My father had plans to visit me in a couple weeks but had to have an operation and is therefore going to cancel his ticket. I understand how he'll be able to get a waiver on the change fee once he re-tickets his flight by uploading a note from his doctor. I believe the waiver would also extend to any traveling companions, in this case his girlfriend. However, my dad had bought his girlfriend a ticket in J (she has a bad back and can't tolerate economy for the 5+ hour EWR-SFO flight) and his ticket is in Y. As such, I believe their tickets are on separate reservations. Do traveling companions have to be on the same reservation in order to get the fee waiver?
My father did pay for both tickets and used his Chase UA Explorer card, so maybe the card's travel insurance will work if UA can't extend the waiver to her?