Southwest unrest cancels teachers' flight to take $4,000 honeymoon cruise

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After Christmas, Wisconsin educators Marcus and Andrea Grasenick were scheduled to travel to Florida, where they would embark on their dream honeymoon cruise, until Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights due to software failures and extreme winter conditions. The newlyweds missed their cruise, effectively losing $4,000. Southwest has not yet provided any assistance.

Jonathan Weiss | Shutterstock The Southwest Airlines check-in desk preparing passengers for departure.

On the Monday following Christmas Day, the couple flew to Nashville, where they then waited for word on their flight from correspondence with Southwest Airlines. The Grasenicks chilled their heels for hours before learning the flight was canceled and there was no other way to reach Fort Lauderdale in time for their honeymoon cruise. The couple had no choice but to make the long journey home.

Thousands of people across the United States have been impacted by Southwest's cancellation of thousands of flights during this time. The social media fallout for the airline has been severe, with people expressing their outrage online and calling out the airline for not providing better customer service.

Speaking to the WTMJ in Milwaukee, Andrea Grasnick said it was the only time she and her husband had the same vacation, "so we can't even change the clocks and catch up, because it's is the only one. This is the only shot we've had."

While Grasenick expressed her gratitude that Southwest recently indicated it would issue refunds and travel credits to passengers like her, she told TMJ it was "a waste of time, and you can't don't give back that time. You can donate our $4,000 cruise [sic] that we spent. If you could do that, great. But, the memories that we were going to make together and with our friends, that's not something. thing you can put a price tag on."

Southwest posted an update on its website Thursday evening. It read:

Given the travel disruptions, we understand that many Customers wish to rebook. All customers traveling through January 2, 2023 may rebook in the original class of service or travel standby (within 30 days of your original travel date between the original city pairs and in accordance with our hosting procedures) without paying any additional fees; please be aware that available inventory is limited during holidays.

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