Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Southwest Airlines Company's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Southwest Airlines Company

  2702 Love Field Dr Dallas, TX 75235-1908

• 

  Southwest Funding

  725 Airport North Office Park Ste 725 Fort Wayne, IN 46825

• 

  Southwest Airlines

  1 Airport Drive Oakland, CA 94621

• 

  Southwest Airlines

  3519 Sw 2nd Ave # 5 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315

• 

  Southwest Airlines

  PO Box 9358 Albuquerque, NM 87119

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/24/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On June 2, I booked a flight, rental car, and hotel through the Southwest website for my June 22 trip to ******. As usual, I received confirmation emails for the flight and rental car, but not for the hotel. After waiting a few days and receiving no communication, I assumed the hotel booking had failed. So I made another hotel reservation through Southwest. This time, I received both confirmation and reminder emails, and I have been staying there without any issues.While in *****, I received an email from Southwest about the first hotel reservation. I replied that I wanted it canceled and refunded. However, the customer service representative said only the first reservation existed and denied the existence of the second. When I shared my second confirmation email, they said it was made through a partner and told me to contact them directly. They refused to help.This is frustrating. The Southwest website allows guests to book without logging in, and if the user logs in later, the earlier guest reservation data may be lost. This design flaw can result in missing confirmations, as in my case.I never received any confirmation or reminder for the first hotel booking. As a customer, I had no way of knowing it had gone through. Yet Im being asked to pay for a hotel I never stayed in, while I am now at a hotel booked through the same Southwest platform.Suggestions for Southwest:Do not allow partner companies to use the Southwest logo if customer data is not shared between systems.Require customers to actively confirm hotel bookings by clicking a confirmation button.If a guest makes a reservation without logging in, the system should detect and link it to the customers account if the data matches.I have always trusted Southwest, but this experience has left me disappointed. I hope Southwest will address this issue seriously.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/27/2025

  Attached is the response to BBB Complaint ********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/29/2025

  I am rejecting this response because:   Southwest has responded by saying that this issue is the responsibility of their ******* and unrelated to them, and that I should communicate with the ******* directly. However, this problem originally arose due to an error that occurred when navigating from the Southwest website to the *******s website. Southwest cannot avoid responsibility for this error. Moreover, I received an email from ******************************************* If this company is indeed a *******, please provide proof of that relationship. And if they are a *******, Southwest should ensure that they are not allowed to act on behalf of Southwest in dealing with customers. My issue is with the owner of the email address above, not with the ******* I used for my second reservation. My second ******* handled everything excellently.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/23/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  They broke my luggage I file a complaint with a representative the same day of incident and its been over ten days and no one has reached out to me. I spoke with someone they said my claim was closed although I provided pictures and the necessary information with pictures.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/30/2025

  Attached is the response to BBB Complaint ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/23/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 6/10/25 I purchased a flight #WN269 from ***** to ********* to ***. I paid for upgraded seating $64. i ARRIVED AT ******* TO FIND OUT FLIGHT WAS DELAYED TILL 3:12. SO I SAT AND WAITED AS ORGINAL LIGHT WAS AT 1:15PM. MAYBE WITHIN IN 30MINS I GOT A NOTIFIVATION THAT MY FLIGHT WAS BOARDING IN 44MINS. I QUICKLY RAN TO CATCH THE TRAIN TO GO TO ***. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE GATE I SPOKE WITH A AGENT THAT WAS SITTING ON CHAIR BY THE WINDOW AND SAID RUDELY THAT SHE COULD NOT DO ANYTHING. THEY CHANGED MY FLIGHT TO A NEW FLIGHT (WN4641 &WN1728) THAT MADE ME MISS MEETING UP WITH MY MOM TO BRING HER TO HER SISTER FUNERAL. (SHE DON'T FLY ALONE). LET ALONE I WAS AT THE END OF THE SEATING AND HAD TO PAY AGAIN FOR UPGRADED SEATING $35. LET ALONE FIND A RIDE TO DESTINATION SINCE ARRIVING AT A DIFFERENT TIME.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/27/2025

  Attached is the response to BBB Complaint ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/22/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I flew with southwest in May. They searched my bag once I checked my luggage. Once I got to the destination my bag was wet throughout the inside my herbs that were tightly secured when I packed were busted open through the bag and on the things in my bag. Items were ruined on top of my herbs being wasted. When I put a claim in the company is saying they dont see evidence of the bag being mishandled when clearly from the pictures you can see my stuff was ruined.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/22/2025

  This is the letter they sent claiming they found no outside damage even though I have pictures showing they went through the bag and damaged my items and busted open my herbs leaving them throughout the bag wasting my investment 

  Business Response

  Date: 06/27/2025

  Attached is the response to BBB Complaint 23503722
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/07/2025

  Dear *********, 
  Thank you for contacting us. Your complaint to the Better Business Bureau of ******************* was received in our office for handling. As a valued Customer of ********************, your concerns are important to us, and we welcome the opportunity to respond.
  The Better Business Bureau acts as an intermediary between a Customer and a ********************** to ensure complaints receive adequate attention. While our goal is to create win-win resolutions for our Customers, we arent always able to provide a Customer with their desired outcome. We always strive to provide positive travel experiences. That said, if you have feedback for us, we encourage you to Contact Us.
  I understand your frustration regarding the denied reimbursement for your damaged bag. While our ************************* Team has reviewed your claim and determined that reimbursement could not be approved in this instance, we are glad to see that they have issued you a $200 Southwest LUV Voucher. This voucher will be sent to you via a separate email within 7-10 business days and can be used towards future travel with Southwest Airlines.
  We appreciate you choosing Southwest Airlines and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you onboard again soon, providing you with a more positive experience.
  Sincerely, 
  ******** *********
  Southwest Airlines
  

   

  I still havent received my credit 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/21/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I will attach the email i sent to Southwest airlines . Summary ; i was harassed by a flight attendant , and then removed from the plane. Over some headphones .

  Business Response

  Date: 06/30/2025

  Dear Sariya, 
  
  
  Your complaint to the Better Business Bureau of ******************* was received in our office for handling. As a valued Customer of ********************, your concerns are important to us, and we welcome the opportunity to respond. 
  We regret that you were unable to travel to ********** as scheduled. Please understand that if there is a question of a Customers willingness to comply with *** regulations and/or Employee instructions, it may be necessary to ask the Customer to travel on an alternate flight. Further, in accordance with the Contract of Carriage, Southwest may refuse to transport, or remove from the aircraft at any point, any Passenger for the comfort and Safety of other Customers or Crew Members. 
  Based on the information available to us, our Employee had concerns regarding your demeanor during your interactions with them regarding when you were asked to lower your phones volume. As a result, they decided that you would not be allowed to travel on Flight #****.
  We realize being refused transport results in inconvenience, and we regret if we missed an opportunity to be of better service. While we are unable to honor your request for a refund of your flown ticket or compensation in this situation, we have made your concerns available to the appropriate Leaders for their awareness.
   Your patronage is greatly appreciated, and we look forward to our next opportunity to serve your air travel needs. We trust that more favorable circumstances will prevail next time you travel with us.
  Sincerely,
  ********* *****
  Southwest Airlines

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/20/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  At 5:25 AM Southwest Airlines flight #**** flew over my house, outside of the quiet hours and well outside of the flight corridors.SWA is a frequent offender in both of these matters departing from ************************************* (PVD.)I have contacted ******************************** numerous times and I have appealed to Southwest Airlines as well.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/27/2025

  Attached is the response to BBB Complaint ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/19/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On March 11, 2025, my wife and I were returning to ***********, **, from vacation in ********* on Southwest Airlines. We were first in Group C. A relative in Group B boarded, and we mistakenly followed. We didnt realize our group hadnt been called.The gate agent loudly said, No one called yall yet. Yall need to take yourselves back over there, in front of a full boarding area. We apologized and stepped aside.When Group C was called, I boarded. I turned around and saw the same agent holding my wife at the gate, giving her a hard time again. I calmly said, Your professionalism *****, maam. Ive worked in customer service for years. She then told us, Oh, yall arent getting on this plane, called security, and laughed about it with other employees, loudly saying, They not getting on this flight!We were publicly humiliated, removed from boarding, and forced to wait nearly 9 hours for the next flight. Other passengers witnessed everything.Ive filed multiple complaints and made 7 follow-up calls to Southwest. Every time, Im told its been escalated and someone will contact me. Its been months with no response.We are demanding:A formal written apology Compensation for the humiliation and delay Disciplinary review of the gate agent This employees actions were hostile, retaliatory, and unprofessional. Were now anxious about flying and completely disappointed by Southwests failure to respond.***** **** ?? ************ ?? *************************** Flight: March 11, 2025 ********* to *********** I have attached the trip itinerary and two of the email proving the escalation promises. These are only two but I called seven times.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2025

  Dear *****, 
  
  Thank you again for contacting Southwest Airlines. I regret I've been unable to contact you at the number you provided. With that said, I am happy to respond in writing so as not to delay our response any longer.
  I truly regret that the situation on March 11 escalated to the point where you and ***** were unable to travel with us as originally scheduled. Please understand that if there is a question of a Customers willingness to comply with *** regulations and/or Employee instructions, it may be necessary to ask the Customer to travel on an alternate flight. Further, in accordance with the Contract of Carriage, Southwest may refuse to transport, or remove from the aircraft at any point, any Passenger for the comfort and Safety of other Customers or Crew Members. Although the recollections of our Employees differ from your account, I acknowledge that you walked away dissatisfied with your Southwest experience.
  While the Safety and comfort of all of our Passengers remains our foremost concern, we recognize the value of your perspective in respect to any measures we take in ensuring that Safety. We certainly apologize if you were left with any other impression, especially if you were left questioning any of our Employees motives. Allow me to assure you that we have made a copy of your correspondence available to the appropriate Leadership. 
  We know you have a choice when you fly, and we hope you will continue to choose Southwest Airlines. We would truly appreciate the chance to welcome you onboard again soon under more favorable circumstances.
  Sincerely, 
  ***** ******
  Customer Advocacy Specialist
  **********************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/12/2025

  I am rejecting this response because:  we fully understand Southwest policies, and just like any airline, they reserve the right to remove passengers for any reason to accommodate comfort and safety however, we were picked out by a very nasty employee for simply standing in a wrong line and harassed afterwards we have elected to try and resolve this with the help of the Better Business Bureau and hopefully attention from Southwest upper management . We realize Southwest agents have a job to do however, we have never been treated With such unprofessionalism to the point of the southwest team members at the gate, pointing at us and publicly laughing at us and announcing to other passengers that we arent making our flight and laughing about it we were publicly humiliated, and the fact that we are too just accept that this is the normal behavior of Southwest Airlines, we will never fly with you again again we have a good amount of close friends who are Southwest Airlines employees and have communicated our situation to them as well and are very aware of Southwest airlines customer satisfaction, policies.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/19/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I booked a hotel through southwest using my southwest account. I used a majority of my rewards points I've been saving for years to pay for the room. It turns out the room I booked and paid for wasn't what I was going to get because there was a mistake made when they booked my room. Not my fault and not the hotels fault, solely the booking companies fault. I was supposed to check in on the 16th and check out on the 18th and I initially caught the problem on the 14th. I emailed the booking company telling them this and on the 15th they said they were looking into it. The 16th came and I hadn't heard back yet so i emailed and marked it urgent. They said they're looking into and give the up to 48 hours. Once I read that I called and complained saying that my trip would be over at that point. The person I spoke with said they tried but haven't gotten ahold of the hotel yet which I find incredibly hard to believe. I ended up staying an hour away from where I was booked because it couldn't afford to pay for 2 ********* waited ********************************************** so I called yet again and was told that they're still looking into it. Obviously I was upset because they hadn't helped at all. The representative asked if I'd like a refund and of course I said that's the bare minimum you could do let alone ruining my trip which wasn't really for me, my daughter wanted to go because she loves the lights. They said they'd try but couldn't guarantee a refund. That is just not acceptable! I tried to call southwest themselves and they said I'd have to deal with their partner who booked it. 5 days later, I had my daughters birthday trip ruined, paid for a hotel room i didn't book and didn't stay in, and can't get anyone to help me with anything!

  Business Response

  Date: 06/26/2025

  Attached is the response to BBB Complaint ********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/26/2025

  I am rejecting this response because: I did reach out to the concierge multiple times. (It's rocket miles by the way, not *********** when you pay with points.) They told me they'd look into won't refund me because I didn't show up. They had told me in an email that they need time to look into it. I called the day of my trip and told them I can't pay for 2 rooms and the one they booked me in, which is a fraction of the size, is to small. Again they said wait 48 hours. 72 hours later they said I didn't show up so I don't get a refund. I did what they said and it seems like they told me to wait 48 hours so that they didn't have to give me a refund. I have a small business and I have both an ****** and ******* shop. If a customer goes to ********* buys something from my shop and I send them a broken item, neither ****** or ******* would say "I'm sorry you had a bad experience but we can't refund you since it wasn't from their actual store." They take accountability since it's on their site. Which is what I'm asking of you. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/19/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My husband and I were on Southwest flight 3213 on Sunday, June 15, from ****** to *******. The flight was scheduled to leave ****** at 7:35 pm. Beginning at around 12:30 pm, we started to receive notifications that the flight was delayed. For the next 6 hours or so, the flight kept being delayed longer. When we arrived at the airport around 5:30 pm, we were not given any reason for these delays. There were no weather issues in ****** or the surrounding areas. We spent the whole day driving from ********** to ****** and there were no weather related issues. When a gate agent was finally available, I asked what compensation we could receive for this extensive delay. She gave me the link to request a voucher. I completed the form that night and today (*****) received a response stating that this delay does not qualify for a voucher. We finally took off in ****** at 10:12 pm. This was a little bit shy of a three hour delay. This delay was still significant and unnecessary and should qualify us for a voucher. Due to this delay, we had to pay an additional fee for our parked car at the *************** and had to extend the care we had to our pets at home. While we certainly understand that delays happen, there was no reason for this delay. We expect to receive a voucher for this leg of our trip.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/26/2025

  BBB Complaint 23493266 was addressed by phone on 06/26/2025

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/26/2025

  I have reviewed the business’ response and accept this
  resolution. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/19/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We arrived at the ************* with over an hour until our boarding time. While this was later than our usual 2hr window we were still within the timeframe accepted by airlines, especially for a small airport. At the Southwest check-in counter we checked our bags & confirmed with the agent that we would have plenty of time to make it through *** and to the gate. The agent gave us no warning or indication that we were at risk of missing our flight. Unfortunately the *** line at the ************* was severely understaffed and backlogged it took us over 90 minutes just to get through. By the time we made it to the gate the flight had already left. There was no Southwest agent present & we were afraid to go back to the front of the airport & re-enter TSA due to the line. To avoid being stranded we purchased last-minute tickets on Hawaiian Airlines for $180 to get to our layover in **** & catch our original connecting flight to **********. However when we got to the gate in **** we were told that Southwest had canceled our itinerary without consent even though our checked luggage was on the original flight (a major security concern). Hawaiian Airlines confirmed we were not listed as late check-ins & couldn't understand why the trip was canceled. We were forced to spend an another $300 to get from **** to **********. We called Southwest to ask for a partial refund having already spent $567.60 on our original round trip but the representative was rude & dismissive. She told us there was no number to call for refund requests & we had to use the online form which doesnt provide space to explain the situation. Unsurprisingly our request was denied. I tried to dispute the charge with my credit card company but that was denied. In total we are out over $1,000 due to Southwests poor communication, cancellation of our tickets, lack of support, & a flawed refund system. Our experience with Southwest was unprofessional, frustrating, & expensive

  Business Response

  Date: 06/27/2025

  Attached is the response to BBB Complaint ********