Airline Change Fees Are Disappearing, And Other Goodies - This Week In Travel

It’s been a good week although, in the age of COVID, the word “good” is a relative term. But we’ve gotten some little victories: The 2020-21 NBA World Champion Boston Celtics are up 2-0 on the Toronto Raptors, I have a free year of Apple TV+ (with no idea what to watch) and we’re going to be paying a little less in airline change fees going forward, as several carriers announced that they are eliminating the pesky charges. So here we go:

Airline Ticket Change Fees Are Changing

Well, this one was a surprise. Scott Kirby, the CEO of United who is generally regarded as one of the smartest revenue management guys in the industry, has announced that it is going to voluntarily surrender millions of dollars by permanently* eliminating change fees on all domestic tickets except for Basic Economy. They’re also going to waive change fees for same-day standby, meaning that they’ve finally decided that sending out empty seats earlier in the day costs more than they are generating from charging fees to switch.

It didn’t take long before American, Delta and Alaska Airlines all announced that they would be waiving their ticket change fees, as well. Monkey see, monkey do. Congratulations! They’ve almost made it to where Southwest has always been.

I’m surprised that the airlines made this move, although I guess they don’t exactly have a lot of revenue coming in right now, anyway. I’ve never been a big fan of nuisance fees.

But the airlines have the right to charge them. The argument “But it only costs them a few cents to make the change, why are they charging me $200?!” never made a lot of sense to me. If the world operated on a cost-plus model, popcorn and soda at the movies would cost you about a dime. Airlines are profit-seeking private companies, not public utilities, even if we treat them as such. Airlines are a lot more fun to fly when they’re making money. An airline in bankruptcy cuts amenities and employee salaries, which makes for a really un-fun flight.

Other Cool Bits From The World Of Travel

The TSA has developed a touchless system to determine your ID. I wish that they would develop a system that tells me why they care about your identity.
Companies are starting to notice that employees aren’t taking their vacation days, and it’s a worrisome trend. If you have a WSJ subscription, you can read another article about it here.
Princess is ditching its Ocean Rewards program, which allowed you to earn credits for onboard spend.
That move is contrary to the one at Celebrity, which recently announced Power Up points toward elite status.
You’re going to be seeing a lot more articles like this one from American, discussing modern cleaning techniques. Splendid.
Is it safe to stay in a luxury resort right now? The Wall Street Journal looks into it. Note: You may need a subscription to read this article.