United, American, Alaska, and Delta all announced their plans to abolish change fees, which have been a pain point among travelers for years. This means customers now have the freedom to change flights without paying a change fee or waiting for the airline to issue a waiver.
United Airlines
On August 30, 2020, United Airlines was the first to announce that they were dropping change fees forever. Previously, customers had to pay a $200 fee whenever they wanted to change their flight and a $75 to fly standby. The new policy goes into effect on January 1, 2021, but they’ve also extended their waiver through December 31, 2020 to cover all tickets purchased after March 3, 2020. In addition, they’re also allowing all passengers to flu same-day standby for free on both domestic and international routes starting January 1, 2021.
Delta Airlines
In addition to United’s new policy, Delta announced their new policy on August 31, 2020. Delta is making it easier for customers to book, change, and cancel flights by permanently eliminating change fees for all flights purchased for travel within the United States. The airline has already issued more than $2.6 billion in cash refunds and had a change fee waiver for flights issued most of the year, but this new policy will put an end to all change fees forever.
American Airlines
Like United and Delta, American Airlines also put an end to change fees. On August 31, 2020, American announced they were no longer issuing change fees for domestic and short-haul international Premium Cabin fares and most Main Cabin fares. Even Basic Economy fares now come with the ability to modify your travel experience with upgrades, Preferred and Main Cabin Extra seats, priority boarding, and same-day flight changes. In addition, starting October 1, 2020, customers will have the ability to fly standby on earlier flights for the same destination on the same day for no extra fee
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines also just announced their plans to abolish change fees on Main and First Class fares on all Alaska flights starting January 1, 2020. However, their current Peace of Mind Waiver covers all flights booked through December 31, 2020 as well.
These new change fee policies make it easier for travelers to book travel in a COVID and post-COVID world, knowing that plans could change at any moment. For more airline updates, be sure to follow our blog to stay up to date.
