Olivia Laskowski says she ended up buying a new plane ticket for herself and her cat Pretzel after Southwest canceled her flight. (Desiree Rios/The New York Times)
Olivia Laskowski was in Nashville, Tennessee, expecting to fly home to New York on December 27 when she received a text message from Southwest Airlines the night before that her flight was cancelled. Four days and more than $600 later, Laskowski and her Siamese cat, Pretzel, were finally back home in Brooklyn.
Southwest’s text message included a link to see her other travel options. But when Laskowski, 25, tried to rebook with Southwest, the next available flight wasn’t until Jan. 11. She ended up buying a new plane ticket for $478 (including $125 for Pretzel and $80 for Taschen) through JetBlue, which took her home December 30. Southwest has informed Laskowski that she will be refunded her original ticket, and she plans to also submit her JetBlue receipt for a refund. So far, Southwest has offered her 25,000 points for her effort.
“Sometimes you get extra expenses in life and you just brush them aside and they are what they are,” said Laskowski, who works as a marketing manager for Partners Coffee. “But it’s the kind of money I’d really like to get back because as a young person living in what is probably the most expensive city in the country, $600 makes a huge difference to me.”
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Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights in December as inclement weather disrupted vacation travel plans for thousands of passengers. But while the other major airlines recovered quickly, inadequate computer systems at Southwest left many of their customers stranded for days. Others rented cars to complete their trips. Travelers also ran into debt paying for unplanned meals, hotel rooms and other airline tickets. While the chaos in the South West has unraveled, many travelers are still grappling with the financial fallout from having to make alternative plans for the journey home.
Southwest is offering customers refunds and refunds for flights Dec. 24 through Jan. 2 that were canceled or delayed more than three hours, in addition to the 25,000 points for each ticket, Chris Perry, a company spokesman, wrote in an email to The New York Times. The points are worth approximately $300 in flight credit.
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Airlines are required to refund customers whose flights have been canceled or changed in “significant” ways, according to the US Department of Transportation’s website. The website, which details major airlines’ obligations to travelers, says Southwest is required to offer vouchers if a cancellation forces customers to wait three or more hours for a new flight, free hotel accommodations for those who affected by an overnight cancellation and free transportation to and from a hotel.
But for Dan Hughes, 53, who traveled home to Oregon after his 26th wedding anniversary in Nashville on Dec. 21, a refund may not have been possible because his travel plans fell outside of refund dates.
“They stranded me in Denver on the 21st,” Hughes said. “At that point you’re like, ‘No, you’re on your own until the 24th.'”
Hughes and his wife, who own a small pizza franchise, were scheduled to fly from Nashville to Denver and then on to Portland, Oregon. But their flight from Nashville got stuck on the Denver tarmac for almost two hours, Hughes said, and then he got a notification that their flight home was cancelled. He booked a flight and then another with Southwest, who were delayed and then cancelled.
Eventually, Hughes booked a trip on United Airlines to Las Vegas, which then connected to Seattle. But he and his wife got stuck in Las Vegas. The couple ended up catching a Southwest flight to Sacramento, California, and then headed home to Oregon. They spent about $1,700 on the ordeal and still haven’t got their luggage back with Hughes’ breathing apparatus for his sleep apnea. (Southwest contacted Hughes on January 5 and informed him that his luggage had been found in Nashville.)
Additionally, Hughes said, he and his wife incurred expenses at their restaurant because they had to pay employees to do their jobs when they couldn’t be there.
“I only earn what my business earns, so it turned out to be a bigger financial success than we anticipated, not counting the added costs,” he said.
Suzanne Durham, 56, had to use her bonus to pay for the additional cost of her travel breaks. When her flight from Boston to Nashville was canceled on December 26, she booked a new Southwest flight for next Thursday and was able to reschedule it to Tuesday. Still, she said, she was worried it would be canceled (which it eventually was) and bought an American Airlines flight with nearly $1,000 in points purchased.
She ended up spending about $1,100 to $1,200 and getting $183 back for her return trip on Southwest. She also received the offered 25,000 Southwest points.
“I’m going to put my gym membership on hold for a few months,” said Durham, who is in charge of advertising and marketing at a record label. “I don’t like being in debt.”
JR Jones, 29, was due to travel to Seattle with his fiancé on December 22 in southwest Sacramento to see her family, but their flight was delayed and then cancelled. Southwest changed their flight to 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 drive a second time.
Then their return flight on December 28 was also canceled and they had to find another rental car to get back to Sacramento. The cost of the extra trip added up to about $1,000. For the canceled flights, the couple have only received flight credit from Southwest, along with 25,000 points so far. While Jones’ fiancé’s family was able to loan the couple about $500, they are hoping for a refund to pay it back.
“The rest is just going to come from our wedding fund, and hopefully we can get it back before the actual wedding,” said Jones, who works for an environmental technology company. “Otherwise we’re going to end up putting a little bit more on credit cards or something until we can recoup those costs.”
Michael Baxter, 47, was planning to travel to San Diego with his family for Christmas. His 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 rescheduled from December 25 to December 29, he decided to borrow his sister’s Subaru and drive it so his family could take the vacation as planned.
While Southwest offered him and his family the second leg of their flight, they couldn’t leave their car. You have been reimbursed for the full cost of the flight. Despite this, 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 for missing the first night at a resort due to the long drive and $130 for a rental car they no longer needed.
Baxter and his wife are medical professionals and said the expense would not have a major impact on their finances but that the ordeal has taken a toll.
“It still hurts,” Baxter said. “My wife and I basically lost two vacation days.”
Baxter’s wife emailed Southwest explaining their situation and was told they would not be reimbursed for the additional costs. But now that the couple has calculated the full cost of the inconvenience, they plan to contact Southwest again.
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