Well, I can add Southwest to my list of “airlines I won’t fly”.
Folks, I’d like you to meet Daniel:
Daniel is three years old and suffers from a very rare neuromuscular disease. Unfortunately, his condition is terminal. His family has compiled a small bucket list in order to cram as much happiness into Daniel’s regrettably short life as they can. In order to help, the ever-wonderful Big Fluffy Dog Rescue, who apparently rescues sad humans as well as sad dogs (Daniel’s family adopted a dog from BFDR some time ago) has organized a trip to Talladega next month along with local PD, fans, and random people everywhere. According to Jeanne at BFDR:
“One of the things we thought we had covered were airline tickets from Baltimore to Birmingham. People offered to donate miles to help get them there. Then Southwest Airlines decided to suck.”
Southwest’s lame-o excuse? They only donate tickets to Make-a-Wish families, and Daniel has already been granted his wish. If people want to donate their miles, they’ll be charged. (Keep in mind that these aren’t miles that will cost Southwest anything; these are miles that others have already accrued and people want to donate and be kind. Just like donating gently used clothes. These are gently used miles. Sorta.) Why who uses these free miles should even matter to Southwest is beyond me, but charging for what should be free is unacceptable.
More from BFDR:
So, we’ll buy their tickets. We need to fundraise $3500 to buy this family of four tickets to get to Talladega. This is likely the last trip this family will take as Daniel is fading. We wanted him to have the trip all little boys want where he gets to see an honest to God NASCAR race up close and in person. We will make sure he gets it, even if Southwest Airlines sucks epicly. Our fans have already made this a trip of a lifetime, and this is the last piece of the puzzle.
Please spread the word and donate if you can. Feel free to spread the word that Southwest wanted to charge for donating miles to help a dying boy. If you would like to donate, please do so here: http://bigfluffydogs.com/pay-online.php. Make sure you email jean@bigfluffydogs.com after you donate and put the word “Daniel” in the subject line. I will post and let you know when we have what we need. Thanks for being the best fans in the world and helping a dying boy even when Southwest Airlines wants to profit from the well wishes of people.
So Delta had lost my business for their horrid customer service, and now Southwest has lost it for their complete and total Scrooge-itude. When a multi-million dollar company cannot stand the thought of its frequent fliers participating in charity, we have a major problem.
who brought the blonde 