United Airlines has added Mexico and the Caribbean to its list of destinations which will no longer incur change fees for modifying flight reservations.
Untied Airlines “Permanently” Eliminates Mexico + Caribbean Change Fees
Last month, United became the first carrier in the USA to “permanently” eliminate change fees on all domestic flights, including to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. American and Delta promptly match. In fact, American Airlines went even further by including Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean in its new permanent change fee waiver.
United has now partially matched American and eliminated change fees on flights to the Caribbean and Mexico. Consequently, the following destinations will no longer carry change fees on most fares:
- Continental U.S.
- Alaska
- Puerto Rico
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Mexico
- The Caribbean
The following fare categories will not incur change fees:
- Economy
- Premium Plus
- United First
- United Business
Only Basic Economy will be excluded because Basic Economy fares cannot be changed in the first place.
Same-day standby will also be permitted to/from the these destinations on all fares but Basic Economy.
Why Not Canada?
So why not Canada? After all, American Airlines is waiving change fees to Canada as well. I have to imagine it has less to do with United and more to do with Air Canada. United and Air Canada closely partner and offer many codeshare routes between cities.
Perhaps to avoid consumer confusion or uneven expectations, Canada is currently not on the list. Can you imagine the confusion of a person booking a round-trip to Toronto on United with one direction operated by an Air Canada codeshare, then trying to change it only to be told it was not possible?
Hopefully Air Canada and United can work out a plan to eventually waive change fees on these flights as well.
CONCLUSION
United Airlines has expanded its change fee waiver to Mexico and the Caribbean. Keep in mind that through the end of the year, there are still no change fees on any fare to any destination.
image: Jonathan Palombo / Wikimedia Commons
Any chance we see change fees waived on all international travel on UA as well? I’m not holding my breath but that would be pretty sweet.
I’m amazed that UA have managed to get the blogosphere buzzing about their partial change fee elimination. At the same time, not only does the fact that all LH tickets currently being issued can be changed without fees, without restrictions based on fare families or type of destination, seem to have gone completely unnoticed, but I have seen comments along the lines of ‘UA can’t eliminate transatlantic change fees because of their joint venture with LH’.
Is this a case of clever UA marketing, are people unimpressed by the fact that LH is treating its customers like adults without resorting to the daft ‘forever’ terminology, is it because the raison d’etre of many bigger blogs is getting US consumers to sign up for credit cards and therefore they have no interest in the ticketing policies of non-US airlines, a combination of the above, something else entirely…?
(It feels a bit odd writing in support of Lufthansa. I am not a big fan of the LH Group, but I do use them a few times per year as A3 and TK often don’t work for intra-Europe travel)
My understanding is that LH has waived fees for the remainder of the year, like UA has (on all fares, to all destinations). This is quite different than United’s “permanent” removal.
The LH website* states: “For flights booked on or after August 25, all fares of the Lufthansa Group airlines worldwide can be rebooked free of charge (except for travel originating in Japan). This is part of your fare conditions, which you can view at any time. The departure and destination airports can also be changed. If the rebooked fare is more expensive due to a change of route or a necessary change of travel or booking class, an additional charge may be necessary.”
It seems to be an ongoing thing- or at least that’s how it’s being portrayed.
* https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/extended-rebooking-options
The Japan thing probably is a NH issue – not sure whether it’s only codeshare, a full JV, or something in betwen.