United Airlines has announced that it's getting rid of change fees on nonrefundable tickets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. "When we hear from customers about where we can improve, getting rid of fees is often the top request,'' United CEO Scott Kirby said this past Sunday in a statement outlining the new policy.
According to USA Today, United will eliminate ticket-change fees on domestic flights effective immediately. (Those fees had already been waived through at least the end of 2020 due to the pandemic.)
The new policy will apply to travelers with standard economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Passengers must still pay any fare difference.
Up until United announced the new policy, Southwest was the only major U.S. airline that never charged any change fees.