Southwest Airlines passengers impacted by the airline’s mass flight cancellations may find a peace offering waiting in their inbox. The airline is giving travelers 25,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points as a “goodwill gesture,” CEO Bob Jordan said in an email to customers Tuesday.
The offer applies to travelers whose flights were scheduled to fly between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2 “but were canceled or significantly delayed by more than three hours” for each paid passenger and ticket on the reservation, the airline told USA TODAY in a statement. The offer is in addition to reimbursements and incidental expense reimbursements related to your disrupted travel plans.
“Our goal has always been to connect our customers to what’s important in their lives,” Jordan wrote in emails to customers. “And this holiday season, as you made plans with us to do just that, we fell short. So please accept my personal apologies.”
Marc Kruskol was among the customers who received the email.
Kruskol, 65, missed visiting his daughters in North Carolina for the holidays after his connecting flight through Denver was canceled on Christmas Eve. A gate agent told him the fastest he could fly there was two days later and that the airline would not cover hotel accommodations.
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Instead, he was flown on hold back home to the Los Angeles area and found that the points supply was insufficient.
“Frankly, it doesn’t even touch on what they’re supposed to be doing,” he told USA TODAY, adding that Southwest still hasn’t refunded its one-way connecting flights. He has yet to contact the airline about this, but plans to do so.
Crystal Muñoz is another recipient of the “goodwill gesture” but has mixed feelings about it. While on vacation in Hawaii, she and her family spent $1,900 on new flights with another airline during the Southwest meltdown.
“I’m struggling with what to do with the miles — we love to travel, but I’m hesitant to use Southwest again,” she told USA TODAY. She said she is still waiting for her refund request to be approved.
What are the terms of the Southwest points offer?
Travelers can use Rapid Rewards points towards future travel or items like gift cards and merchandise. Points can be used for any vacant seat and do not expire or have blackout dates, but passengers must claim points via a code in their email by March 31st.
The points in Southwest’s offer have a “base rate redemption value” of more than $300, according to the email. Bookings made with points “do not include taxes, fees, or other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight.”
Why were Southwest flights cancelled?
After the extreme winter that strained its technology, Southwest was forced to reduce its flights to recover. The airline had to manually schedule crews as a result of its outdated technology, while other airlines with newer cloud-based technology were able to catch up more quickly.
Some had been flagging outdated technology internally for years.
Is Southwest still canceling flights?
Southwest said it was resuming normal operations on Dec. 30 after canceling more than 15,000 flights in just over a week. But the airline continued to cancel hundreds of flights into the new year.
The airline canceled 204 flights on Monday and another 140 on Tuesday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Southwest canceled 82 flights – or 2% of its schedule – as of early Wednesday afternoon.
What’s next for Southwest?
The airline’s collapse also brought scrutiny from the federal government. “Southwest Airlines has failed its customers. Flat out,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing on Tuesday about the mass cancellations. “The Department of Transportation will hold them accountable for their commitment to making their customers complete.”
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Kruskol’s suitcase made it to North Carolina without him, but the airline contacted him on Sunday. He expected to receive his luggage by Wednesday, but received an email from FedEx notifying him that the delivery was delayed until Thursday.
“For those who have requested refunds, refunds and/or are waiting to be re-found with lost bag(s), these processes are being handled with great urgency and we appreciate your patience,” Jordan said in the email to customers.
Although Kruskol was disappointed that he couldn’t make his trip, after reading stories about other stranded travelers, he tried to keep his experience in perspective.
“I think about the people who didn’t make it, I didn’t go through the worst of it,” he said, “I think I’m kind of the nicest guy in prison.”
Contributors: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
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