Attleboro swim team forced to spend thousands, drive 25 hours after Southwest meltdown
ATTLEBORO - After mass cancellations across the country, Southwest Airlines says it's planning to return to normal operations on Friday. Southwest canceled 76% of its Boston flights Thursday.
Bluefish Swim Club Coach Nick Rice is far from alone in his frustrations over Southwest's failures this week.
"I felt very confident at 10 p.m. on Christmas Day that I was getting on a flight the next morning, and everything fell apart and there was no help offered," Rice said.
Rice was supposed to travel with around 50 of his competitive swimmers from Attleboro and across New England. Their destination: Huntsville, Alabama and an Olympic size swimming pool for a week of training.
"We have kids who are trying really hard to vie for Team USA spots and looking to try and gain the experience they need to be ready to swim at an Olympic Trials in 2024," Rice said.
Even 47 canceled Southwest seats couldn't derail this paid-for-trip. With rented pools, booked hotel rooms and planned meals, they were forced to find another way to get there - in holiday traffic.
"The bus alone to get us down here was $25,000 one-way," Rice said, "and getting down here and left with Southwest still not telling us if we're going to be able to get back."
It took 25 hours straight, with every seat on the charter bus full. Conditions not quite conducive to great, focused training.
"It was very mentally draining, after all of that. It was a very tight, confined space," said Zuri Ferguson of Bluefish Swim Club. "We only had a couple stops to get out and move around."
Southwest told WBZ they plan to operate a normal schedule beginning Friday. But with close to 50 passengers on this reservation Monday, the swim team is worried. Holding their breath underwater and over the trip home.
"As a coaching staff we've been pretty excited to see the resilience from them and the bounce back and the mental fortitude and continuing to have a really good attitude about what we're doing and why we're here," Rice said.