[jpf756]

Signs of the times
In SWA's endless pursuit to discover new markets and exploit them for profit, they have chose to hone in on single parents--the most vulnerable people who want to see their children but must pay a premium to do so.

Specifically, it started with the introduction of a $25 ($50 round-trip) fee per flight, then upped it to a $50 ($100 round-trip) fee per flight. Now if the flight does not occur, the parent is subject to a loss up to $100 as these "fees" are non refundable.

OK -- I can kind of understand the rationale for non-refundable fees if you miss or flat out cancel the travel plans -- but here is the real kicker!! If you need to change the flight to an earlier departure, for whatever reason, SWA will gladly refund the ticket amount of the fare and apply it as a credit to the new fare. However, they will keep your original $50 fee and charge you another $50 unaccompanied minor fee (so a total of $150 round-trip).

SWA: Why don't you just rob your customers when they board the plane? Maybe hold children for ransom? That's another market you could exploit. Where is the LUV when it comes to children? In this situation travel is still occurring but at a different time now. I would love to hear the company's position on this type of consumer theft.