Airlines Suspend Ticket Change Fees In Face of War
With the threat of a war in Iraq looming, Continental Airlines last night followed domestic and foreign peers in announcing a flexible ticket policy allowing travelers to make changes without incurring penalty fees. Earlier in the week, US Airways and Delta Air Lines made similar announcements, preceded last month by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Specifically, Continental's policy--enacted on restricted, nonrefundable transatlantic tickets purchased through March 31 for Continental-operated or Virgin codeshare flights--enables travelers to make changes until May 31 for travel by Dec. 31. Like other carriers, Continental is permitting one-time changes to travel dates, classes of service and destination. Unlike others, the carrier's policy does not cover domestic flights.
US Airways earlier this week was the first U.S. carrier to announce such a policy. Its Peace of Mind plan, unlike new policies at other carriers specifically targeting the next few weeks, takes effect "in the event of military action and/or a Homeland Security Department issuance of a 'code red' alert."
"In this time of uncertainty, if we can remove one of the many hurdles for travelers, we will and we did," said Stephen Usery, US Airways vice president of marketing and revenue management. He expected a competitive match by other major U.S. carriers "eventually, because it is common sense."
American, United and Northwest have not yet announced similar policies, but most are likely to provide a degree of flexibility should hostilities break out.
Across the Atlantic, BA said it would ease ticket change rules for U.K.-originating traffic. Virgin's policy covers passengers holding reservations for travel between the United Kingdom and the United States, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
These new policies are just one step carriers are taking to prepare for war; others include passenger surcharges to cover fuel, potential service reductions and efforts to gain Congressional relief on costs related to fuel, taxation and security.