Cancelled flight....SIL stuck in airport overnight--no refund question

[Tap]

My son-in-law is stuck in an airport overnight. He is active duty military and was supposed to be at work tomorrow.  The USO is closed so they can't help him. He was on a Southwest to Southwest connecting flight with arrival home tonight. He will fly out early AM, which means dd will have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to her (he works midday shifts so she is on that sleep schedule). What I am shocked about.....Southwest is only giving him a $100 inconvenience voucher. They are still charging him the full ticket price and he is sleeping in the airport overnight (they wouldn't do a hotel or any other sleep accommodation). Does this sound normal? It is worth calling Southwest after the fact and requesting a refund? 

Edited July 29, 2021 by Tap

[GoodGrief3]

Probably depends on the reason for the cancellation.

[madteaparty]

In the US, normal. Would not, ahem, fly in Europe...

[RootAnn]

I mean, you can always try. Squeaky wheel & all that. But the time to throw a fit  (figuratively) is before getting on the plane tomorrow.  I've seen the airport folks give the big complainers more than the rest of the group. 

I would bet that someone could be sleeping in a hotel tonight for a few hours courtesy of Southwest if they complained after the announcement (assuming it was mechanical or personnel- related). 

[Bootsie]

Sorry this has happened.  What Southwest is required to do will depend upon the reason for the flight cancellation. IME most airlines will often do more than the bare minimum of what they are required to do, but given all that they have dealt with given COVID in the past year, I think many are short on staff to deal with issues.  When I have had similar things happen, I have found that going to a hotel room is often more of a hassle than it is worth.  You only have your carry on luggage, have to get transportation to and from the hotel, and by the time you factor in settling in to the hotel room, you barely get any sleep before it is time to go back to the airport; and it is very restful sleep because the whole time I have one eye on the clock making sure that I don't miss the early morning flight and my head is spinning about all of the complications.

[Pawz4me]

From what I'm hearing in the last few years (I avoid flying myself it at all possible) that's perfectly normal. 

[regentrude]

Normal. I believe they don't have to refund if the reason was outside their control, like weather.  It's nice that they gave him the voucher. 

[Roadrunner]

11 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Normal. I believe they don't have to refund if the reason was outside their control, like weather.  It's nice that they gave him the voucher. 

But if it’s their fault, they usually will book you on next flight. I don’t remember ever being charged for a new ticket. 

[regentrude]

6 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

But if it’s their fault, they usually will book you on next flight. I don’t remember ever being charged for a new ticket. 

Yes. They have to transport him to his final destination. 

But the OP didn't say he was charged for a new ticket.

Edited July 29, 2021 by regentrude

[Roadrunner]

18 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Yes. They have to transport him to his final destination. 

But the OP didn't say he was charged for a new ticket.

She said they were charging him a full ticket price. I assumed a new ticket. Otherwise yes, nobody would refund and then fly you for free. I must have misunderstood OP. 

[freesia]

2 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

She said they were charging him a full ticket price. I assumed a new ticket. Otherwise yes, nobody would refund and then fly you for free. I must have misunderstood OP. 

I did at first, too. I had to re-read a few times. 

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, madteaparty said:

In the US, normal. Would not, ahem, fly in Europe...

depends upon the airline. . . . . . 

EasyJet and/or Ryan Air- normal.  Unless they have really changed their policies.

[madteaparty]

1 minute ago, gardenmom5 said:

depends upon the airline. . . . . . 

EasyJet and/or Ryan Air- normal.  Unless they have really changed their policies.

Maybe. I’ve never flown a budget airline in Europe but I’m fairly sure there are laws in place so I assume even those would need to comply with the bare minimum letter of the law. 

[Katy]

I’d call.  I don’t care if it’s normal now, they should have rebooked him for the canceled flight. 

[regentrude]

1 minute ago, Katy said:

they should have rebooked him for the canceled flight. 

They apparently did rebook him.. OP said he is scheduled to fly out in the morning 

[ktgrok]

Well, in the past year my family members have flown twice. BOTH times the person ended up sleeping in an airport! So...yeah. I guess it is normal. DH got a paper that said he could use it to book a hotel at the airline's expensen(they were all full) or get go to some website and file for a voucher or money of some kind. I forget the details. 

I'm not sure about DS. 

[elegantlion]

It was normal for a situation I had a few years ago. Weather canceled the flight. It was a small airport and there were no more flights until morning. I was prepared to spend the night in the airport but they literally closed the airport & buildings. First time I've ever been kicked out of an airport. 🙄I was able to get a hotel for discount, but it was still $100 I wasn't expecting. I caught the first flight the next day.