[SouthwestHasChanged]

My brother was flying into the DC area the weekend of the winter storms when his flight was canceled and rebooked. Then the next day it was canceled and he was asked to reschedule again. Given the storm it was understandable but he was moving for work and needed to find an alternative. He asked to fly into nearby airports instead, and found a flight to Southern Virginia that would require a four hour drive to his new home. Better than nothing, he asked to be put on that flight, thinking Southwest's legendary Customer Service folks would help him get on his way. Instead, he was charged an additional $200 for the tickets. Not only did this detour require him to book a one-way rental car ($200) and a night at a hotel, but Southwest charged him more money to get to his destination. If he took Southwest's offer to reschedule, he would fly in 4 days behind schedule, on the eve of the second storm to hit the DC area (which created more delays and cancellations) meaning he might've been a full week late! That is not an alternative. And I'll add that his flight was not fully booked.

These feel good stories of Southwest are in the past:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...0/b4024001.htm

Now they're just the same as all the other airlines. And before we blame a rep who may have been overwhelmed at the time, it was a manager who charged the extra fees.

[DocThor]

So if I am understanding, he had a reservation to BWI or IAD that was cancelled twice due to weather. Can the airlines control the weather? Your brother wanted to change his arrival city at no charge? Southwest will reschedule your flight at no difference in fare if they have to cancel due to weather, or they will refund your money. Can you name another airline that will make the same offer? Because he probably had an advanced purchase fare, making the change with less time available is going to be at a higher fare. Business just does not work that way. Moving for work is a great opportunity. It is just unfortunate that the weather did not appear to cooperate.