From January 26 through February 9, 2021, the CDC requires all air travelers entering the US to provide a negative COVID test result within three days of their travel date or documentation of COVID recovery to board.
American Airlines
American Airlines has abolished change fees on all domestic international travel in Premium Cabin and Main Cabin areas when travel originates from North America. Customers who buy Basic Economy fares may now buy extras like upgrades, seats, priority boarding and same-day flight changes. They are waiving change fees on existing and new Basic Economy fares bought by January 31, 2021 for all future travel as well.
Additionally, customers will no longer have to pay a service charge when booking their tickets through reservations.
If Main Cabin (except Basic Economy), Premium Economy, Business Class, and First Class customers change flights to a cheaper fare, customers will receive a voucher for the remaining value of their original ticket.
Starting October 1, 2020, customers are able to fly stand by for flights on the same day as their original departure to the same destination at no charge. This includes domestic and international travel, regardless of the ticket you bought.
Additionally, American has extended its pause on mileage expiration through June 30, 2021. For new tickets booked between now and September 8, 2020, we’re expanding our offer to waive change fees for travel January 1, 2021, and later. They’re also enhancing the AAdvantage program, extending travelers’ elite status through early 2022.
American Airlines has also introduced free name change policies for corporate customers with tickets purchased on or before July 31, 2020. Customers can make one name change free of charge. The ticket must contain a valid CART/Business Extra number or JBID in the Tour Code box. Your agency can also process this change in their GDS without a waiver code. This free name change is combinable with other qualifying waivers.
Normal ticketing rules apply for tickets purchased before May 31, 2020 with travel outside the March 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020 window and tickets purchased June 1, 2020 or later.
Starting January 1, 2021, Basic Economy tickets will no longer earn elite qualifying dollars, miles, or segments toward future status.
In order to promote social distancing, American Airlines is also making updates to seat assignments and food and drink service.
Due to the increased flight changes, American Airlines has stopped checking pets for now. Carry-on pets and service animals are still allowed to fly in the cabin if they meet the requirements.
American Airlines has a new set of policies for travel with emotional support animals and service animals. The Department of Transportation’s new rule defines “a service animal as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability.” Starting January 11, 2021, American Airlines will no longer authorize new travel for emotional support animals. However, existing bookings with emotional support animals will be honored through February 1, 2021.
American Airlines is also taking additional measures to clean their aircrafts. They’ve extended the use of an EPA-approved, hospi tal-grade disinfectant that kills 99.99% of viruses and bacteria and lasts up to 7 days. They also have HEPA filters on all mainline aircraft and most regional jets that refresh the cabin air every two to four minutes. Flight staff is also disinfecting high-touch and public areas between flights and providing hand wipes or gels on most international and some domestic flights.
All travelers are required to wear face coverings while flying American. Additionally, they’ve expanded this rule to cover the airport where your trip begins, where it connects, and where it ends. Your face covering must cover your nose and mouth. As of August 19, 2020, face coverings with exhaust valves or vents, or made with mesh or lace type fabric, are not allowed on American Airlines flights.
As of February 2, 2021, customers with disabilities who are unable to wear a mask must notify the airline’s Special Assistance team at least 72 hours prior to their flight’s departure to request an exemption from the mask requirement.
The Boeing 737 MAX has also returned to service after it was recertified by the FAA.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines waived their change fees for tickets purchased on or before February 26, 2020 for original travel dates between March 9 and December 31, 2020. Travelers are able to use their tickets for flights up to one year from their original travel date. Additionally, they also waived their change fees for flights booked between February 27 and March 31, 2021 for original travel dates between February 27, 2020 and February 28, 2022. Change in fares may apply.
Customers who purchased Saver fare on or before February 26 for travel through December 31, 2020 can cancel their trip without a fee and deposit the funds into My Account wallet or receive a credit certificate for future travel. Customers who purchased a nonrefundable First Class, main, or award ticket on or before February 26 can also cancel their trip without a fee and deposit the funds into My Account Wallet or receive a credit certificate for future travel or change their trip without a fee.
Customers who purchased Saver fare between February 27 and July 31, 2020 for travel through April 30, 2021 can cancel their trip without a fee and deposit the funds into My Account wallet or receive a credit certificate for future travel. Customers who purchased a nonrefundable First Class, main, or award ticket between February 27 and June 30, 2020 can also cancel their trip without a fee and deposit the funds into My Account Wallet or receive a credit certificate for future travel or change their trip without a fee.
In order to promote social distancing while flying, Alaska Airlines has blocked the middle seat in each row in addition to other seats in the cabin through January 6, 2020.
All travelers are required to wear face coverings while flying Alaska Airlines. Face coverings must be made from a cloth or other barrier material that prevents the discharge, release, and expulsion of respiratory droplets from a person’s nose or mouth. Masks with valves are no longer permitted.
No food and beverages will be served on flights 350 miles or less and Alaska Airlines has temporarily suspended pre-order meals on flights longer than 350 miles.
Prior to traveling to the state of Alaska, travelers are required to complete a Traveler Declaration Form and either proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 72 hours to present upon arrival, take a COVID-19 test upon arrival (and quarantine yourself if test is positive), or quarantine yourself for 14 days or for the duration of your trip, whichever is shorter.
FAA has implemented stricter legal enforcement. Now through March 30, 2021, FAA will pursue stricter legal action, including fines of up to $35,000 and imprisonment against passengers who interfere with, physically assault, or threaten to physically assault aircraft crew or anyone else on the plane.
Delta
Delta is eliminating the $150 redeposit change fees permanently for all tickets, excluding Basic Economy, purchased for travel with the US. Additionally, there is no 72-hours-before-departure deadline to change or cancel a domestic award ticket for all SkyMiles Members.
Additionally, Delta will extend its waiver on change fees for newly purchased flights, including international flights and Basic Economy fares, through the end of the year and will extend its expiration on travel credits through December 31, 2022 for tickets booked before April 17, 2020. They are also waiving change fees and award redeposit fees for customers who booked tickets before April 17, 2020 for travel through March 30, 2021.
Delta has also waived the fare difference for all travel into the US following the new COVID testing requirement.
In order to promote social distancing, Delta is also boarding by row now, starting from the rear of the aircraft and moving forward. Middle seats are also now blocked from seat selection and the seat next to you will automatically be empty unless you’re traveling with a group through March 30, 2021.
As of May 4, all travelers and Delta employees are required to wear masks or face coverings starting at the check-in lobby through the duration of the flight. Delta has recently banned all valve masks from flights. Customers with underlying conditions that cannot wear a mask or cloth face covering will be required to complete a Clearance-To-Fly process which can take over one hour. Those who give false claims of disability to obtain an exemption from wearing a mask could be suspended from Delta flights for the duration of the mask requirement. Complimentary Care Kits with a face mask and sanitizing wipe will be available upon request.
All middle seats and select aisle/window seats will be blocked from the seat map through March 30, 2021.
Plexiglass shields will be in place at Delta check-in and gate counters by the end of May, and you will be encouraged to maintain a safe distance with decals at check-in, at the gate and on all Delta-owned jet bridges. Additionally, the air on all aircraft is completely recirculated 10 to 30 times per hour with fresh, outside air or through industrial-grade HEPA filters. These HEPA filters have similar performance to those used in hospital operating rooms and other highly sensitive environments in order to further protect passengers. They extract more than 99.99% if particles, including viruses. Delta is also utilizing electrostatic spraying with high-grade disinfectant to sanitize all their aircraft before every flight.
Delta has also introduced free name change policies for corporate customers. The waiver allows customers to make one name change without a fee and must be completed by May 31, 2022. The waiver applies for tickets issued on or before April 14 for domestic travel between March 1 and June 30 and international travel between February 25 and June 30.
Beginning January 11, Delta will only accept trained service animals that are dogs and will no longer recognize emotional support animals as service animals. They will not accept new emotional service animal reservations for upcoming travel.
Delta Sky Club Memberships, select Delta SkyMiles Amex Card benefits are extended further into 2021.
They’ve also extended benefits and 2020 Medallion Status will be extended for an additional year through January 31, 2022.
Frontier
Frontier is waiving change and cancel fees for bookings made through February 28, 2021.
Mileage expiration has been temporarily paused beginning March 1, 2020.
Frontier has also introduced WORKS. With WORKS, your entire purchase is refundable, you get the best seat on the plane, one free checked bag, and one carry-on bag. Passengers with WORKS have no cancel/change fee on flights they cancel/change 60 days before departure. 59-14 days prior to departure the cancel/change fee is $79 and 13 days or less before departure the cancel/change fee is $119. If customers change their flight to a lower fare, they will not receive any credit for residual value of their original ticket.
All customers are required to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth throughout their trip. Open-chin triangle bandanas, face coverings containing vents, valves or mesh material, and face shields are not acceptable as face-coverings on Frontier flights.
Customers who are unable to wear a mask due to a disability must submit documentation from a licensed medical provider on professional letterhead starting the customer is a person with a disability who cannot wear a mask safely. On the day of travel, customers must arrive a minimum two hours prior to departure and present a negative COVID test collected no more than 3 days before the flight.
All of Frontier’s aircraft have hospital-grade HEPA filters, state-of-the-art filtration technology. They’ve also increased disinfection procedures and added anti-bacterial hand soaps. Planes are cleaned between every flight and every night the planes are deep cleaned for 4-6 hours using industry-recommended disinfectant. Monthly enhanced deep cleaning of the entire aircraft utilizing an anti-microbial agent that reaches virtually every surface and forms a protective shield that continues to be effective against viruses for 30 days. Frontier aircrafts will also be boarded from the back to the front in order to promote social distancing.
Frontier has implemented touchless temperature screenings for all passengers and team members prior to boarding flights. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will not be allowed to fly.
JetBlue
JetBlue waived change/cancel fees for customers traveling through October 15, 2020. For cancellations, funds will be issued as a JetBlue Travel Bank Credit, valid for 24 months from the date of issuance.
Open tickets can be transferred to a different person as credits are not name-specific at JetBlue.
JetBlue is also suspending change/cancel fees for new bookings booked between March 27 and October 15 for travel in the next 24 months.
Additionally, the change/cancel fees suspension still applies for bookings made between March 6 and March 26, 2020 for travel through September 8, 2020.
All flight reservations made one week or more prior to a flight’s departure may be cancelled without penalty up to 24 hours after the reservation is made for full refund or Travel Bank Credit.
JetBlue is allowing customers to get refunds instead of credits for flights that have been cancelled not been rescheduled by JetBlue and for customers whose flights have been cancelled and rescheduled with a schedule change of 120 minutes or more.
In order to promote social distancing, JetBlue has reduced their flight schedule by 80% and they are capping flight capacity. Flights are also boarded by row to encourage social distancing. All JetBlue passengers are required to wear face masks during check-in, boarding, on the flight, and deplaning. Masks with vents or exhalation valves are not permitted. Checks the temperatures of their pilots and inflight crewmembers as an added layer of precaution. As of October 15, 2020, JetBlue is no longer blocking middle seats.
JetBlue customers have access to Vault’s at-home, saliva-based COVID-19 testlink opens in a new window operated by external parties and may not conform to the same accessibility policies as JetBlue, with results in 48-72 hours.
JetBlue only accepts trained service animals that are dogs and no longer recognizes emotional support animals as service animals. They will not accept new emotional service animal reservations for upcoming travel.
Southwest
Southwest allows travelers to cancel their flights without change fees up to ten minutes before the scheduled departure and the funds used to pay for a nonrefundable ticket are typically only valid for one year after the date of purchase. However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, customers’ funds that have expired or will expire between March 1 and September 7, 2020 will now expire on September 7, 2022. Additionally, any funds created due to canceled flights between March 1 and September 7, 2020 will expire on September 7, 2022. Funds that would have expired between March 1 and September 7, 2020 are not eligible for LUV Vouchers.
Rapid Rewards Members who have travel funds set to expire or funds that were created March 1 through September 7, 2020 have the option to convert those travel funds into Rapid Rewards points at the same rate you would be able to purchase a ticket with points today.
Southwest is also extending A-List and A-List Preferred tier status and Companion Pass benefits.
All Southwest aircraft are equipped with HEPA filters, which filter out airborne particles as the air onboard is recirculated with outside air. They’re also using electrostatic disinfectant spray throughout the entire aircraft, including the cabin, on elements of the flight deck, and the lavatory.
Starting March 1, 2021, Southwest will no longer permit emotional support animals on flights. They’re limiting their definition of “service animal” to a dog that has been specifically trained to perform tasks that benefit a person with a disability.
The Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, and Turks and Caicos are all currently closed for all travel with Southwest Airlines.
United Airlines
United Airlines has waived all change fees for tickets issued on or before March 31, 2021, including basic economy and international flights. New tickets must be purchased within two years from the original ticket date and rebooked travel must commence within two years of the original ticket date.
On August 30, United Airlines said it is permanently eliminating change fees on all tickets except basic economy for travel within the Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Caribbean, and Mexico effective immediately. In January, United customers with tickets of all fare types will be able to fly same-day standby for free. Additionally, MileagePlus® Premier® members have even more flexibility and can confirm a seat on an earlier flight for no cost at all. However, United doesn’t give any credits or refunds if the new flight is cheaper than the original flight.
United recently introduced United CleanPlus with Clorox to redefine their cleaning procedures. They are rolling out Clorox products across US airports and are working closely with experts at Cleveland Clinic to enhance their cleaning protocols. All United aircrafts are equipped with state-of-the-art, hospital-grade, high-efficiency (HEPA) filters that circulate air and remove up to 99.7% of airborne particles. Additionally, all aircraft have electrostatic sprayers on every departure to disinfect the air and surfaces within the plane.
United is regularly disinfecting their airport terminals and promoting social distancing. They’ve installed sneeze guards at gate counters and introduced touchless check-in for customers with bags. Also, United is implementing temperature checks for employees and flight attendants working at hub airports. In addition, they’re making disinfecting products easily accessible to employees. They are also providing individual hand sanitizer wipes to customers as they board. They are also testing UV sanitation deployed by drones and hand-held wands, as well as an antimicrobial shield, for airport and aircraft surfaces.
United has temporarily closed all their Polaris lounge and line station United Club locations.
They’re also extending electronic certificates and electronic certificates are now valid for two years after the date they were issued. This includes all currently valid certificates and new ones issued after April 1, 2020.
United Airlines is allowing corporate customers to change passenger names through the Jetstream tool. They’re also enabling them to move ticketing to a UATP card.
All United travelers must wear a mask or face covering with no vents or valves on board and they are temporarily removing onboard items like pillows, blankets, and inflight magazines.
