Southwest Airlines offers travelers 25,000 reward points as "gesture of goodwill"
Southwest Airlines, which angered customers with thousands of flight cancellations over the holidays, is offering 25,000 frequent-flier points to travelers who were affected by the epic meltdown.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan wrote in a letter to impacted travelers that the 25,000 points have a value of more than $300, will never expire and carry no blackout dates, according to The Points Guy's Zach Griff, who posted an image of the offer on Twitter.
Southwest said in an email that they are providing 25,000 points to people whose flights were cancelled or delayed for more than three hours between December 24 to January 2. The airline said it will give 25,000 points for each paid and ticketed flier on their reservation.
The offer comes after the Dallas-based carrier canceled thousands of flights every day between December 22 and January 1, upending many passengers' holiday plans. The airline blamed winter weather for the flight disruptions, but other airlines that experienced weather-related issues quickly regained their footing, insisted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in a December 29 letter to the airline.
Southwest "is really paying up for the meltdown," noted Griff on Twitter, adding that he had also received a $39 refund, a $149 reimbursement and a $250 travel voucher from the airline for a flight cancellation in Hawaii over the holidays.
Jordan called the offer of 25,000 frequent-flier points a "gesture of goodwill."
"I know that no amount of apologies can undo your experience," Jordan wrote in the letter. "For those who have requested refunds, reimbursements and/or are waiting to be reunited with your lost bag(s), those processes are being handled with great urgency and we appreciate your patience."
The frequent-flier points are being offered to Southwest travelers whose flights were disrupted between December 24 and January 2, according to the Wall Street Journal.
