Southwest Airlines Offering Free Flights After Cancelling Over 13,000 Flights

Many of you were victims of the Great Cancellation of 2022 courtesy of Southwest Airlines as more than 13,000 flights were canceled during the holidays. Many missed the holidays with their families, many were stranded, and many had their luggage misplaced.

I myself had my flight canceled. I was only flying to Houston to spend some time with my Dad's family for a post-Christmas adventure. I had been watching my flight all-day out of fear of being canceled and at about 8:30 the status changed to "canceled."  I went out to the airport since I couldn't do anything online and phones were busy for Southwest.
Once I got to the airport my trip seemed so small compared to the guy behind me who had bought his kids tickets to the Cowboys/Titans game in Nashville for Christmas that had just been canceled.

Southwest was kind enough to refund my flight instead of making me take flight credit but I got an even bigger surprise when I opened my email to find a free flight waiting for me from the CEO of Southwest.

 

Dear Valued Southwest® Customer,

On behalf of Southwest, I want to let you know we’re so sorry.

Our Purpose has always been to connect our Customers to what’s important in their lives. And this holiday season, as you made plans with us to do just that, we fell short. For that, please accept my personal apology.

Southwest experienced a unique combination of events that started with severe weather at our busiest airports and transitioned into other operational challenges that stretched our People, processes, tools, and technology. This caused unprecedented wide-scale cancellations and ultimately impacted your trip.

I know that no amount of apologies can undo your experience. For those who have requested refunds, reimbursements and/or are waiting to be reunited with lost bag(s), those processes are being handled with great urgency and we appreciate your patience. Additionally, please accept this gesture of goodwill of 25,000 Rapid Rewards® bonus points.

These points equate to a base fare redemption value of over $300*. Rapid Rewards points have no blackout dates, can be used on any available seat, and never expire. Rapid Rewards points can be used for future travel, and/or on items like gift cards or merchandise.