Southwest: Old Drink Coupons No Longer Valid

you're right fedomalley! If you get a kind flight attendant, they will still take them.

When I flew early in Sept they said they were no longer accepted when they discussed the drinks available.

Ditto that. Past few SW flights, they Announce No mo of dem'.........Seems the jig is up.

On our flight out a couple of weeks ago the attendant took our drink order and after looking at the undated coupons tore them up and said "These are no good . . . but I got you covered." He then brought the drinks -- and a half hour later he brought us another round without us asking and just smiled. (Maybe he sensed that I didn't appreciate the public "show" of tearing up the coupons.) On the return flight another attendant made it abundantly clear via the announcements that undated coupons would not be accepted, so we didn't try to use them. Not to belabor the point, but undated coupons being "outdated" just gets you!

An Illinois man is suing Southwest over its move to invalidate its free-drink coupons that do not have expiration dates printed on them.

He attached to his federal court breach-of-contract complaint copies of 45 coupons for free drinks, which he said he had accumulated and which the change left worthless.

The guy wants class-action status.

He's got no shot.

I'm generally a Southwest fan but I think this guys case has merit.

The coupons were awarded based on either a higher fare or a frequent flyer award. There was no issue date so presumably there is no expiration date.

Other than the short term financial ramifications, I don't see where doing this has helpful Southwest in the goodwill column. As a loyal and frequent flyer, I "earned" these free drink coupons and with the belief that they were good indefinitely.

I know that many of these class action suits are bought on/encouraged by blood sucking lawyers who have time between ambulance chasing gigs to do this. These cases are generally not about righting a wrong and improving society but rather about lining their pockets. However, in this case, I think SWA stepped on their weenie and it'll be interesting to hear their position in defense.

I know that I tossed more than 30 coupons after it became clear that they would no longer be accepting the old ones. In most cases, I used these to buy a round for the first 10-30 people who ordered drinks on the plane so it has no financial impact to me...it's not like I paid for the. I'll be tuning in to this to see how it progresses.

Dan

Southwest gave everyone a more than a year's warning to drink up or see the coupons go away. By doing that, they've insulated themselves from suit.

There is no presumption in the law that the lack of an expiration date means the issuer has no power to later impose a reasonable expiration date. The law simply isn't unreasonable like that.

I could no disagree more about your cynical attitude about class action litigation. They are a worthwhile tool for large numbers of people with small but valid claims to obtain relief.

But like all tools, they can be abused. That's what's happening here.

What is the rationale to void the coupons? Weren't they either purchased or earned as a result of being a frequent flyer? The predominant number of people they alienated are their most loyal and frequent customers.

Turning your argument around, what gives SWA the right to void these coupons? There was no issuance date indicated on the coupon nor indication at the time of issue that they had a limited shelf life.

I'm not going to argue the law; just raising the issue of common sense. Also, I have no personal axe to grind....I always have more drink coupons then I'll ever personally use with SWA. To me, it's a matter of principal and rather than argue about it, I think it'll be interesting to see how the IL court views it.

On the issue of class action suits, the only ones I've personally been involved with are those when a lawyer is contacting me and giving me an opportunity to opt out. Never in one of these lawsuits was I ever personally harmed nor did I ever seek legal recourse.....it was always a situation where a money hungry ambulance chaser was trying to line his pockets. This isn't a condemnation of the legal profession; I have friends who are attorneys. This is simply a condemnation of those lawyers who aren't persuing this for any greater good to society other than their own financial benefit.

There are clearly other examples where a class action suit is warranted. But, from personal experience, the only ones I've been involved with are essentially nothing more than shake downs of businesses where they realize it's cheaper to settle than to litigate.

While you might not like the fact that this may go class action, I have to say that I've seen considerably more frivilous claims than this be awarded so don't be too quick to dismiss.

Dan

I agree with Dan. Personally I am disappointed with Southwest's decision. They should have honored every drink coupon.