Two blind Florida women were left behind by Southwest Airlines after flight 2637 from New Orleans to Orlando was delayed almost five hours. The two friends were the only two pssengers who eventually boarded that flight. That’s because everyone else got rebooked onto an earlier flight departing from a nearby gate – but Southwest didn’t rebook them.
- They didn’t know about the option to take the earlier flight.
- No staff approached them
- Hours just passed while they waited
When the flight finally boarded, a gate agent reportedly told them “you’re the only two people on this flight because they forgot about you.”
Southwest gave each of them a $100 travel voucher for the delay, but refused their request for a refund (naturally) because they traveled on their tickets.
According to airline spokesperson,
The Customers were scheduled on Flight 2637. Although it ran almost five hours late that day, it remained their same flight number throughout.
We issued the $100 vouchers as compensation for the delayed travel, but a refund is not available if a Customer actually completes the flight.
It appears the confusion about a plane coming back to get them might be because many of the Customers on that flight were accommodated on another MCO-bound flight that left a little earlier from a nearby gate. These two Customers were not re-booked on that flight, so their assigned gate never changed. Our records show they flew to MCO on the airplane that had been parked at their original gate.
As far as accessibility policies, all of our information is found on the Disability-Related Accommodations section of the Help Center. For Customers who are blind, escort and navigation assistance is available from the airport curb to and from gates and between gates for connecting flights.
To receive assistance, Customers must identify themselves and the type of assistance they require to a Southwest Employee when they arrive at the airport, at any connection points, and when they land at their destination. In the event of a gate change, our Employees are responsible for ensuring all Customers who need assistance reach the new gate.
We apologize for the inconvenience. Southwest is always looking for ways to improve our Customers’ travel experiences, and we’re active in the airline industry in sharing best practices about how to best accommodate Passengers with disabilities.
Southwest’s Disability‑Related Accommodations policy includes escort and navigation assistance from curb to gate, between gates for connections, and on arrival. However passengers have to identify their assistance needs to staff. And it looks like that didn’t happen here, so I’m not sure I blame the airline even as I feel for the passengers.
We all suffer airline delays. Here they did get to fly their own Southwest Airlines private jet! And they’d have gotten an empty middle seat between them! Southwest doesn’t even charge for seat assignments yet, and hasn’t managed to figure out the tech to upsell blocked middles as a premium option. So the product they got was better than anything else Southwest has today or has announced for the future. Yay?
Every so often passengers get to fly alone whle traveling commercial. Usually delays are involved.
I’ve flown alone in first class many times, for instance flying Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Paris, Thai Airways from Bangkok to Tokyo, and ANA from Chicago to Tokyo and also o Asiana, Lufthansa and more. But I’ve never had an entire aircraft to myself!
In the late 80s I flew New York to Cincinnati on Delta with just two or three other passengers after a series of delays. And then my January 1, 2000 (“Y2K”) flight on United from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles flight was on board a a near-empty Boeing 777. Everyone else was afraid to fly that day.
(HT: Joe R)
Don’t worry, an ADA discrimination lawsuit will cost Southwest much more than the refunded ticket.
I’m happy that it worked out for the 2 Ladies.
Ha. Years ago (pre-9/11) I used to game the Northeast USA shuttle — either than Pan Am/Delta or the Eastern/Trump/AA — by arriving at the LGA gate moments before departure on busy Monday mornings (back when you bought your ticket on the plane or at the airport and they all had standby planes with crews at the adjacent gate). I’d present myself at the gate as the main plane maxed out and hop on to the backup jet (maybe with another passenger or two). We would typically push back first and arrive first at BOS or DCA. I’d watch the main section taxi in as I was walking out of the terminal. It happened ~6 to 8 times. It was my hack for a scheduled Part 135 carrier!
@Thing 1 – I’m not sure there’s grounds for an ADA lawsuit if the airline didn’t know they were blind or requested accomodation. What I don’t understand is how they didn’t know about the flight, maybe they were busy talking with someone else or listening to music?
I’ve experienced (when in a role at an airline) that close to 2/3rds of passengers with non-mobility disabilities never request or need special assistance. A few airlines require hearing impared travelers have an escort/travel companion.
@Dan — Agreed. Glad they eventually made it. Could things have been handled better? Sure. For instance, a $100 travel voucher isn’t much, under these circumstances. If only we in the USA had actual air passenger rights protections like EU261 or Canada’s APPR, because 5+ hours is significant and that’d usually be $200+ or more in compensation depending on the route/circumstances.
@Thing 1 — Sure, let ’em try, if they really want to, but it’s probably not worth the retainer (for an attorney, court filing fees, etc.); if they did sue, maybe they could recover, but as @haolenate suggests, probably not (the ‘damages’ aren’t significant, mostly the ‘inconvenience’). These days, it’s not great to be anything other than completely ‘self-sufficient’ because our government is not coming to rescue any of us anymore (unless you’re ‘well-connected’ and have paid your ‘bribes’ to the king.)
Fortunately they were safe for five long hours!. Without sight this would be a frightening experience. I am unconvinced that finally being told you are now alone on a flight with the people that had forgotten about them was reassuring at all.
How clueless. WN could have comped them the tickets for a few hundred dollars each. Instead they come across as disabled unfriendly and actually had someone spend their (probably well compensated) time composing a customer unfriendly reply to why these poor blind people are entitled to nothing. Another nail in the coffin.
During COVID I flew to London in Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic (with points of course) with 18 or 19 others on the whole plane and 2 or 3 of us in Upper Class. It was very surreal.
I don’t think Southwest owes them anything. The only thing they did wrong was to make the stupid comment about forgetting about them. How were they supposed to know they were waiting for that flight if they didn’t make it known and sat there the whole time?
Someone please give @1990 a soapbox.
Well, we now have solid, concrete evidence that it’s the big US4 and no longer the US3. Southwest service has gone to crap in a wheelchair like the others. Absolutely inexcusable treatment of any customer. And where was the cabin crew? Obviously not doing their FAA required cabin checks before deplaning. Airplanes have been known to catch on fire sitting at the gate. Absolutely pathetic.
More than ever the USA needs a passenger bills of rights.
If you are visually disabled, how are you supposed to know that you are not at the gate you are meant to be boarding? This is 100% SWA’s fault, and the two pax should definitely file a lawsuit. Whether they get $$ is irrelevant… what often happens is that regulations and policy changes. Someone dropped a giant ball at SWA. Offering a $100 voucher in no way makes up for the shameful treatment these women received from an airline that should have been providing assistance. Southwest, do better.
@Gene — Keep the box, I’ll take some soap, though… squeaky clean!
I once was the only passenger and the flight was on time, just a Friday evening departure to DTW.
I once could have been one of 2 passengers on a US Airways Boeing 757 flight from CLT. Nothing special was happening in the world, no Covid, no 9/11, no weather problems. I don’t know why there were only 2 passengers. Unfortunately, I could not board because I was flying a hidden city ticket. I actually needed to be in Charlotte! Out of curiosity, I did visit the gate and asked “what’s wrong, no passengers”. The gate agent said “you’re one of two so you can sit anywhere, even First Class”. I ran away.
I’ve waited five hours for a flight before. Not great but ok. If I was given a choice about going now on a full flight or taking a five hour later flight, I just might take the later flight if my schedule permitted it. An empty flight can have all sorts of benefits. Sleeping across multiple seats, check. No problem with space for carry-on bag, check. Possibly a private conversation with the pilot or co-pilot, check. Clean bathrooms, check. An extra can of soda, possibly. No one rushing to get past you, check. Plus in this case a $100 voucher. People can be as happy or as miserable as they want to be.
OK, we all know ADA doesn’t apply to airlines.