Monday, 31 August 2020

Delta and American join United in ending change fees for most US flights

Oh they REALLY want you to start flying again. We may be witnessing the end of the $200 ticket-change fees that U.S. airline travelers have hated for at least a decade.

Delta Air Lines and American Airlines both said Monday they will drop the $200 fee that applied to changes on most tickets for most domestic flights, copying United Airlines' announcement from one day ago.

From the Associated Press:

Southwest Airlines didn't levy change fees to start with, so Monday's announcements mean that the four biggest U.S. carriers will have roughly similar policies.

Airlines are being battered by the coronavirus pandemic, as travel restrictions and fear of contracting the virus are keeping travelers at home. Normally in summer, 2 million or more people pass through security checkpoints at U.S. airports each day, but that number hasn't been above 900,000 since mid-March, the early days of the pandemic.

To woo passengers, airlines have required face masks and stepped up cleaning of planes. A few, including Delta, Southwest and JetBlue, limit seating, although American and United try to sell every seat.

More at AP: Delta, American join United in dropping most US change fees