While Southwest Airlines continues efforts to recover from the catastrophic flight scheduling meltdown over the holiday weekend, the airline has also already promised reimbursement for those travelers left stranded. 

However, as Godwin Bowman’s Sid Scheinberg told KXAS NBC5 in Dallas, the promise is more of an act of goodwill than a legal obligation. 

“They really are not obligated to pay you for meals, transportation,” he said, pointing to a 55-page contract of carriage passengers enter into when they purchase a flight in which they are required to waive their right to file a class action lawsuit.  

“It’s not a carte blanche to think that you have a right to sue them and say, ‘Oh, I missed Christmas.’ And it’s kind of a logical thing. You know airline flights do get canceled all the time. So, you miss a job interview to get the job or you miss your son’s graduation who’s graduating school. How can you pay somebody back for that?” he said. 

However, as Godwin Bowman’s Sid Scheinberg told KXAS NBC5 in Dallas, the promise is more of an act of goodwill than a legal obligation.