Troubleshooter: A diverted flight, a broken promise
Saundra Shepherd's flight to Philadelphia is diverted to Baltimore because of a storm. A Southwest Airlines employee assures her that the airline will pay for her train ticket to Philadelphia, but when she calls the carrier, it refuses to cover her costs. Is she stuck with the bill? Saundra Shepherd, Wendell, North Carolina startclickprintexclude--> But the next paragraph seems to let the airline off the hook for "failure or delay in operating any flight due to causes beyond (Southwest's) control," including weather. So what's Southwest's policy on interrupted flights? Another document, Southwest's customer commitment, offers some clues. If the airline is unable to transport you to your destination as scheduled, it says, you'll be "accommodated on the next Southwest flight(s) with seats available to your destination" at no extra charge. Confused yet? Here's how I interpret Southwest's rules: If a flight is diverted to another city, the airline will do its best to put you on another Southwest flight to your final destination. But if circumstances beyond its control -- like the weather -- force a diversion, it might let itself off the hook, dropping you off at a nearby airport and considering its contract fulfilled. Now, I can understand that happening when a flight to, say, Love Field in Dallas is diverted to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. But Baltimore is more than 100 miles from Philadelphia. The train wasn't your only option. You could have been re-routed to Philadelphia via another city served by Southwest. That would have probably been far more inconvenient than taking the train, but it was an option. If a Southwest employee offered to pay for your train ticket, you should have asked for that promise in writing. I couldn't find any provisions for covering the costs of a train fare in any of the airline's contracts or policies. If this ever happens to you again, I would recommend going to the airline's ticket counter and asking someone how they intend to get you to your destination. Remember, weather or no weather, the carrier's contract with you technically isn't fulfilled unless you make it to Philadelphia, or wherever you happen to be flying. Don't assume that you only have one choice and then ask an airline employee to verbally sign off on it. I asked Southwest to take another look at your case. Whitney Eichinger, an airline spokeswoman, told me that the airline doesn't consider its contract fulfilled until you reach your final destination -- weather or no weather. It turns out Southwest had offered its passenger on your flight the option of flying to Philadelphia the following day, she said. You received a letter from the airline apologizing for the inconvenience of being diverted and reimbursing you for the train fare to Philadelphia. It also enclosed a $200 voucher for a future flight. |
