Change Fees Eliminated Permanently For Delta, American, United, And Alaska Airlines

Delta (DAL), American (AAL), United (UAL), and Alaska Airlines (ALK) have all announced that they are eliminating ticket-changes fees permanently for some flights.

The elimination of the change fees from the airlines comes as they look to allow for more flexible travel during the coronavirus pandemic. The airline industry has seen a significant drop in air travel as passengers stayed home during the pandemic.

The change-fee policy from Delta is effective immediately and includes its First Class, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+, and Main Cabin tickets. There is an exception to Basic Economy tickets, which traditionally come with a no-change and no-cancellation policy.

However, Delta said it will also waive change fees on newly purchased international flights and Basic Economy fares through the end of the year.

“We’ve said before that we need to approach flexibility differently than this industry has in the past, and today’s announcement builds on that promise to ensure we’re offering industry-leading flexibility, space and care to our customers,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement. “We want our customers to book and travel with peace of mind, knowing that we’ll continue evaluating our policies to maintain the high standard of flexibility they expect.”

American Airlines has also eliminated its change fees for all domestic and short-haul international flights. The policy extends to First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy, and most Main Cabin fares.

United has also gotten rid of change fees for good for all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S., effective immediately. The airline said the policy also extends to new tickets purchased through Dec. 31 to allow for unlimited changes without any additional costs.

Alaska Airlines also issued a no change fee policy for domestic and international flights, effective immediately. The policy applies to all tickets except for the airline’s Saver fares unless they are purchased by Dec. 31.

"COVID has taught us that flexibility in travel is key. As we evolve our approach to travel to include more than 100 safety actions, it's important to give our guests flexibility when they book by eliminating change fees," Andrew Harrison , executive vice president and chief commercial officer for Alaska Airlines, said in a statement.

Shares of Delta were trading at $30.98 as of 11:33 a.m. EDT, up 13 cents or 0.42% while shares of American were trading at $13.49, up 44 cents or 3.39%. Shares of United were trading at $37.09, up $1.09 or 3.03% and shares of Alaska Airlines were trading at $39.92, up 97 cents or 2.49% also at the same time.