Southwest Airlines buys customers 5.8 million free beers
Beers are on them!
In a class action settlement last week, a Chicago judge declared that Southwest Airlines must buy up to 5.8 million beers for its passengers. The settlement could be worth $29 million USD.
In October 2007, Southwest (the USA's biggest low-cost airline) started giving free alcohol vouchers to customers who'd purchased premium-priced "Business Select" flight tickets. Each voucher was worth $5 in booze bucks...and most importantly, the vouchers didn't have expiry dates. Strangely enough (to me, at least) many passengers hung onto their vouchers instead of cashing 'em in for brews.
Then, on August 1, 2010, the airline stopped honoring these vouchers. According to a Chicago Tribune story, Southwest's new policy said that "Business Select passengers may use their vouchers only on the day of travel printed on them, essentially voiding all previously issued vouchers."
Cheap move.
A federal judge agreed, so Southwest's eligible fliers are now entitled to new drink vouchers for every voucher they earned but didn't redeem...even if they can't find the original paper vouchers. Christmas has come early in America!
Lesson learned: never get between a lawyer and his liquor.
Chicago attorney Joseph Siprut, who represented the class against Southwest, said that beer-thirsty passengers "just have to submit a form saying they had a certain number of vouchers that were never redeemed, and they can get replacement vouchers in equal number."
The settlement estimates that 5.8 million eligible vouchers were not redeemed. At $5 a voucher, that's $29 million. This time, however, the new vouchers will come with an expiry date; they're good for one (1) year only.
So check your in-box, travellers. Southwest will soon inform all their eligible customers that beers are on the house.
But be careful when you cash in that voucher. The first few 'FREE BEER FLIGHTS' should get pretty rowdy.
-- Ken Hegan
BING: Lawsuits filed against airlines
Read more of Ken’s MSN travel stories here
Follow Ken on Twitter: @KenHegan
Photo of Southwest plane: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Comments
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Posted by: Jim B | 2012-12-19 7:05:34 PM
First, the decision is the right one IMHO. Companies who offer these free vouchers should honour them if no expiry date is specified and they should be clear on what the expiry date is, if there is one. Second, and most importantly, there will not be any "rowdy flights" on any airline. The law forbids it. People will be expelled from the aircraft if they get rowdy and may go to jail or be fined. The statement made by you was likely made in jest, however, you should be more responsible than to suggest that the type of "rowdy" behaviour you imply, would be considered acceptable by today's standards. That is simply a bad joke and in light of the Newtown disaster this past week, you should realize there are people out there who will take you seriously. This is another example of unprofessional journalism reaching the masses and it has to stop before someone acts on your and others badly considered notions and hundreds of poele fall victimm to it due to an airplane crash. Need more proof I'm right? Unless you have been under a rock somewhere, you heard about the prank pulled by two Australian DJ's that resulted in the suicide of a British nurse from the hospital Duchcess Kathryn was staying at. Those same DJ's are now in hiding because their story went viral and now their lives have been threatened because someone has acted on the literal suggestion they were to blame for the death. Time for ALL journalists to rethink what they say. Especially in the age of the internet. There is no room anymore for this type of frivolous, irresponsible dialect. By the way, I am a commercial pilot. I WILL have anyone who exhibits the type of behaviour you are suggesting, removed from my aircraft at the first available airport and arrested. Try me.
Posted by: Joe | 2012-12-20 10:53:16 AM
Obviously Jim B has no sense of humour.... And if you are indeed a pilot, that just goes to show you arrogant your fly boys really are!
Posted by: repo | 2012-12-21 5:56:21 AM
Opinions are like buttholes Jim B. Everyone has one, and they usually stink. Like your pseudo-educated fear mongering.
By the way, I'm a human being. Not a douche-canoe like you. Lighten up.