One last thing - Fear of flying
Two airlines drop change fees in event of war
By Andrea Coombes, CBS MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:03 AM ET March 5, 2003
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -Air travelers leery of flying amidst terror alerts and a potential war with Iraq are being offered a financial palliative to overcome those fears.
US Airways is offering ticketed customers a "peace of mind" policy allowing them to change flight destinations or dates at no charge in the event of a war or a Department of Homeland Security "code red" terror alert. The major airlines generally charge $100 when travelers change itineraries.
"We've heard from travel agencies, customers and tourist boards that this is a concern for many travelers," said US Airways spokeswoman Amy Kudwa. "We're being proactive to help remove one of the barriers that they see at this time in booking travel."
However, that barrier is being removed for only a short time: Ticketed passengers will have a 90-day window once war starts or a red alert is announced in which to change plans and complete their travel.
While hailing US Airways' (UAWGQ: news, chart, profile) policy as "a very good, positive first step," David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, did have one question: "Shouldn't the 90 days begin from the end of the military action or the end of the code red alert?"
US Airways will announce the effective dates of the policy in the event of war or a code-red alert, Kudwa said.
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL: news, chart, profile) quickly followed with a variation on the theme: Customers who purchase tickets between March 5 and 31 can change their tickets for free before May 31, for travel until Dec. 31, said spokeswoman Catherine Stengel.
While a concern for passengers was one reason behind the two airlines' new policies, it was not the only reason, said Terry Tripler, airline expert at CheapSeats.com. "They obviously saw that bookings were not doing well because of people's concerns and fears if they're abroad when a war breaks out."
The airlines "decided to address those concerns to get those bookings back up," Trippler said. "When you're buying a $198 or $249 ticket and to make a change is going to cost you $100, now that they've waived that, that makes a difference to people, particularly a family who's thinking of traveling around the Easter holidays."
American Airlines, a subsidiary of AMR Corp. (AMR: news, chart, profile), has not yet announced a new policy, but will "look after" its customers in the event of war, said spokesman Todd Burke. "The specifics of that will be determined once military action begins and when we know more about the extent of any military action."
During the first Gulf War, American Airlines allowed customers flying internationally to cancel their booking for a full refund and to change destinations at no charge, he said.
Northwest Airlines (NWAC: news, chart, profile) is "studying the issue," a spokesman said, and UAL Corp.'s (UAL: news, chart, profile) United Airlines "will work with customers" but has not announced any policy changes, a spokeswoman said.
The low-cost carriers Southwest Airlines (LUV: news, chart, profile) and JetBlue Airways (JBLU: news, chart, profile) have not changed their policies, but then, there's a lot less fee to change.
JetBlue customers pay $25 to change ticket itineraries, plus any fare difference, said spokeswoman Fiona Morrisson. Southwest customers also pay the fare difference, but there's no fee, said spokeswoman Linda Rutherford.
"We give our customers peace of mind everyday with these very user-friendly ticketing policies and no change fees," Rutherford said. "We offer our customers great flexibility regardless of the state of the union." |
