Demand For Southwest Airlines Sale Fares Overwhelms Website

http://ift.tt/1Q7zQrz

Getting outta town has been delayed until further notice.

It’s probably not surprising that when Southwest Airlines announced a summer sale with one-way fares as cheap as $49, travelers were delighted. They were so delighted that they’ve overwhelmed the carrier’s site, making it difficult for customers to book new flights, or to print their boarding passes for travel that’s planned for, um, now.

Problems with the website mean long waits on the phone, too: users report being unable to get through by phone or the company’s website. “The response from customers taking advantage of our recent sale is creating website performance issues,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to Bloomberg News, and the company’s social media team is also busy updating customers about the situation and soothing their anxieties about being deprived of discounted airfares.

The sale ends tomorrow night, and users are already requesting that it be extended into Friday.

@kel_mar09 Kelly, We know these issues are the only thing between you and your destination. We’ll have that fixed ASAP. ^SW

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) June 3, 2015

Our sale is causing high demand on http://t.co/qJUDbsTE7y. All hands are on deck to resolve site issues.

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) June 3, 2015

Southwest Website Overwhelmed as $49 Airfares Spur Booking Surge [Bloomberg News]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist