Southwest Offers Apology, Travel Vouchers to Overcharged Customers

Southwest Airlines says it’s found and fixed a computer glitch that last week caused some passengers to be charged more than 20 times for one ticket.

The airline also says it’s refunded the overcharges, although it could be days before the money makes it into customers’ accounts.

Aside from reimbursing overdraft fees, Southwest said on Sunday it would not compensate travelers.

Less than 24-hours later, the airline reversed course.

“How can we make this right?  How can we make people feel better about this?,” said Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins about the change of heart.

He said employees worked around the clock last weekend to fix the problem, and on Monday morning the consensus was the airline needed to do more.

By Monday afternoon, Southwest sent affected passengers an email apology and a $150 travel voucher.

“It went a long way [toward] making people feel good about putting their trust and their business in us,” said Hawkins.  He doesn’t think the airline will see any long-term fallout from the problem.

But as a newcomer trying to gain market share in Atlanta, it’s not the image executives want local travelers to remember.