Changing to a different flight on SW

[Mitzie]

We have flights booked for our annual Oct trip. We have the last one of the day booked currently but have found that we can now take an earlier one which would be more ideal. How does Southwest handle that..will we loose big money? Right now the two flights are the same price.

[disneymom15]

I've done it, just can't remember how to do it. It was easy though, and won't cost anything if the fares are the same.
I'm sure someone else on I'cot can walk you thru the steps. You will need to do it online, otherwise I think if you call SW direct they might charge you a fee.

[Fangorn]

We have flights booked for our annual Oct trip. We have the last one of the day booked currently but have found that we can now take an earlier one which would be more ideal. How does Southwest handle that..will we loose big money? Right now the two flights are the same price.

All you have to do is go online and call up your reservation. There's an option to CHANGE the flight. Choosing that option will take you through the whole selection process again - it looks just like you're booking for the first time. Select the new flight you want, and checkout. The checkout process will be the same as well, except that when you get to the payment piece, it'll show the amount you've already paid and the amount of the new flight. If there's a balance due, you pay that. If there's a credit due to you, it'll walk you through your options. If the prices are the same, there's a zero balance due and all you do is hit the "I want to make this change" button.

Done.

You'll get a new email with the itinerary. The confirmation number will NOT change. Also, if you have purchased the EarlyBird option, you will NOT lose that.

It's is very easy.

No fee to change.

Steve

[disneymom15]

All you have to do is go online and call up your reservation. There's an option to CHANGE the flight. Choosing that option will take you through the whole selection process again - it looks just like you're booking for the first time. Select the new flight you want, and checkout. The checkout process will be the same as well, except that when you get to the payment piece, it'll show the amount you've already paid and the amount of the new flight. If there's a balance due, you pay that. If there's a credit due to you, it'll walk you through your options. If the prices are the same, there's a zero balance due and all you do is hit the "I want to make this change" button.

Done.

You'll get a new email with the itinerary. The confirmation number will NOT change. Also, if you have purchased the EarlyBird option, you will NOT lose that.

It's is very easy.

No fee to change.

Steve

See, I knew someone would have the step by step info for you.

[PopPhan]

Fangorn beat me to it, but it is a very simple process and, as long as the flights are the same price, very easy. Not that it is much more difficult if the prices differ, you get a "credit" on your account per flight/flier if the new flight price is lower, and you have to charge your credit card if the new flight price is higher.

One note: If you receive credits to your account, the current rules are that the credit is per flier and must be used by that flier within one calendar year from when the ORIGINAL flight was booked.

[Fangorn]

otherwise I think if you call SW direct they might charge you a fee.

FYI: They won't charge you even if you call. They will generally ask you to get on-line and they will walk you through the process step-by-step. Yes, they could do it faster themselves, but they'd rather take a few minutes and help a customer become more familiar with the system and processes. Much higher probability of the customer coming back if they understand how simple it can be.

If you can't get on-line, they'll gladly do it for you.

Steve

[ThanxForNoticin]

There are many pluses to flying SW, but this might be the biggest - non-hassle changes to flights if/when you need to do it. It's very, very easy to change. And they don't charge you the ridiculous fees other airlines do to change you from one plane to another.

[Fangorn]

There are many pluses to flying SW, but this might be the biggest - non-hassle changes to flights if/when you need to do it. It's very, very easy to change. And they don't charge you the ridiculous fees other airlines do to change you from one plane to another.

Completely agree. But this is probably my second biggest reason - the first being the fact that I can actually count on them to get me where I'm going, when they say they will. Occasionally, I forget just how much I rely on that and book on another airline for some silly reason (usually the schedule was just a tad better), only to have that airline change my flight times or cancel the flight altogether and rebook me on something else that is convenient for them, but not for me. This just happened last month and I have once again vowed: if SW goes there, I go SW

Steve

[disneymom15]

Completely agree. But this is probably my second biggest reason - the first being the fact that I can actually count on them to get me where I'm going, when they say they will. Occasionally, I forget just how much I rely on that and book on another airline for some silly reason (usually the schedule was just a tad better), only to have that airline change my flight times or cancel the flight altogether and rebook me on something else that is convenient for them, but not for me. This just happened last month and I have once again vowed: if SW goes there, I go SW

Steve

I agree, we really like SW, have flown with them many times without issue. However, for our upcoming trip in Oct, the return portion of our flight was just cancelled, got put on a much earlier flight than what we wanted. Hoping this won't become a recurring theme.

[Fangorn]

I agree, we really like SW, have flown with them many times without issue. However, for our upcoming trip in Oct, the return portion of our flight was just cancelled, got put on a much earlier flight than what we wanted. Hoping this won't become a recurring theme.

That's just odd. The primary reason they only open their schedule a few months out is so they don't have to do stuff like that. Their schedules are so intertwined that a change in one place has far reaching repercussions throughout the rest of their system. I've even known them to fly a plane with 2 passengers because the aircraft had to be at the next location or the rest of the day would be messed up. The only thing that would make sense would be a regulatory change or compliance issue somewhere that required a rework of schedules in part of the system.

Changing schedules, once published, just isn't in their culture.

Out of curiosity - what airport are you flying into? Milwaukee?

Steve

[WiltonJohn]

We love Southwest also.

Their stock just took a big hit....... so maybe some "tightening up" IS in the cards??????

best,

.............john

[disneymom15]

Out of curiosity - what airport are you flying into? Milwaukee?

Steve

Steve, we are flying out of Milwaukee. I found it very strange, I check SW fares daily and the "Wanna get away" seat have been sold out for quite some time. Customer service could not give any explanation as to why it got cancelled.

[Imalismom]

The only negative I have had with SWA was once I changed my tickets (6 months prior to the flight) and my early bird portion did not transfer, and I ended up having to pay for it twice. Although I could prove to SWA that I had to pay for it twice, they kept telling me I was wrong, even though I had the charge card bill to confirm that I did. This happened when I made the change online - so now I make sure I call if I have to make a change, AND I make sure my early bird also transfers to the new flight.