DALLAS — With a logo shaped like the symbol of love, Southwest Airlines never expected so much heart failure.
Cancelled flights, stranded passengers and bags in limbo. Those are just some of the issues thousands of travelers have experienced in recent days.
However, what breaks customers hearts isn’t lost luggage, it’s that they’ve lost trust.
“We’re not being told the truth,” said traveler Howard Shapiro.
“They strung us along making us think that we were going to go,” said traveler Karina Frias-Esparza.
“So they’ll just tell you anything,” customer Blaine Moore added. “Just tell them something to make them want to move.”
How bad is it? WFAA asked viewers to share their holiday horror stories.
More than 100 responded and they were not shy.
“It’s the worst travel experience in my nearly 75-year-old life,” said Shapiro.
“One of the worst days of my life,” said Katie Lewis.
“To put it into words, it was a disaster,” said Dr. Carla Leejay.
Many responses talked about vacations that were canceled, Christmases that were missed and money lost.
Virginia Rose Cable is in the Navy. She was given six days of leave to go home and see her baby.
Getting there took three.
“You can’t really explain to a 19-month-old why you’re not there,” said Cable.
“Things like that are just not acceptable,” Shapiro said. “Period.”
Cable, and so many others, say they were strung along, made to believe their flights would depart. Had they known otherwise, they could’ve found other ways to get home.
“They can’t give me back the time I missed with my child,” said Cable.
“You can’t give me back my time,” Frias-Esparza said. “You can’t give me back my Christmas.”
“They wasted my time, they wasted my money and they didn’t give me an answer,” said Lewis.
“It’s frustrating, it’s disrespectful, it’s heartbreaking, it’s all of those things,” added Danielle Wilcher.
For that reason, they all believe Southwest should be accountable for reimbursements, refunds and luggage.
During an interview with nearly a dozen passengers who’ve experienced issues this week, none would commit to flying with Southwest in the future.
“I’d rather drive to where I need to go than fly Southwest,” said Cable.
Some customers said it’s still up in the air.
They might fly Southwest again on one condition: they get an honest answer straight from the heart.