- Jade Rodriguez said his family had planned a “surreal” trip to Japan for his son’s 21st birthday.
- But after Southwest canceled a flight from Tuscon to LAX, they missed their flight to Tokyo.
- Rodriguez told an insider, “Had I been notified sooner, I would have driven to get there.
The Arizona family was “shocked” and “devastated” after a Southwest Airlines flight was canceled at the last minute, missing a trip to Japan and losing thousands of dollars.
Jade Rodriguez told an insider that she, her husband and two children planned a “surreal” trip to Tokyo, Japan. Get on and go to Kyoto, and visit historical temples.
They were scheduled to take off from Tucson on Christmas Day for Los Angeles, where they would board a trans-Pacific flight. They were informed that the flight was slightly delayed, but there were no indications that it was in serious danger of not taking off at all, and they were unaware of the ongoing disruptions the Southwest was already experiencing. says.
However, when they arrived at Tucson’s airport, they were met with confusion and misunderstandings from the airline.
A Southwest Airlines employee said they were still working on assembling the crew, but told passengers to check in their luggage anyway. said, ‘I’m not going to make it to LAX,’ and another attendant told me to check my bags in.” “It was a complete mess.”
After all the conflicting information, the flight was finally canceled outright about seven hours before the American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo was scheduled to take off.The drive from Tucson to Los Angeles is about seven hours. It was half
“Had we been notified sooner, we would have driven and arrived,” Rodriguez said, adding that he had tried everything he could to get on another flight, but to no avail.
Their flight could only be rebooked for Wednesday at the earliest, which would require 20 hours of travel, including covering the difference in flight costs. Also, I can only stay in Japan for about 5 days, which upsets my 8-day travel plans.
“We are just devastated. I added no.
We are currently trying to refund as many travel expenses as possible from Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, hotels in Japan, Tokyo Disney where we have already purchased tickets, etc.
Rodriguez said he received conflicting information from Southwest: one email said he would receive a full refund, and another said he would only get flight credits for future use. He said no.
They have travel insurance for their American Airlines flight to Japan and hope that it will cover the full amount. , no refunds will be given.
All in all, Rodriguez said they were out about $7,000.
Jade Rodriguez and her family missed a trip to Japan after Southwest Airlines canceled one of their flights.
Jade Rodriguez
They want to reschedule their trip for next year depending on how much they can get back or reschedule, but they don’t know when the whole family’s trip will work out.
Rodriguez is a teacher, so she was out of work this time, but she’ll have to be out of work in the spring because her break times don’t match up with her son’s. Her husband, a veteran, still teaches classes at the base, but has been off work for this trip and will have to work again if the vacation is rescheduled.
Rodriguez said his eldest son is in college and has limited time to travel because he is “dedicated” to ROTC, a program that trains college students for military service. He’s also a huge Disney and Pokemon fan, which was a huge highlight of the trip for him, so when they offered to take him somewhere last minute, he just said no. I got
In the future, Rodriguez said she may consider taking out travel insurance for the entire trip, not just for large international flights. He said he knows that some people may have had difficult experiences.
“I’m grateful that we live close by and have family with us,” she said. “But it was really devastating.”
The family was among thousands of Americans who experienced flight cancellations this week after Southwest Airlines had an operational meltdown. The airline canceled more than 2,900 flights on Monday, about half of all flights canceled worldwide that day. The turmoil has rippled through the travel industry, leading to shortages of car rentals and higher prices for airline tickets.
When asked for comment, a Southwest spokesperson said: handled on a case-by-case basis. ”
A spokeswoman also said affected passengers can seek assistance through the site’s travel disability portal.
Tokyo Disney, which is owned by Oriental Land Company, could not be reached for comment at this time. The Walt Disney Company, which licenses intellectual property to Tokyo Disney, did not immediately respond to an insider’s request for comment.
Have a news tip or travel story to share? Contact this reporter: kvlamis@insider.com.