Originally Posted by
jsloan
Scott Kirby certainly thinks so. I have my doubts, especially since, by P, you appear to be talking about business class. Yes, they may be able to sell the seats -- but at P fares, not J/D/C. Few people are paying J/D/C prices for leisure travel, and business travel seems unlikely to pick up immediately, beyond a small blip of bent-up demand.
The main downside is that UA routinely writes fares that allow them to keep the difference if you change flights and your new fare is lower. So, you may potentially end up overpaying by hundreds or thousands of dollars.
I have trips booked for both July and October, plus an award reservation for November. But:
(a) I found PZ space, so I was able to upgrade rather than paying for the P fare
(b) I paid for a refundable fare (with a $300 refund penalty, but it was worth it for me).
(c) I won't worry about visas, hotels, etc. until things become clearer.
What does that mean if you pay for a $2400 fare, but have to change it and the fare for the new dates is $2200, UA won't give you a credit for the $200 difference or the cash?
How much more was the refundable fare though over the nonrefundable?
Also the other question is, what would happen if the country bars Americans for tourism but UA or the *A carriers still operate the flight? Presumably they wouldn't give you a refund nor maybe flight credits either? They'd let you reschedule without a change fee for some period of time?