Will my flight be re-routed or just canceled?

Question

I am supposed to be flying in to Denver early Saturday morning. I hear another big storm is coming through Thurs-Fri, possibly as bad as the last.
I am flying Southwest and am wondering if they will simply reroute the flight or will they just all together cancel it?
I am trying to plan ahead so I do not get stuck!
It would be approx. $300 dollars more for me to reroute my own flight itinerary to fly into another airport.....

I never fly so any advice would help. Please don't bother with ridiculous answers (I have no problem reporting you!).

I am only stopping over in Denver on the way to Salt Lake City.

Answer 1

I'm a Colorado Springs Flight Attendant for Skywest airlines and though I don't know Southwest's procedures or where they fly, I can bet if the weathers is bad they'll probably connect you through another airport like Dallas/Love. Customer Service is the only one who can answer that for sure, but its safe to say your only true worry is Salt Lake's weather.

Advise: Just take along an extra book or two and relax. You'll get there no problem but, it may take a couple extra hours due to delays. And check with Customer Service, they'll take care of you.

Answer 2

It really depends on how badly you need to get to Salt Lake City.

Airlines don't reroute planes; they just shift passengers from one flight to another. So if your plane into Denver can't go there because of snow, they won't send the entire plane around the storm and off to Salt Lake City. They take the Denver-bound passengers and divide them up onto alternate flights.

Unlike other airlines, Southwest will not put you on a non-Southwest plane if your flight is cancelled for whatever reason. If you fly United, for example, and your flight is cancelled, there's a chance you will still make it out OK because they can use their discretion and put you on a Delta plane. So Southwest does not do this; since you will be unable to hop onto another airline if there is a problem with your flight, IF you get stuck, you will probably be stuck for a while.

With snow on the way, the chance you will get stuck goes up. With Southwest's inability/unwillingness to put you on another airline, the chance of you getting stuck also goes up, and the length of time you will be stuck increases too.

Is it worth $300 to you to take those chances? I can't decide for you. If i were flying for business, I would definitely change the flight, though.

Answer 3

If the flight is scheduled to land in Denver and it snows like last week the flight will be canceled. If planes cannot land at their scheduled destinations they are almost always canceled. If it snows, call the airline for updated info (may have to call a lot because everyone else will be doing the same as you!). The airline will try to get you on the next flight that is able to go to Denver. If you are unsure about anything at all just call the airline! If it snows as bad as last week, you may not be able to fly into any of the surrounding airports either.

Answer 4

I'm not sure exactly what they will do but chances are they will reroute you. If there is another snowstorm that shuts down the airport like it did the last time, I'm sure the airline will be flexible about changing your itinerary without charging you anything. Other airlines have done that for me before and I have heard that Southwest is even more flexible about last-minute ticket changes than most airlines so chances are they will help you out if indeed there is a weather emergency.

Answer 5

i guess you could rerout to salt lake city for that cost but if the storm is out in time and lets say it stops snowing at three in the mouring and your flight arrives at seven in the moruing they should have enough time to get the runways clear. they probably rerout it because if stuff is not going in then stuff isnt coming out so the next flight that the airplane is sapposed to fly cant come out why waste your flight then? i dont think they would cancel but of course i am not an offical that makes those decisions.

Answer 6

On Friday if the forecast is still bad, southweast will probably put a reroute policy in effect that will permit you to reroute on southwest on a later date (probably with in 48 hours). Keep an eye on their website for alerts.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

Dont re-route yourself. If flights are cancelled the airline will re-route you or refund your fare. If you have a nonrefundable ticket and you do the change yourself you will be liable for the fare difference. I am a bit confused. Are you just flying through Denver, or is it your final destination? If you are just connecting there, they will make your connection in another city.

Answer 9

i live in denver, and was watching the weather report. they think we could get 12-18inches. it will be snowing from early after noon on thurs to friday morning. i think they will be a little more prepared to clean up the snow this time so saturday it should be ok, but if not i beleive they will re-route you.