What Happens if You Miss Your Southwest Airlines Flight? [2022]

Missing your flight can leave you with a sinking feeling in your stomach but it is often not the end of the world.

If you can act quickly, you still might be able to catch a flight to your destination and you may not even have to pay anything extra.

This can be done via the flat tire rule and in this article I will tell you everything you need to know about utilizing this on Southwest Airlines.

What happens if you miss your Southwest Airlines flight?

If you miss your Southwest Airlines flight you still may be able to get put on the next available flight or take advantage of the standby list. Keep reading below to find out just how you might be able to take advantage of a lesser known exception called the “flat tire rule.”

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

southwest plane

Southwest flat-tire rule explained

The “flat tire rule” is something that airlines came up with to help people who experienced unexpected situations that caused them to miss their flight.

For example, getting a flat tire on the way to the airport could slow you down and cause you to show up after your flight has departed. In those cases, an airline would work with you to put you on the next available flight free of charge.

Today, it’s not required for you to have a flat tire or even for you to miss your flight due to situations outside of your control.

Instead, just about any reason can be used to take advantage of the flat tire rule as long as you show up within a specified time period.

So for example even if you slept late, forgot to set your alarm, had the wrong departure time, etc. you would still be able to take advantage of this flat tire rule.

Just be aware that this is usually an unpublished rule. Check-in agents and gate agents should be well aware of the rule but it’s not usually advertised to the public.

So sometimes it is something that you have to proactively bring up and request.

Southwest boarding area

How does the flat tire rule work?

If you show up within two hours of the scheduled flight departure time you should be able to take advantage of the Southwest flat tire rule.

Also, if you show up after check-in closes for your flight you can probably also take advantage of the flat tire rule. This would typically be about 30 minutes prior to departure, which means that you might want to consider same day changes (but more than that below).

In cases where you show up after departure or you missed check in, you can show up to the check-in desk or to a gate agent and simply let them know that you missed your flight and would like to utilize the flat tire rule.

You might be able to call and get things moving but typically this is something that you work out on the ground at the airport.

If there is an opening to your destination on a different flight, even if that flight has different connections, an agent may be willing to put you on that flight free of charge and sometimes immediately. If there are no openings then you may be put on the standby list, which is a more likely outcome.

If you choose not to be on the standby list or for whatever reason that is not available to you then you will either lose out on your the money spent on your ticket or you will receive some type of refund — it all depends on the fare that you booked.

Related: What Are the Best Seats on Southwest? (And How to Get Them)

Same day changes

In some situations, instead of relying on the flat tire rule, you may be able to be proactive and utilize the same day change.

On the same calendar day as your flight, if you see open seats for a later flight to the same destination, you can request to be put on one of those flights as long as you make this request at least 10 minutes before your original scheduled departure time.

Business Select, Anytime, and Wanna Get Away Plus fares are eligible for free same-day change and can complete their free same-day change online.

A-List and A-List Preferred Members with a Wanna Get Away fare are eligible for free same-day change, but they must call Customer Service or visit a Southwest Gate Agent to make the change without paying the fare difference

Wanna Get Away customers (non-A-List or A-List Preferred) can opt into same-day change, but will likely have to pay the fare differences.

If you are changing your flight one hour prior to departure you can probably make the change online but if it is between 10 minutes and one hour before departure you’ll have to speak with an agent to request the change.

Something interesting to think about is that the flat tire rule could allow Wanna Get Away customers to avoid paying the fare difference for their new flight. But it’s a gamble because if you can’t get on a new flight on standby, you risk losing everything.

As a Wanna Get Away passenger if you get put on the standby list you will be above non-revenue passengers but you could be below many A-List or A-List Preferred.

But if you are successful you usually will be notified about 10 to 30 minutes prior to departure, depending on how full the flight is.

Canceling

If you don’t think you will be changing your flight and you just want to completely cancel, the consequences of canceling will depend on the type of fare booked and when you cancel.

If you are booking a Business Select or Anytime fare you need to cancel at least 10 minutes prior to departure to receive a full refund. Otherwise, you will receive travel funds for being a no-show.

Wanna Get Away fares are not refundable and if you do not cancel them at least 10 minutes prior to departure you will lose ALL of your funds.

If you used Rapid Rewards points for your booking, those points should be refunded back to your account.

Walk-up fare

If you are not able to get on the next available flight or to use the standby list then your only option may be to book a walk-up fare. Unfortunately, these are usually some of the most expensive tickets so be prepared to spend more money than you usually would booking in advance.

Does Southwest still honor the flat tire rule?

Some people always question whether or not the flat tire rule is still honored by Southwest Airlines since it is somewhat of an unofficial policy.

As of the summer of 2022, I confirmed with a representative from Southwest that they still honor the flat tire rule.

Connecting flights

If you miss your connecting flight on Southwest and it is on the same ticket and was caused by irregular operations such as a flight delay or cancellation from Southwest, Southwest is responsible for finding you another flight to your destination.

However, if you are missing your connection because you booked a separate ticket on a different airline then the situation is on you and you will have to rely on the flat tire rule if you can.

Be sure to get clarification on how the standby options will work on connecting flights. You may not be guaranteed a spot on your connecting flight and may have to rely on standby for multiple segments which can be tricky.

You can read more about dealing with missed connections and the responsibility the airline has here.

Final word

Missing your flight on Southwest does not have to be the end of the world. If you can get to the airport within two hours of your scheduled departure time you might be able to get on the next available flight free of charge.

If that does not work then the standby list might be your next option. And if all else fails, then you may have to book a walk up fare or simply deal with whatever refund you are entitled to.

What Happens if You Miss Your United Airlines Flight? [2022]

What happens if you miss your United Airlines flight?

Well, you may not be in as bad of a situation as you think. In fact, if you arrive to the airport shortly after your flight or after check-in closes, you might still be able to get put on the next flight headed to your destination.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the United Airlines flat tire rule and try to get a sense of what their policy is for those of you who happen to miss your flight.

What happens if you miss your United Airlines flight?

If you miss your United Airlines flight you still may be able to get put on the next available flight or take advantage of the standby list. Keep reading below to find out just how you might be able to take advantage of a lesser known exception called the “flat tire rule.”

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Flat-tire rule explained

The concept behind the “flat tire rule” is that if you were on your way to the airport and experienced something out of your control such as a flat tire which forced you to miss your flight, the airline would not hold that against you and work with you to put you on another flight.

While the name flat tire rule sounds like it’s limited to automobile issues and unexpected circumstances out of your control it can usually be applied to any type of scenario regardless of your own fault.

So for example even if you slept late, forgot to set your alarm, had the wrong departure time, etc. you would still be able to take advantage of this flat tire rule.

The biggest thing to know about this rule is that it’s sort of an unofficial/unpublished type of rule. No doubt, United employees should be well aware of the rule but it’s not something that’s really advertised much.

There are multiple reasons for that.

One of the reasons is that if cheaper flights were available later on in the day, this rule could incentivize people to intentionally miss their flight to take advantage of a cheaper flight.

It could also cause issues for logistics for the airline by making it more difficult to predict how many passengers will show up for each flight.

How does the flat tire rule work?

If you miss your flight but arrive at the airport you can proceed directly to the check-in desk and let them know about your situation.

(If you don’t want to waste a trip to the airport you could also call customer service and potentially sort this out.)

You’ll need to act within the recognized cut off time in order to take advantage of this policy.

According to the United Premier rep I spoke with, this window is 30 minutes before departure and two hours after your departure time.

Why 30 minutes prior? Well, because there is a cut-off for check-in usually about 30 to 45 minutes prior to departure.

When speaking with a representative, you should proactively bring up the flat tire rule and request for them to accommodate you since you are arriving to the airport within two hours from your scheduled departure time.

A good check-in agent should acknowledge the flat tire rule but it is possible for an uninformed employee to not know about it or to perhaps even feign ignorance because they don’t want to deal with that type of situation. Just be ready to request a supervisor just in case you get push back.

You need to know that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the flat tire exception. Even if you show up within two hours from departure, it’s possible that there will not be any available flights for you to be put on.

If there are no available flights and/or no way for you to utilize standby, then you will be forced to purchase a walk up fare which is basically just the standard rate available at that time.

If there is a flight open for you, you may be placed on the next available flight, or if there are no spots on that flight you’ll likely be put on the standby list which is sometimes called the “late arrival standby list.”

United reiterated that if you are placed on the next available flight you do not have to cover the fare difference but if you are placed on the standby list you will have to cover the fare difference.

According to United, you should know if you have been selected from the standby list at least 30 minutes before departure for domestic flights and 60 minutes for international flights.

United Airlines publishes the information about the standby list and they state the following.

First, the people put on the standby list usually consist of three types of people:

  • Involuntary standby customers – Customers who did not travel on their original flight because a flight is canceled or an itinerary is changed by United.
  • Voluntary standby customers – Customers on eligible fares who are voluntarily standing by for a different flight from their original flight.
  • Pass riders – United employees or their eligible dependents standing by on a space-available basis. Pass riders are prioritized last, and are only assigned seats after all other standby customers are accommodated.

Note that as a late arrival you don’t really fall into any of those categories.

I guess you could say you are voluntarily standing by but you don’t really have a choice so it’s hard to say that you belong to one of the three groups.

As far as how they prioritize people on the standby list, they first are prioritized by elite status. The elite status order would work in the following order:

  • Global services
  • Premier 1K
  • Premier Platinum
  • Premier Gold
  • Premier Silver members
  • other MileagePlus® program members
  • All remaining customers

If there are multiple members with the same Premier status, the fare class originally purchased is used to determine priority.

And if there are passengers with the same elite status and for a class, they then use priority based on whether or not you have a Chase United credit card, are a member of United corporate preferred participants, and then finally the date and time that you were added to the list.

Interestingly, there is no explicit mention of late-arrival passengers.

Reports online indicate that as a late arrival, you would be last on the list by default but I’m not sure if that is always the case. Recall that above United states that pass riders are prioritized last.

I tried to get clarification on the priority order for late arrivals but I was told by United that they cannot provide me with this.

So it’s still not clear to me if you have elite status are you able to jump up higher on the list as a late arrival?

Related: Why You Should (And Shouldn’t) Check in Online for Flights

Does United still honor the flat tire rule?

You can find reports of United officially confirming that they do have a flat tire policy but some of those claims are almost 10 years old.

Airlines are also notorious for making changes to policies like this every few years so things can definitely change.

However, I confirmed that United still does honor the flat tire rule as of 2022.

Next day flight

If you have missed the last flight of the day things might be a bit more complicated.

I found mixed reports with some indicating that you could get put on standby for the first flight on the next day and others indicating that you are just out of luck.

But when I checked with United they said that they would try to put you on the earliest available flight the next day (morning) or the standby list if no flight was available.

Connecting flights

Note that if you had a flight booked with United Airlines and because of a delay by United you missed your connection, they are responsible for finding you another flight or providing you with compensation.

This also applies if you had booked with a codeshare partner like Lufthansa. You will not have to resort to the flat tire rule in those situations.

However, if you have a flight booked with an entirely separate (non-partner) airline and you missed your connection to a United flight, that is on you. In that case, you will have to rely on the flat tire rule or look into booking another flight.

Final word

Missing your flight with United Airlines does not have to end as badly as you might suspect.

If you arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure or within two hours of that time, you might be able to get put on the next available flight or on a standby list free of charge.

You may not be guaranteed a spot on one of these flights but at least you have a fighting chance in a lot of cases.