Southwest Airlines flight 872 from Dallas Love Field to Kansas City Friday morning made an unscheduled stop in Wichita today in order to drop off a flight attendant. Passengers weren’t told this was happening until just before boarding.
A passenger on board shares that the “17-year veteran pilot apologize[d]” to everyone on board for the extra long trip and offered that the situation was a “first for him too.”
According to Southwest, they “had to fill a one-person staffing hole in ICT to make sure an originator there was able to go. We avoided a big delay on that one by doing so.” In other words they didn’t have enough flight attendants to operate a flight that was originating in Wichita on Friday.
- If they cancelled that flight, they’d have also cancelled downline segments operated by the same plane.
- I believe Southwest’s earliest scheduled arrival into Wichita is at noon. Flying a crewmember on that scheduled St. Louis flight would have meant an hours-longer delay.
Flight WN872 ultimately arrived in Kansas City just 46 minutes late.
It was only 46-minutes, people.
Get a grip.
That wasn’t a bad idea. On another note, their boarding policy SUCKS!
I wonder how many people lost their connecting flight.
SW doesn’t care
If you are late.
I love SW boarding policy, people that are not frequent flyers get a chance to sit where they want. As far as 45 minute delay, life happens. I am sure they knew how many people missed their connecting flights. I have a difficult time believing people didn’t raise a fuss knowing they would miss their connection. Love SW
After the mess I went thru this week with southwest on my flights. I had rather walk than fly with them again.
This is a bottom budget airline. You pay for what you get. The airlines that flies the less then classy. Suck it up or do better & fly a real airlines.
You could argue SW should have told customers but that would have been chaos. Everyone likes to argue these days. 45 minutes late? So what.
Also SW’s boarding process sucks. SW is just like every other airline. Make sure the passengers are miserable unless they have status or pay extra.
The real reason they do this is that research shows people get anxious not knowing what seat they’ll get and go to the gate earlier. Exploiting anxiety with a smile
Wow just wow all I can say is to please be kind to one another please
Southwest continues to do whatever it wants to without any regards to the people that pay their wages. They started out as a airline with “heart” remember that? Their now considered”HEARTBURN AIR”
Ok people got where they needed to to, life things happens, SW is the Best never flown anything else I will keep flying even if I was 2 hours delayed on a flight it’s all good, weather makers us delayed sometime my people don’t be there to pick us up when we get off the flight
Love SW, do not know total hours in the sky with this kind, Gracious and caring air line. Have lifted off with many different lines, but only SW when it is available. Thank you SW.
There is likely 143 reasons why this was just wrong and a total disreghaard for people even though is was “only” 46 minutes
The businessman who just flew in for the day and now has his limited available productivity cut short
The mom who went to pickup a passenger and had to leave to make a school obligation, incurring a taxi expense
The passenger connecting with an overpaid for A01 boarding pass, now the last person to board and now stuck in a middle seat he paid handsomely to avoid.
The list could go on…
All of these have happened to me for reasons “out of their control”. This was within their control nonsense
If you REALLY don’t like it, get a 2nd mortgage on your house and buy an overpriced First Class seat on one of the overpriced old time airlines and also pay baggage fees (and where you may be late or canceled also!).
Sounds like SW is the Uber group of the skies. Except we can opt out of groups. So the gist is that the flight and all its” passengers were delayed so a different flight & all those passengers wouldn’t be?