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Can I just say, I am very agitated with Southwest airlines. I know they're supposed to be so great, but the whole "no seat assignment" thing has me really anxious and now seriously pissed off. I checked in this morning as early as I possibly could (exactly 24 hours before my flight). I noticed that my husband's passport has his middle name, so I called Southwest to have that added to our reservation, just in case. After being on hold for 35 minutes, I finally got a person and had the name added. What she didn't tell me was that by adding his middle name she canceled our check in!
So, now instead of being B5 and B6, we're not checked in at all and I cannot check in until I'm home from work and can look up his passport expiration date again. I am furious. This all seems so unfair. I tweeted Southwest but all they said was "I'm sorry our customer service did not meet your expectations." Thanks for nothing.
Flying is such an unpleasant experience, but with other airlines at least I know in advance I'll be in a middle seat in the back of the plane because I booked last. It seems more fair. I hate that I played their stupid check in game and still I'm screwed because I tried to make sure everything would go smoothly at the airport.
Southwest airlines, you suck! I'm so done with flying. I end up annoyed every single time, regardless of the airline. I think I'm going to stick with trips I can drive to from now on because it's just not worth the agitation. Sorry, I just really need to vent. I wish, just once, I could have a hassle free flight. I've flown hundreds of times and I really do seem to run into a problem every single time. It's like it is impossible for me to enter an airport without feeling violated or angry at some point. Meanwhile I commute via public transit every single day without irritation.
So you made a error when you made the reservation, and that is some how's SW fault?
You can pay to be in the front of the line...
To change the name on a ticket, will cause a ticket re-issue, The Name is transmitted to TSA, Not the notes in a reservation record. You are lucky it was SouthWest any other airline would have charge you $300 for Ticket change.
SW, change it, did not charge you a change fee, and did not "cancel" and re-issue at the current walkup price for a last minute ticket.
So you made a error when you made the reservation, and that is some how's SW fault?
You can pay to be in the front of the line...
To change the name on a ticket, will cause a ticket re-issue, The Name is transmitted to TSA, Not the notes in a reservation record. You are lucky it was SouthWest any other airline would have charge you $300 for Ticket change.
SW, change it, did not charge you a change fee, and did not "cancel" and re-issue at the current walkup price for a last minute ticket.
They didn't change the name; they added a middle name. If that was going to cause them to reissue the ticket why didn't anyone mention that to me? If it was a big deal then I wouldn't have done it at all because I have flown without a middle name on the ticket before. I was trying to be cautious.
Regardless, I don't like Southwest's policy and I won't fly them again. I will tell my friends and family about this experience and I doubt they will think better of Southwest for it. The coworkers around me who I told didn't seem to think I was crazy to be annoyed. If they were cancelling my check in they should have told me that, at the very least, because I wouldn't have added the middle name to the ticket if I had known. As it stands now I am not checked in at all.
Adding a Middle name is a change to the name on the ticket,
(They updated it because you asked them to.)
Names on airline ticket are passed thru the TSA No/Fly lists.
Since you are posting to C-D you have internet access, so you should be able to recheck in. As soon as you got off the phone with SW. They also have a APP for that to do from your phone.
One Other thing comes to mind. You said you were on hold for 35mins. The SW CSR are under a heavy workload then, they more or less need to get done with your call, to get on to the next one on the queue. They are going to do what you ask.
Also the CSR may not even be aware that a change to a name/re-ticket effects the check-in queue process, that may not be part of there training.
Adding a Middle name is a change to the name on the ticket,
(They updated it because you asked them to.)
Names on airline ticket are passed thru the TSA No/Fly lists.
Since you are posting to C-D you have internet access, so you should be able to recheck in. As soon as you got off the phone with SW. They also have a APP for that to do from your phone.
One Other thing comes to mind. You said you were on hold for 35mins. The SW CSR are under a heavy workload then, they more or less need to get done with your call, to get on to the next one on the queue. They are going to do what you ask.
Also the CSR may not even be aware that a change to a name/re-ticket effects the check-in queue process, that may not be part of there training.
Unfortunately I cannot re-check in because they deleted my husband's passport information and I don't have it memorized. So, now the best I can do is check in again when I get home.
If their training doesn't include that changing things will cancel a check-in then it needs to be updated. I'm not an expert at flying Southwest but I know that the check-in order is very important. If I know that, having never used their airline before, then their staff should definitely know it.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. I'll get to where I am going and I'll badmouth Southwest everywhere I can and feel just fine about it. I don't need to use them again and I won't. Simple as that.
Now I just need to mentally prepare myself for an extremely uncomfortable flight.
You're getting in a metal tube, flying hundreds of miles per hour while sitting down in the sky, they'll get you to your destination safely, you made the mistake yourself, yet somehow this is the worst thing ever.
You're getting in a metal tube, flying hundreds of miles per hour while sitting down in the sky, they'll get you to your destination safely, you made the mistake yourself, yet somehow this is the worst thing ever.
#firstworldproblems
PS nobody cares about your "problems"
Great, then don't reply to the thread? Not a tough concept.
I'm just curious about this name thing. Are you saying you have to have the full name (including middle) on the reservation?...or that you just wanted to add it just in case?
And why does the name on the passport matter? Were you flying outside the US?
If they have business select available you can purchase at the gate (A1 through A15) for $45 domestic per leg (it may be more internationally).
Everyone hates flying commercially ... first class is marginally tolerable ... that's why people work hard to earn $$$ and fly private.
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