United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines have permanently dropped change fees for passengers on domestic flights.
United said it is permanently getting rid of change fees on all standard economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the US.
Also, United is extending its waiver for new tickets issued through December 31, 2020, to permit unlimited changes with no fee. This policy applies to all ticket types issued after March 3, 2020 and is valid for domestic and international travel.
Scott Kirby, chief executive of United, said: “When we hear from customers about where we can improve, getting rid of this fee is often the top request.”
The new change fee policy applies to all standard economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the US.
Delta said it stopped the fees temporarily in March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 outbreak but has made the change permanent.
It announced on Monday: “Delta is now doubling down on its mission to make it easier for customers to book, change or cancel their travel plans by making this policy permanent for tickets purchased for travel within the US.”
Ed Bastian, Delta chief executive, said: “We’ve said before that we need to approach flexibility differently than this industry has in the past, and today’s announcement builds on that promise to ensure we’re offering industry-leading flexibility, space and care to our customers.”
Delta will extend its waiver on change fees for newly purchased flights, including international flights and basic economy fares, to the end of the year.
American Airlines has eliminated change fees for first class, business class, premium economy and main cabin tickets for domestic and short-haul international flying, to destinations such as Canada and Mexico.
Vasu Raja, American’s chief revenue officer, said: “American is offering more flexibility and ease than ever before, should travel plans change.”
An article by CNN Business said United announced the change first and was swiftly followed by Delta and American.
“Industrywide, change fees netted airlines $2.8 billion in 2019. Dropping the lucrative fees underscores that the balance of power between airlines and passengers rests firmly with customers today,” said CNN.