United To Announce New Wave of Changes

United Airlines this afternoon plans to announce yet another series of significant policy modifications, many of which matched developments at other carriers from the past two weeks. News of discontinued waivers and favors, expanded paper ticket surcharges and altered upgrade policies represents the latest wave of cost-cutting measures in an industry that now sees such changes on a nearly daily basis.

Beyond a revamp of its upgrade policies, the carrier will announce its paper ticket surcharge--a fee for all paper tickets on itineraries where electronic tickets are available--has been extended to bookings made through travel agencies, matching such competitors as Continental and US Airways.

United also will follow certain competitors in eliminating all waivers and favors. Delta Air Lines two weeks ago, for example, sent a letter to travel agencies stating, "These practices were originally intended to provide a remedy for ticketing errors and certain situations outside a travel agent's control. They were originally developed for rare occasions, but are now being used routinely to circumvent the pricing structure, which impact the integrity of our fare structure."

Despite several planned changes, United's announcement is unlikely to include a match of US Airways' Tuesday decision disallowing the application of unused nonrefundable tickets toward future travel. Sources indicated disparate policies could complicate the two carriers' efforts to integrate should they move forward unhindered on a codeshare and marketing partnership.

United, which is on the hunt for a new CEO and likely to enter bankruptcy without a federal loan guarantee from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, continues to work with labor groups on contract concessions. It also will clip its schedule by 9 percent on Oct. 31.