A passenger with Southwest Airlines claims a standby alert within the airline’s app caused them to rush for information prior to their flight.
In a post on Reddit, user suspiciousbroccoli22 posted images from their journey that seemed to reveal contradictory details.
An image showed a red alert bar within the application stating, “We have placed you on the waitlist. Some seats are no longer available for your booking. Please speak with a Customer Service Representative at the terminal for help.”
A different screenshot displayed a text message that read, “Standby alert: You are authorized for flight 2277 from LAS to STL, scheduled to depart at 1:55 PM. Obtain your boarding pass(es) here.”
As per the original poster (OP), they contacted a gate agent two hours prior to the 1:55 p.m. flight fromLas Vegasto St. Louis and were informed of their position in theflight was confirmed.
The representative mentioned that the seat selection and boarding pass would be available in the app roughly one hour prior to the flight’s departure.
“I verified at 1 PM for my 1:55 PM flight and the Boarding Pass and Seat Assignment were already visible,” the OP mentioned.
They stated, “It’s definitely designed to make you nervous and prompt you to buy an upgrade.”
Redditusers rushed to the comments section to share their opinions, with many wondering if the message was related to the ticket class.
One questioned, “Wait, so why did you end up on the standby list? Was it simply because you bought a basic economy ticket and didn’t pay for a seat assignment?”
The original poster responded: “I don’t think I was truly placed in Standby (when you’re not confirmed for the flight and seat). Yes – regarding your second question.”
Must really alter the phrasing
They also mentioned an explanation provided by another Reddit user in a different conversation: “You’re [on] standby for a seat, not the flight. They ran out of economy seats at the back of theplane.
Once this occurs, they categorize basic passengers as standby, hoping that other travelers will pay to move up to a preferred or additional legroom seat instead of offering you one of those seats at no cost.
“They definitely need to update the language, but that doesn’t appear to be occurring,” they added.
Southwest Speaks
Speaking toMathHotels.com, a representative from Southwest stated that only “a small portion” of customers were experiencing the problem on the mobile application.
“The last 14 passengers with Basic fares who attempted to check in on fully booked flights are indicating they are on the waitlist since their seat has not been allocated yet,” he explained.
Internal teams are collaborating with our reservation provider to resolve the issue. It’s certainly not meant to encourage customers to pay for an upgraded seat … since none would be available anyway, considering the flight is fully booked.
Although he couldn’t specify a precise date for the update, he mentioned, “It’s definitely on our list of small adjustments we’re implementing to enhance the Customer Experience, following our review of how things have functioned in the live environment over the past month since we introduced assigned seating.”
Southwest Fares
Southwestdetails its pricing variations on its website. On its Same-Day Change and Same-Day Standby page, the airline explains, “Same-day standby enables you to keep your existing flight while being placed on standby for an earlier flight through the Southwest app or mobile web, if available.”
The website also states, “Except for A-List Preferred and A-List Members, passengers who buy Basic tickets are not qualified for free same-day waiting list access.”
The airline adds that after a passenger is removed from the standby list, “a seat will be allocated to you.”
MathHotels.comhas contacted suspiciousbroccoli22 and Southwest Airlines for a response throughRedditWe were unable to confirm the information regarding the case.
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