Southwest Airlines reviews and complaints now reflect an airline in the middle of a major customer-experience change. Southwest built a loyal following around open seating, flexible travel and two free checked bags for every passenger. The airline now uses assigned seating, and free checked bags are no longer universal for every fare and traveler.
Many passengers still praise Southwest for friendly employees, useful nonstop routes, flexible booking tools and Rapid Rewards. Other travelers report problems involving delays, cancellations, refunds, baggage, seating, app updates and difficulty resolving a complaint after travel.
This Zero Stars guide examines the most common positive and negative themes in Southwest customer feedback. You can also share your own experience and rate Southwest Airlines from -5 stars to +5 stars.
Southwest can still be a good choice for travelers who value its route network, Rapid Rewards program and generally informal service style. However, customers should not assume that older Southwest policies still apply. Seat selection, baggage charges, fare benefits and boarding order now depend more heavily on the fare purchased, loyalty status, credit-card benefits and availability. The most serious complaints involve flight disruptions, delayed refunds, missing baggage, unclear communication and unresolved post-travel claims.
Southwest Airlines Company and Contact Information
- Company: Southwest Airlines Co.
- Industry: Airlines and commercial passenger aviation
- Reservations and Customer Service: 1-800-435-9792
- Rapid Rewards Customer Service: 1-800-445-5764
- Baggage Support After Travel: 1-888-202-1024
- TTY: 1-800-533-1305
- Website: www.southwest.com
- Customer Correspondence: Southwest Airlines, P.O. Box 36647-1CR, Dallas, TX 75235
- Headquarters: 2702 Love Field Drive, Dallas, TX 75235
Important: A Southwest airport agent may be the best first contact for an immediate travel disruption, rebooking problem, baggage report or accessibility need. Post-travel complaints, refund requests and reimbursement claims may require Southwest’s online customer-care tools and supporting documentation.
Important Changes to the Southwest Travel Experience
Older Southwest reviews frequently describe open seating, boarding positions and two free checked bags as universal features. Travelers evaluating current reviews should understand that those descriptions may no longer match today’s policies.
Southwest Now Uses Assigned Seating
Southwest has moved from its long-standing open-seating system to assigned seats. Seat-selection options may depend on the fare type, Rapid Rewards status, eligible credit-card benefits, aircraft, timing and availability. Some passengers prefer knowing their seat in advance, while longtime Southwest customers may dislike losing a feature that once distinguished the airline.
Checked Bags Are No Longer Free for Everyone
The former promise of two free checked bags for every Southwest passenger should no longer be treated as universal. Current baggage charges and exemptions can depend on the fare, Rapid Rewards tier, qualifying Southwest credit card, military status, itinerary and other rules.
Passengers should review the baggage terms connected to their specific reservation rather than relying on an older review, advertisement or past trip.
What Passengers Like About Southwest Airlines
Positive Southwest reviews commonly focus on employees, convenient routes, flexibility and loyalty benefits.
Friendly Flight Crews and Airport Employees
Southwest has long been associated with an informal and personable service style. Positive reviews often recognize flight attendants, pilots, gate agents and customer-service representatives who communicated clearly or helped during an unexpected travel problem.
Employee experiences can vary by airport and situation, but helpful staff can make a significant difference when a passenger is delayed, rebooked or traveling with special needs.
Useful Domestic Route Network
Many travelers choose Southwest because it offers nonstop or convenient connecting service between popular U.S. markets. Passengers may also prefer secondary airports that are easier to navigate than larger international hubs.
Flight-Change Flexibility
Customers often appreciate that Southwest does not charge an airline change fee on many eligible itinerary changes. A passenger may still owe a fare difference, and fare-specific restrictions can apply. Travelers should review the current rules for Basic fares, same-day changes, standby and partner itineraries.
Rapid Rewards and Companion Pass
Positive reviews may mention Rapid Rewards redemptions, A-List benefits and Companion Pass. Satisfaction depends on point earning, award availability, account status, fare rules and whether the passenger understands current benefit requirements.
Assigned Seating Works Better for Some Travelers
Although the move away from open seating disappointed some longtime customers, other passengers prefer selecting or receiving a seat before boarding. Families, business travelers and passengers who disliked competing for boarding position may find assigned seating more predictable.
Common Southwest Airlines Complaints
Negative Southwest reviews often involve a disruption that affected an entire trip, followed by disagreement about rebooking, reimbursement, baggage or the final response. These reports represent individual experiences and do not mean that every passenger will encounter the same problem.
Flight Delays and Cancellations
Delays and cancellations are among the most common airline complaints. Southwest passengers may report changing departure times, missed connections, limited replacement flights, overnight stays or inconsistent explanations from the app, gate display and airport staff.
The reason for a disruption matters. Weather, air-traffic control, airport conditions, mechanical issues and airline operations can lead to different rebooking or reimbursement outcomes. A useful review should include the route, date, length of delay, stated reason and assistance Southwest offered.
Rebooking and Communication Problems
When many flights are disrupted at once, passengers may have difficulty finding an available replacement, reaching telephone support or receiving consistent updates. Some reviewers describe the app showing information that differed from airport announcements or customer-service guidance.
Other passengers report that Southwest rebooked them quickly. Reviews are more helpful when they explain whether rebooking was automatic, whether the new itinerary was usable and how long it took to reach the final destination.
Assigned Seating and Boarding Complaints
Current seating complaints may involve seat-selection charges, unavailable preferred seats, family members placed apart, boarding order, changed aircraft, released seat assignments or confusion about loyalty and credit-card benefits.
Longtime Southwest customers may also judge the new system against the former open-seating model. Because the experiences are fundamentally different, reviews should identify whether the trip occurred before or after assigned seating began.
Checked Baggage Fees and Policy Confusion
Some passengers are frustrated that checked bags are no longer universally free. Complaints may involve unexpected charges, confusion about an exemption, a benefit that did not appear on the reservation or an older expectation based on Southwest’s former policy.
Travelers should save the fare confirmation, fee receipt, Rapid Rewards status and eligible card information if they believe a baggage charge was incorrect.
Delayed, Lost or Damaged Baggage
Baggage complaints may involve a bag arriving late, being routed to another airport, sustaining damage or having contents missing. Passengers should report the problem at the airport as soon as possible and retain the bag tag, report number, photographs and receipts for essential replacement items.
For baggage support after travel, Southwest lists 1-888-202-1024.
Refunds, Reimbursements and Flight Credits
Refund complaints may involve disagreement about eligibility, a refund that has not appeared, a flight credit issued instead of the requested payment refund, reimbursement for hotel or meal expenses, or a third-party booking that Southwest cannot modify directly.
Passengers should distinguish among a refund, travel credit, voucher and expense reimbursement. Each can have different eligibility rules and processing requirements. Save the original receipt, cancellation notice, Southwest case number and all itemized expenses.
Customer Service After Travel
Some passengers praise Southwest’s telephone and airport staff, while others report difficulty getting a complex post-travel claim reviewed. A traveler may receive a quick answer to a routine reservation question but wait longer for a reimbursement, baggage or written complaint decision.
A strong review should explain the contact route used, how quickly Southwest responded, whether a case number was provided and whether the final response addressed the requested resolution.
Rapid Rewards and Companion Pass Complaints
Loyalty-program complaints may involve missing points, account access, qualifying activity, tier status, Companion Pass eligibility, reward-flight pricing or benefits that did not apply as expected. Passengers should keep the Rapid Rewards number private while saving receipts and screenshots for Southwest support.
Accessibility and Family Travel Concerns
Passengers may report problems involving wheelchair assistance, mobility devices, seating accommodations, service animals, family seating or communication about a disability-related request. If an accessibility problem cannot be resolved through the regular airport process, ask for a Southwest Complaint Resolution Official.
Never publish your confirmation number, ticket number, full passenger name, Rapid Rewards number, payment-card details, address, phone number, passport information, medical information, disability documentation or photographs of travel documents in a public review. Zero Stars cannot access a Southwest reservation or resolve an individual travel complaint.
How To File a Southwest Airlines Complaint
- Address urgent problems at the airport. Ask a Southwest gate agent, ticket-counter employee or baggage representative for help while the issue is occurring.
- Use official Southwest channels. Check Southwest.com, the Southwest app, the Help Center or call 1-800-435-9792.
- Document the trip. Save the confirmation, boarding pass, flight number, route, delay notices and screenshots of rebooking options.
- Keep itemized receipts. Preserve hotel, meal, transportation and essential-purchase receipts if requesting eligible reimbursement.
- File baggage reports promptly. Keep the baggage tag and report number.
- State the requested resolution. Ask clearly for rebooking, a refund, reimbursement, a baggage decision, restored points or a written explanation.
- Save the Southwest case number. Record the date, contact method and promised follow-up.
- Submit a written post-travel complaint. Use Southwest’s official contact form when the airport or telephone team cannot fully resolve the problem.
- Escalate unresolved airline-service complaints when appropriate. After giving Southwest an opportunity to respond, passengers can use the U.S. Department of Transportation airline complaint process.
For detailed reservation, refund, baggage and Rapid Rewards contact information, see the updated Southwest Airlines customer service guide. For headquarters information and the corporate telephone number, see the Southwest Airlines corporate office page.
What To Include in a Southwest Airlines Review
A detailed review is more useful than a star rating by itself. Consider including:
- The travel date, route and general type of fare
- Whether the issue involved booking, seating, boarding, baggage, a delay, cancellation, refund or Rapid Rewards
- Whether the flight occurred under assigned seating
- What Southwest communicated about the problem
- Whether airport, app, chat or telephone support was used
- Whether Southwest provided a case or baggage-report number
- How long the response or resolution took
- Whether the passenger reached the destination as rebooked
- Whether the requested refund or reimbursement was received
- What Southwest did well or could have done better
How To Rate Southwest Airlines on Zero Stars
Zero Stars uses a color-coded rating scale from -5 stars to +5 stars. Consider the booking process, airport experience, flight operation, employee communication, baggage handling and final complaint resolution when choosing your rating.
Positive Ratings: +1 to +5 Stars
- +5 stars: Exceptional travel and customer-service experience
- +3 to +4 stars: Very good experience with few problems
- +1 to +2 stars: More positive than negative
Neutral Rating: 0 Stars0 stars: A neutral, average or evenly mixed experience.
Negative Ratings: -1 to -5 Stars
- -1 to -2 stars: A disappointing travel experience
- -3 to -4 stars: Serious flight, baggage or service problems
- -5 stars: The worst possible experience
A short delay with good communication may justify a different rating from an overnight cancellation, missing bag or unresolved refund. Explain what happened and whether Southwest ultimately made the situation right.
Southwest Compared With Other Airlines
Southwest competes with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines and other domestic carriers. Passengers should compare the total trip cost rather than the base fare alone.
Important comparison points include checked-bag fees, seat-selection charges, route schedules, nonstop availability, change rules, flight credits, loyalty benefits, app tools, disruption recovery and customer-service responsiveness.
Is Southwest Airlines Right for You?
Southwest may appeal to travelers who value its route network, Rapid Rewards program, flight-change flexibility and less formal service culture. It may be less attractive to customers who preferred the former open-seating system or expected two free checked bags with every ticket.
The strongest positive Southwest reviews focus on helpful employees, convenient routes and a smooth recovery when plans change. The most serious complaints focus on poor communication, limited rebooking options, baggage problems and a refund or reimbursement that remains unresolved after travel.
Frequently Asked Questions About Southwest Airlines
What is Southwest Airlines’ customer-service number?
Southwest reservations and customer service can be reached at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA / 1-800-435-9792.
Does Southwest still use open seating?
No. Southwest now uses assigned seating. Seat-selection choices may depend on the fare, Rapid Rewards status, qualifying credit-card benefits and availability.
Does Southwest still offer two free checked bags?
Not universally. Current free-bag benefits and charges depend on the fare, loyalty status, qualifying Southwest credit card, military status and other rules. Check the baggage terms for the specific reservation.
What is Southwest’s baggage phone number?
For baggage support after travel, call 1-888-202-1024. Report a delayed, missing or damaged bag at the airport as soon as possible.
What is the Southwest Rapid Rewards number?
Rapid Rewards customer service can be reached at 1-800-445-5764.
Where is Southwest headquartered?
Southwest Airlines Co. is headquartered at 2702 Love Field Drive, Dallas, TX 75235.
How can I complain about a Southwest flight?
Start with Southwest airport or customer support, then submit a written complaint through Southwest’s official contact form if the problem remains unresolved. Keep the confirmation number, flight details, case number and supporting receipts. Passengers may also file an eligible airline consumer complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Can Zero Stars resolve a Southwest complaint?
No. Zero Stars is an independent review website and is not affiliated with Southwest Airlines Co. Publishing a review can help other travelers understand your experience, but an individual reservation, baggage, refund or Rapid Rewards problem must be handled through Southwest or the appropriate government agency.
Have you flown Southwest since its seating and baggage-policy changes? Leave a rating from -5 to +5 stars and explain what happened. Include whether Southwest resolved the issue, but protect your confirmation number, Rapid Rewards information, payment details and other private travel information.
Information reviewed and updated August 2026. Routes, fares, baggage charges, seat-selection rules, loyalty benefits, contact details and support procedures can change. Verify current information through Southwest before booking or submitting private travel information.