Did Southwest ruin your holiday travel plans? You are not the only one if that is the case.
Southwest Airlines didn't cancel a double-digit percentage of flights for the first time since Christmas in an interview with "Good Morning America." Thousands of travelers were left in the lurch when Southwest canceled more than 15,000 flights.
Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the Department of Transportation, said that the Southwest cancellation was not weather related, and that the company is required to cover not only the cost of airfare but of meals, transportation and hotels.
Despite its original statement, the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline has promised to refunds its customers for canceled flights and expenses. The airline will handle other costs on a case by case basis.
How can you get your money back if you were stranded?
Passengers who had their flights canceled or significantly delayed can request a refunds of their unused tickets.
After completing an online form with your name and reservation confirmation number, you should be able to get your refund.
In a letter to Southwest, Buttigieg said that the law requires Southwest to give refunds if they cancel a passenger's flight or make a significant change in the flight. Southwest must give refunds within seven business days if a passenger pays with a credit card, and within 20 days if they pay with cash, check, or other means.
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After Southwest canceled a flight from Kahului Airport to Kona International Airport, a senior aviation reporter from TPG submitted a reimbursement form to the airline for the ticket he bought on a new flight.
Southwest returned his alternate fare and gave him a $250 voucher to use for a future flight.
You can fill out a separate form if you were separated from your luggage while travelling.
Southwest will honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel accommodations, and alternate transportation incurred by cancellation. Attach copies of your expenses for review if you want those costs.
We do not know how long it will take Southwest to process all the refunds, but we will update the story as we learn more.
If you're still waiting after a few weeks for your complaint to be processed, you might consider filing a complaint with the Department of transportation. The DOT requires airlines to respond to consumer complaints in 60 days.
If you communicate your issues to the airline directly, you should know that several credit cards offer travel insurance protections for trip delays, baggage delays, trip cancellation, and trip interruption.
Check to see if the credit card you used to book your flight has travel insurance protections if you run into issues receiving reimbursement from Southwest.
If you were stranded by Southwest this holiday season, follow the above steps to get your money back.
Don't move after that. It could take a while for all issues to be fixed, as Southwest says it is experiencing a backlog of complaints.
You can get more advice on handling flight delays.
The additional reporting was done by the person.
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