel. She explained that she doesn’t think that there will be a second shuttle. We were forced take a TAXI to the hotel for $20 (which we were responsible for). Absolutely disgusting!
The next day AirTran managed to find a flight to Orlando departing at 7pm. We met in the hotel lobby and took the shuttle back to the airport. Upon arriving at the kiosk, we were told that we would not be making our connecting flight to Dallas, and that we would be spending another night in Orlando. We were so angry and frustrated that we were almost numb to the continuing problems. We receive our tickets and headed through security towards our gate. Around 6:30pm they announce that the scheduled 7:00pm flight is delayed and the expected departure time is now 8:30pm (even more problems). Noticing that the restaurants were beginning to close, we asked an AirTran employee if the food vouchers (that AirTran provided) were redeemable here in the airport. She explained that they are only redeemable in the American airports and that we would have to pay cash there. We literally almost LOST IT! By the grace of God, a passenger over heard the conversation and pulled us to the side and told us that Duncan Donuts was accepting the vouchers. After eating, we asked the employee why did she lie to us. She said that she was unaware that we were able redeem them there. It was again obvious that absolutely NO ONE knew what was going on. That led to yet another very long, angry, and frustrating night with AirTran. We made our connecting flight the next morning and ran away as fast as we could once we landed in Dallas.
As young entrepreneurs, we both are fully aware of the importance of customer service. We are also aware that problems happen; some completely unpreventable and more severe than others. However, we VALUE our customers and hold each other accountable when problems arise. Unlike AirTran, we understand that it’s not so much about the problem itself, but more about how you REACT and MANAGE that problem. Effective management and customer service attempts were both COMPLETE FAILURES on the part of AirTran Airlines. We feel completely disrespected and worthless as customers. AirTran has made it clear that they do not care that we CHOSE to purchase their service. We will never do so again. This was the ABSOLUTE WORST service that we have ever experienced from any company and are both saddened at the thought that unknowing people are aimlessly booking flights at this moment. We have teamed up with fellow passengers in attempts to make our disastrous experience more known the public. No one should ever choose to pay a company and then be treated horribly by its employees. We truly LOST out on the opportunity to have been a part of an airline that puts forth an effort to treat their customers with respect and dignity.

I am so livid at the moment. First of all, my anger began months ago when I first booked my flight from Detroit to Orlando (with a layover in Atlanta) and was unable to get a seat confirmation.

My fears were realized today Dec. 22, 2009, when as I arrived at the ticket counter to check my bag (and check in with my family) that I encountered problems that ultimately caused me to miss my flight (AirTran flight to Atlanta 143).

Yes indeed, it was tight timing, but I arrived at the gate to find a very short line and three AirTran staff members doing absolutely nothing but chit-chatting and staring at the four of us. One gentleman was assisting in checking the four of us in, but was taking absolutely FOREVER. Let me break it down:

-first of all taking the money for the checked bag
-getting cash for the checked bags
-tagging the check bags
-trying to find seats for all of us.

My first irritation is when another person was called over to help changes money for the checked bags. That's when I overheard the gentleman checking us in say, "The three of you (referring to the idle AirTran staff) could be tagging, while I'm doing this."

Then my absolute favorite, was when after that, the guy checking us in seemed to fumble around for several more minutes trying to find seats for my family, to no avail, he says to another staff member, "Can you help me?"

A snotty heavy-set woman punches on the keys and says nastily, "ya'll better get in line the airplane door closes at 5:30 a.m." I didn't mind the announcement, what I was pissed about is that this warning came, AFTER all of the fumbling. WHAT THE HELL?!

No surprise, at 5:35 a.m. when we got the gate I was told there was nothing they could do. REALLY? Considering you took a millennium to [protected]@cking get through a virtually empty ticket counter.

So, I am now waiting on stand-by for an afternoon. If your plan to fly AirTran, I advise other to heed the warning and apparently get to the airport 5 HOURS ahead of time just in case their staff [protected]@cks up and makes it your fault.

Ebony

Trying to board a flight after being held up at a security checkpoint, I went to the gate with my family. Both I and my daughter are disabled and when I went to get a early boarding card for both of us, there was no one at the desk as all the agents were now preparing to board the flight. As we worked our way to the front of the line and attempted to board, the gate agent told me I could not board now. I told him I was disabled and he looked at me and asked me what was wrong with me and informed me that I "didn't look disabled" because I wasn't in a wheel chair. I looked at him and asked him if he was serious and now everyone was looking at us. He motioned me to go forward and as I called for my daughter, he told her she could not go with me. I told him she was disabled too and he asked, "what's wrong with her...she looks fine to me." This was about enough for me and I told him it was none of his business and he could either let her on or we would both get off and wait. The other agent just looked over and motioned us to both continue boarding.

I have only run into this one time before and cannot believe this gate agent and how poorly they treat people. This is completely unacceptable and is one of the reasons I will never fly this airline again. The other is how once you get on the plane, everyone is rushed to try and makeup the time lost from the plane arriving late. Being a retired AF pilot, I know how long it should take to do a walk around and pre-flight checklist and there comes a point where safety gets compromised. There is too much pressure to get back on time and the crew makes it seem like it is the passenger's fault if they takeoff late.

How about some customer service and accepting responsibility Southwest? This is NOT the same airline I flew 10 or even 5 years ago.

My friend, a cancer patient, was a board an AirTran flight from Kansas City to Fort Lauderdale, via Atlanta. In Atlanta, she rushed to board her connection to FLL, they directed her to #11. At gate 11, the gate agent looked at her ticket, did not scan it but waived her aboard. She could not find her seat (now we know it was because that seat did not exist on that particular airplane), so again, she consulted a flight attendant. They told her to "just sit here." She stowed her bags and put on her iPod (therefore unable to hear inflight announcements). A few times before flight she removed her headphones and once heard the attendant asking for a standby passenger to disembark (the plane was oversold by one passenger). When she got to her destination, she realized she was in Jacksonville, not Fort Lauderdale. AirTran Customer Service was closed. She was on her own! Since AirTran doesn't fly from JAX to FLL, I bought her a new ticket on Southwest for early morning travel ($145). She was able to find a distressed traveler rate at a local motel ($45). These two expenditures combined is more than I paid for the original ticket, and finally, after a week of complaints and several calls to corporate, a $50 voucher is all I am being offered. This is an insult, they can take the voucher and shove it. Instead, I will dedicate my life to putting AirTran out of business. DO NOT fly this airline!

Airtran Airways new improved truth equals this company defrauding customers. It is hoped that potential customers of Airtran Airways read my experience before booking a flight with them to avoid being cheated and defrauded as I have been. Details are as given in the correspondence below.

My first contact with Airtran Airways follows: This submission is made to formally request return of $39.00 inappropriately taken under false claim that my luggage was oversized. Your employee said the bag measured 63 inches overall and weighed 41 pounds. The Airtran Payment Receipt for the collection of this amount is as follows: Date: 21 Mar 09, Confirmation Number: E7EJMZ, Receipt/Auth #: E7EJMZ-02, Received: Cash $39.00, Received by Agent: 200879. Your agent said her name was Mitzi. I informed her I had never been told this bag was oversized before by any other airline. Regarding this, she said that in November there were size changes put into effect. I asked her for the changes, and she said under those November changes the maximum overall size was 62 inches. She let me measure the bag and it was between 61 and 62 inches. She was told this, but it made no difference. Before the return trip I found the manufacturers specifications. Samsonite's published dimensions for this bag are 30.5x21x10 for a total of 61.5 inches. Please return the $39.00 to... Thank you for your help in getting this matter resolved.

In response Airtran wrote: Thank you for contacting AirTran Airways. I apologize for any inconvenience this situation has caused you. We want to make travel as easy and effortless as possible. I regret if we failed in your instance.

Our intention is to openly and honestly communicate our policy with our valued customers; therefore, our complete travel policy is provided on the following page link:

http://www.airtran.com/policies/carry-on_checked.aspx (http://www.airtran.com/policies/carry-on_checked.aspx).
In an effort to provide consistent service to our customers and in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulation, our agents are instructed to verify the size and weight of checked luggage. Our company instruction includes the correct procedure for bag measurement and fee assessment. When looking at your itinerary, confirmation number E7EJMZ, it is documented that the bag was 63 inches when checking in at the Columbus Airport.

I apologize for any inconsistency you encountered during your travel. However, it is not uncommon for passengers to utilize the expansion options on luggage for one flight, causing the bag to measure larger on one segment than the other. Nevertheless, these comments have been forwarded for review and correction if needed. Unfortunately I am unable to see the luggage as it was presented at the Columbus Airport. While I sincerely regret any inconvenience this matter caused you, please understand that the baggage fee was applicable on your outbound flight. Therefore, I must respectfully decline your request for reimbursement. I apologize for any disappointment this response may cause you. Your understanding in this matter is greatly appreciated. I hope we have an opportunity to serve you on a future AirTran Airways flight.

My last correspondence with Airtran Airways stated, I have been patient and had hoped the forwarding of my comments would generate positive result of getting my inappropriately taken $39.00 returned. However, as this has not happened, I have additional comments regarding your response.

Luggage expansion was not used and never has been used. Only about 65 percent of the bag storage capacity was used as overall weight of 41 pounds indicates. Hopefully, it is agreed there is a relationship between bag weight and need for expandability feature. With another bag set on top of my bag lid, it would concave in due to the empty space inside my bag. Place my bag on the floor lid down and it goes flat to the floor for the same reason. Your agent never did this. Yet you say AirTran Airways instruction includes correct procedure for measurement and fee assessment. This indeed was not my experience. Instead, what I observed was a procedure to accomplish fraud against customers, and your response shows this to be a corporate philosophy.

If I do not have the $39.00 in hand by May 18, 2009, I will put the details of this situation on the internet for all to read. This will be along with the many other derogatory comments about AirTran tactics already there. People need to be warned of AirTran Airways fraudulent and costly tactics against them.

To the above input Airtran Airways maintained its position and the $39.00 has not been returned. To save yourself from a similar situation, and avoid having to deal with people who have no qualms about lying, cheating, and defrauding you, just don’t use them.

After arriving for a flight at 4:00pm 8/13/09 on Airtran which was suppose to leave at 5:55 to find the flight is now delayed we finally boarded. We sat on the runway for 2 hours not leaving until after 7 (which we were suppose to arrive in Atl. at 7:30). (I even asked could I get off the plane after the first hour and they said 'NO').

My connecting flight was to leave at 10:10 to Los Angeles.. we did not arrive until 10:15 (connecting flight gone) and they said they could not put me on another flight until 11:55 the following day.

They offered no comps, no hotel, no food NOTHING. I asked could they just send me back to Philly where I originated since they had 1 more flight out that night and they said if they took me back that I woul have to pay my own way to LA .. they would not even comp that.

After begging they finally gave me a discount voucher for a hotel, still costing ME 60.00.

Based on my research this is not an isolated issue. Using a basic Google search I have found that there is someone else who has had a very similar experience with the same person at the LAS airport.

This incident happened on August 12, 2009. I flew from SWA Portland, Oregon to Las Vegas on 8/9/09. For my return trips I was booked on flight 1325, confirmation number NPRXIX from Las Vegas to Portland, Oregon on 8/12/09. Disabled with a back injury and mental disability (Recognized by the ADA) I was discriminated against and humiliated without regard to factual evidence. Had this happened in Oregon before flying to Vegas I would have had the choice to go home and not take the flight. Instead this happened where I would be stranded in Las Vegas with no idea of how I would get home to my underage daughter which caused extreme anxiety for me.

An attendant supervisor came up to me while I was seated in my wheelchair at the gate waiting for my flight with people on each side of me and across from me. I was not able to remember her name, but this happened at gate C5. She had short Dark hair and was thin. She asked if I had 2 tickets for my flight. I responded that yes, I had one for myself and my husband. She then said I needed to have 2 tickets for myself for the flight to Portland. I was baffled because I had never experienced this before. I didn't know what she was talking about. She said that it is the policy of Southwest that I purchase another seat. No explanation why, so I had to assume it had to do with my size. Of note, I was approached immediately after my husband had left my side to go purchase food at the airport. I explained that I fit in the seat just fine as I had flown from Portland, where I live, to Las Vegas without incident. She said that she was sorry I wasn't told before, but that I
would not be allowed on the plane without the purchase of an additional seat. At this point I started having trouble breathing and having an anxiety/panic attack. I called my advocate, a close family relative, to speak for me because I became unable to speak or breathe freely. My advocate explained to the supervisor that I have a mental disability and that she was advocating for me. The supervisor gave the same stonewalling to my advocate and returned the phone to me. As soon as I was off the phone the supervisor came back...even after being told that I had a mental disability she insisted on pushing me further. I informed her that she needed to stop and leave as I was having an anxiety/panic attack brought on by her judgments of me that were unfounded in fact. She persisted and I explained that she needed to leave again. All of this took place, not in a discreet and compassionate way as described on the SWA website, but rather with reckless abandon. She had no regard what so ever to my mental disability that she had been informed of by my advocate or that this was being handled in a very public manner. Finally after asking for the third time for her to leave she did. My husband returned after getting food to find me in tears unable to catch my breath. He went to talk to the supervisor who gave him the same rude and uncaring attitude. My husband asked to speak to her supervisor to which she replied she does not have a supervisor and there is no one above her. My advocate was on the phone with SWA customer service during this time explaining the issue and reiterating my mental disability and anxiety/panic attack. On the phone the agent stated that since my husband was sitting next to me this should not be an issue. They agreed to call the supervisor. They got back on the phone and agreed to have a different supervisor come over, but said that the persons name was Scott.

Razzy T arrived and with an expressionless face and a tone to his speech refused to listen to me at all. We again called my advocate to talk to him explaining that I needed him to talk to her instead of me. My advocate needed to speak for me due to the severity of my panic attack at this point. Razzy refused to talk to my advocate. Razzy refused to let me have the phone near him so that my advocate could hear what he was saying. Razzy repeated over and over that it was a judgment call that based their opinion that I needed a second seat. I again explained that I did not require a seat as the arm rest goes up and down just fine. Razzy continued on with no regard to the fact that I was having trouble breathing and in a full blown anxiety attack that is clear to everyone near me. I told him that I could not talk to him anymore due to my anxiety/panic attack. He continued on and still refused to talk to my advocate who I needed to speak for me due to my attack. I could
not breathe, I could not speak and I was falling apart in the middle of the airport, again with people all around me. Razzy would not leave. I repeated that I was done talking to him because he would not listen to me. My husband asked him to leave. In his same tone and expressionless face he repeated that I needed to purchase an additional seat. I informed him that he was discriminating against me based on disability. Especially when it was clear that he would not look at the evidence and refused to talk to my advocate. My advocate was necessary and on the phone with me during the entire conversation and heard everything Razzy T said. I simply had the phone up to my ear so that she could hear. Therefore, we do have a witness to the treatment I received. I kept telling Razzy to please talk to my advocate, he continued to refuse. It seemed to me that he did not want to resolve this matter in any way other than to force me to buy the 2nd seat. My husband repeated that Razzy needed to talk to my advocate. He didn't seem to want a witness to the mistreatment, but my advocate was able to hear the entire conversation and will attest to what she heard. The way I was treated was unlawful and unacceptable treatment in regards to my disability. I was in a wheelchair and clearly having an anxiety/panic attack. Not only the disregard for my mental disability, the fact that it was CLEAR that I was having an anxiety/panic attack, but also the humiliation of this being done in front of the entire waiting area. Nothing discreet about that at all. Finally he left me alone...in full hysterics and I couldn't breathe. This was now the worst anxiety/panic attack I have ever experienced in my life. I felt like I was going to die.

By the policy stated on the Southwest Airlines website, if the arm rest can go up and down it is NOT required to purchase a second seat. If SWA is going to have that as the definitive gauge then there needs to be a way to show that, not left up to the "judgment" of others. When it is left up to the judgment of others it creates a precarious situation allowing for discrimination and bias judgments. Especially when it turns out to only be manufactured in the agents head, as was this case and the previous case involving Razzy T and another passenger. Fitting between the armrests was not an issue. I got from PDX to Vegas without incident. I needed to get home to my underage daughter.

The plane started boarding and we had our preboarding slip and were escorted onto the plane. Razzy and the other supervisor were not around. I had hoped that the issue had been dropped and I could finally just return home. Once seated we took numerous pictures of me seated in the seat with the armrest down. Furthermore we took video of me seated moving the arm rest up and down without issue. Razzy told the gate attendant to then take me OFF the plane. The gate attendant, who was very nice explained Razzy had requested to speak with me and have me removed from the plane. We cooperated. I get to the ticket desk and Razzy does not say anything. I try to show him the pictures proving I fit in the seat. He refused to look at it. My husband tried to show him the picture. Razzy does everything NOT to look at the evidence. He refused to look at it always diverting his eyes. He made it clear that he made a decision and no matter what he was not going to listen or cooperate with us. How is this compassionate? Razzy then said again that I had to buy the 2nd seat. Razzy was clearly discriminating against me based on his own personal opinion, which was inaccurate based on the policy set forth by SWA of which we had proof.

Even after I had proof that I fit in the seat fine...the arm rest going up and down without issue. Razzy REFUSED to look at the evidence...People were getting on the plane at least as big as me with NO extra seat. This one man who was larger than me got off the flight that had just arrived...I talked to him and his wife. He was not required to buy an extra seat either. I was targeted and it was clear I was targeted. We have pictures of other "customers of size" with their permission who were NOT required to buy that extra seat. More and more evidence we had the less Razzy paid attention. Razzy REFUSED to look at the video and photo proof. Razzy refused to listen at all to me, my advocate or my husband. So I spent 7 hours in panic mode unable to remain calm...because of someone's opinion. 7 hours that turned into many more hours. Razzy admitted several times that it was based on a JUDGMENT call on his part. This was a judgment of discrimination. Razzy and the other supervisor pushed me over the edge with no regards to the fact that they were further contributing to a disabling panic attack. These anxiety/panic attacks are real and cause pronounced physical issues.

What happened to me was wrong, discriminatory and offensive. It was discrimination based on the personal opinion of 2 people who had no intention of listening to me. Not to mention that I was in a wheelchair...standard wheelchair and I fit in it just fine...they harassed me over and over even after I told them they needed to stop due to my having an anxiety/panic attack in the middle of an airport...This was the most traumatic experience of my life...and it was completely unnecessary. I was constantly harassed and with reckless abandon pushed into a disabling anxiety/panic attack that I was admitted to the hospital upon my return to Portland. Is this the kind of service that one should expect from SWA and it's employees?

We booked a later flight out of a different gate at LAS. I spent the entire time at the airport and the plane ride home in a full anxiety/panic attack and uncomfortable. I have never been so humiliated or treated with such blatant disrespect and disregard of my disabilities by ANYONE in my entire life. This was a clear reckless infliction of emotional distress and harassment that was completely uncalled for and not within the policies of SWA listed on the website.

This isn't about being asked to buy a second seat...if I didn't fit in one seat I would have understood. But I DID fit, exactly according to the guidelines on the SWA website. This isn't about whether or not they were right to approach me. Although I would say it is hard for SWA enforce a policy some of the time and expect people to accept it. Based on my research others have had this same experience with Razzy T. Clearly this is not an isolated issue. This is about the complete and utter disregard for my disabilities as they continued to harass and intimidate me in the middle of the airport and the lack of discretion and compassion in which this was handled. The blatant disregard for the unnecessary emotional distress caused by these 2 SWA supervisors. Not to mention the fact that they refused over and over to look at the factual evidence that would have resolved this matter. The fact that I fit in the seat. But instead I was removed from the plane to be further
humiliated and pushed further in my anxiety/panic attack to the point it was disabling. The thought of being stranded in Las Vegas and being unable to get home to my underage daughter was so overwhelming. I am a plus size women and I do take up ALL of the seat, but I do not need the room of more than one seat. My body STOPS at the area in between the 2 seats, thereby only needing ONE seat by your own policy. My bottom half is smaller than my upper half. But SWA policy clearly states that it doesn't matter if my shoulders take up 3 seats only if my hips do. When the issue escalated and we were given no options for going above the supervisor and their insistence on pushing the issue to the point of a disabling anxiety/panic attack it became a more serious issue. This never should have escalated to the level it did.

The way this was handled from start to finish was not within the "discreet" nature described on SWA's website. The mission statement on the SWA website states, "The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit." This is far from what I experienced with the supervisors on August 12, 2009. Furthermore, the constant harassment and humiliation over several hours by Razzy T and the other supervisor pushing me to the disabling point of a panic attack is not showing that SWA cares about it's customers.

On August 28, 2009 I received a response from John in customer service. No apology for the mistreatment I received, only stating that they were sorry with the inconsistency of the enforcement of the policy in Portland. Again, SWA can't "sometimes" enforce a policy and expect people to just accept it. I appreciate that my 2nd seat is being refunded, but this matter goes way beyond the 2nd seat purchase as you can see by the information above. (Note: I am still waiting for the credit to my account for this 2nd seat). The refund of the 2nd seat is not sufficient in this case. As a direct result of the behavior exhibited by these supervisors there is now a hospital bill, the prolonged reoccurring anxiety and psychological effects this has had and the suffering as a result of this experience.

Being disabled I ask for first bording, get a blue pass from southwest ticket counter and stand by the door after seeing a white guy bugging the ticket taker named kevin to let him on first because he had art work that couldnot be put in cargo or in the over head storage, he let him go on with two black ladys one with a wheelchair. ' southwest' only one person can go on with that disabled person unless they have kids so now all three get on the plane when I get on the plane the first row are full. So I file a complant to southwest and told the what happen on line ask them to call me. Two weeks later I get my i'm sorry e mail saying that it never happen and they would never do that but geeeeeee five other people I was with saw the hole thing. So for all disabled people spend a little exter money and take a airline that cares not southwest unless you have art work...

Southwest Airlines has the WORST customer service in the market. They lost my luggage over a month ago and I am still fighting with them. They are extremely rude and could care less about customer service. Save yourself the trouble, fly another airline. It will save you money in the long run. You won't have to replace all of your clotes and other items you travel with.

I had a ticket from St. Louis to Seattle (with connecting in Milwaukee) AirTran Airways Flight 515 on July 25 2009, with flight insurance purchased. On my way to the airport there was an accident on the highway, so I was stuck for 3 hrs...missing my flight.

I got to the Airport, and the AirTrans customer service reps took over 1hour and a half TRYING to figure out how to put a customer on standby for another flight...when they couldn't figure out how to, they FINALLY called a supervisor who told me I couldn't be put on standby now, because all the flights for that day had left.

After almost TWO HOURS of trying to figure out how to even DO THEIR JOB! they made me miss any standby flights, and their supervisor didn't even say anything about how UTTERLY INCOMPETENT those clerks were!

All they cared about was they got their money, which they're OBVIOUSLY NOT spending on employee training, and that is the ONLY reason I missed a standby flight!

I am NEVER flying with AirTran Airways EVER, and will be telling anyone and everyone to not use them either! Faced with a problem that was clearly, utterly, and obviously the fault of the poorly trained staff, the Supervisor made absolutely NO effort to take care of a paying customer. Completely unacceptable!

I boarded my Airtran flight from Washington, DC to Orlando and I noticed that no one was there to greet me. As I walked down the isle, the seats did not look comforting. We took off on time. About halfway through the flight, the flight attendant came around with drinks. The flight attendant deliberately dropped the drink onto my lap. She went to the next person with no apology. I cleaned up and sat back down for landing. The landing was hard and gave me a scare. Overall Airtran is a crappy airline with bad service. My advice is to fly with a better airline like Midwest Airlines, and not waste your money in Aircrap.