Some choose to drive cross-country due to Southwest Airlines cancellation
Southwest Airlines has apologized to its flyers and staff after having to cancel nearly 70% of its scheduled flights on Monday. Many travelers are told they cannot rebook until Thursday or Friday.
Dallas - As Southwest Airlines tries to recover from thousands of canceled flights, passengers are hitting the roads to get home.
Dallas car rental companies and hotels are profiting from the Southwest's failure.
Southwest Airlines' widespread flight cancellations have continued for four days.
read more: Southwest Airlines dealing with a sea of lost luggage, what to do if you can't find your luggage
There are some signs of improvement at Dallas Love Field Wednesday, but many passengers are still dealing with canceled flights.
Carlos Chavira of New York said, "This is insane. You can see there are some big problems with their management and systems to prevent this from happening."
Chavira and his girlfriend were scheduled to fly to El Paso on Wednesday.
Seeing the headline, Chavira said he proactively booked a rental car on Tuesday in case his flight got cancelled.
"We're going to Mexico City tomorrow and we have a flight out of Juarez at 6am, so the only way to make this flight is to rent a car or pay $1,200 to fly another airline. did.
Chavira is not alone. Many stranded Southwestern passengers used rental car companies to get home.
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan Provides Cancellation Update
Since Sunday, Southwest Airlines has canceled thousands of flights across the country. The CEO says flights had to be significantly reduced to get back on track after the winter weather.
"I'm not going to fly southwest again," Carrollton's Ashlyn Videl said. '' he said.
Videl's once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York turned into a headache.
It all started with her boyfriend Cole proposing on Christmas Eve.
"On Christmas Eve, I had her friend Raven fly for a secret photo shoot at Rockefeller Center, and that's where the magic descended," said Cole Sanford of Lubbock. .
read more: Southwest Airlines continues to cancel flights. USDOT to Investigate the Role of Airlines in the Holiday Travel Nightmare
The couple had booked a Southwest flight to Dallas on Monday.
Their flight was cancelled, and they decided to rent a car and drive back to DFW, which ended up costing them a $300 Uber to Philadelphia.
“We had a limited number of cars.
A hotel in Dallas also saw an increase in customers due to the delay.
Located on the Northwest Highway near Love Field, Embassy Suites told me there was a constant stream of customers stranded in Dallas.
read more: American Airlines says it will limit fares in some cities amid high Southwest cancellation rates
Driving across the country wasn't the newly engaged couple's original plan, but it was a good experience, they say.
“Actually we enjoyed the drive a bit.Being crammed into the car,playing some games and being able to see some things we couldn't see,another route is also a blessing It can be," Sanford said.
The couple returned to DFW on Wednesday, so while many are angry and frustrated, people are trying to make the best of a bad situation.