How Do I Get Compensated for My Southwest Airlines Flight Being Delayed?

There are times when even a Southwest flight may be delayed, diverted, or canceled. If any of these changes should occur, Southwest will notify you within 48 hours of them being made aware of the changes. In order to get a refund for a delayed flight, you must contact a Southwest Airline representative or use the Southwest app if you used rewards points to make your purchase. Once eligibility for a refund is determined, your refund will be issued and returned to the payment method used to purchase the ticket.

Adam Goldkamp is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Jul 9, 2020

How do I get compensated for my Southwest Airlines flight being delayed?

Southwest Airlines is one of the best airlines there is, especially when it comes to customer service. Therefore, they do their best to make sure that their customers are notified if their flight, departing within 7 days, is going to be delayed by at least 30 minutes, will be diverted, or is canceled.

How You Will Be Notified If Your Flight is Delayed, Diverted, or Cancelled

Within 30 minutes of the airline being made aware of any of these changes taking place, they will notify passengers by using an automated system. If you don't opt-out, you will be notified by text, voice, or email, depending on what you selected when you made your reservation. Note: voice notifications are not available for international tickets.

The airline will make every effort to notify passengers of the updated status of their flight even at the airport, which includes the displayed flight information under its control and boarding gates. For international itinerary, if you have not provided your contact information when you booked your flight, you will not be able to receive automated notifications.

The airlines try their best to notify passengers within 48 hours of becoming aware of changes to their flights, including departure time, routing, and/or arrival time. Southwest will also provide you with other flight options, which you can accept or choose an alternate flight within a parameter of 14-days of original travel date, or you can cancel your trip without receiving any penalties and get a full refund issued to the payment method you used to purchase your ticket. Eligible refunds that are due are provided promptly according to your payment form and the rules associated with it.

The refunds department will process these refunds within seven business days of the date the request was received. However, it may take your credit card company up to 10 business days to add the credit to your account. Eligible refunds of tickets purchased with cash are sent by check within 20 business days after your request was received.

Getting Assistance and Your Refund

Should your flight be delayed, diverted, or canceled, Southwest Airlines will help to rebook your travel on the next available flight or issue you a refund for the unused ticket. In certain circumstances, Southwest's service personnel are authorized to provide you with accommodations at no additional cost to you, such as providing you with an overnight stay at a nearby hotel as well as ground transportation to get you there.

You can use the Southwest app to find out if you are eligible for a refund. To do this, open the app, and in the menu, select "Look Up Reservation". You can also login to your rapid rewards account to find this information if you used your rewards to make your purchase. Just go to your reservation and input the name of the passenger and the flight confirmation number, you will then be able to see any refundable balances available to you. Then choose to receive the refund that you have available, which will be added to the credit card you used to buy your ticket. Or you can speak to a representative at Southwest Airlines by clicking here.

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How Do I Get Compensated for My Southwest Airlines Flight Being Delayed?

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