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Delta to Eliminate Change Fees on Domestic Tickets [Consolidated Thread]

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Delta to Eliminate Change Fees on Domestic Tickets [Consolidated Thread]

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Old Sep 1, 2020, 1:08 pm
  #91  
 
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Originally Posted by jiburi
I'm hoping the fine print of DL's change policy protect residual value.... At present, UA will not, AA seem to indicate protection, AS likely with wallet but no confirmation yet. WN is still WN.

Jiburi
AA definitely will as per their press release.
AS told me they will with wallet, on my blog: https://www.dansdeals.com/points-tra...ees-worldwide/
FT disclosure: This link is to an online source in which I have a financial interest.

I asked DL about award changes/redeposits, standby fee waivers, and residual value and they said they're still figuring those things out. Hopefully DL will match AA and UA will have to match as well
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 1:14 pm
  #92  
 
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Originally Posted by ctownflyer
DL still hasn't finalized what exactly their policy will be.
Seems like they were caught by surprise then.
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 1:22 pm
  #93  
 
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Originally Posted by Cledaybuck
Seems like they were caught by surprise then.
Without a doubt. Smart of UA to make the change on a Sunday to catch everyone off guard.
But AA really one-upped DL yesterday with a thorough response to UA, along with major BE improvements.
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 1:24 pm
  #94  
 
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Originally Posted by Cledaybuck
Seems like they were caught by surprise then.
Waiting to evaluate all the ideas and see how things play out before making a decision seems smart to me. Why would you want to finalize things before you have all the information?
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 3:54 pm
  #95  
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Originally Posted by jiburi
I'm hoping the fine print of DL's change policy protect residual value.... At present, UA will not, AA seem to indicate protection, AS likely with wallet but no confirmation yet. WN is still WN.

Jiburi
Right, WN has no change fees. Feel free to change your flight anytime. I really hope AS will eliminates $200 change fees. Still not yet.
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 3:58 pm
  #96  
 
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Originally Posted by N830MH
Right, WN has no change fees. Feel free to change your flight anytime. I really hope AS will eliminates $200 change fees. Still not yet.
AS made their announcement this morning. https://newsroom.alaskaair.com/2020-...es-permanently
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 4:06 pm
  #97  
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Originally Posted by ctownflyer
DL still hasn't finalized what exactly their policy will be.
From the beginning, I've felt that it wouldn't surprise me to see change fees remains on V and X fares, or even our sLUT fares. It would still be true that most fares (or more precisely, most fare classes) don't have change fees.

I could also see DL offer several different BE fares (just like there's currently more than one C+ fare), with some higher fares having no change fees but no seats selection, no upgrade possibility, etc.
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 10:19 pm
  #98  
 
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Originally Posted by kjnangre
You shouldn't necessarily believe any random person who knows how to tweet (but doesn't know how to turn off caps lock). That said, seems likely that AA will follow suit soon, even if this tweet is BS
Just an FYI - Walter is a well-regarded Twitter squawker, meaning he tweets financial markets news of note coming in from the wire services. All caps is standard format for squawkers.
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 10:21 pm
  #99  
 
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
From the beginning, I've felt that it wouldn't surprise me to see change fees remains on V and X fares, or even our sLUT fares. It would still be true that most fares (or more precisely, most fare classes) don't have change fees.

I could also see DL offer several different BE fares (just like there's currently more than one C+ fare), with some higher fares having no change fees but no seats selection, no upgrade possibility, etc.
That would be soooo Deta! Who needs two booking options (first or economy) when they can offer eight booking options!

I do worry about how much close-in fares are going to increase with this change. I just had to make a departure day change on a T fare. The cheapest fare for sale on the new departure date was a V fare for $100 more than I paid for the original flight. I fully expected to pay a $100 difference in fare, but they counted it as an even exchange and rebooked me as a T fare. Maybe this change will require fares to follow more common sense, lest passengers change their flights for a refund when fare prices go down after they book!
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 10:33 pm
  #100  
 
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Everybody ready to have this discussion in 1.5-2 years when DAL (and every one else) is pricing the lowest "regular" economy $200 more than basic? It's coming. That's how this works.
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Old Sep 1, 2020, 11:50 pm
  #101  
 
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Originally Posted by n7371f
Everybody ready to have this discussion in 1.5-2 years when DAL (and every one else) is pricing the lowest "regular" economy $200 more than basic? It's coming. That's how this works.
Yup. Five years ago, it was clear that today the gap would be nearing $100, and we're definitely there now. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25741854-post7.html

In a few more years, once traffic picks back up, I fully expect the cheapest Main Cabin tickets will be positioned like H/Q/K fares are currently in the pricing structure.
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Old Sep 2, 2020, 3:20 am
  #102  
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We're definitely getting this because they're on the ropes and actually are having to review their most unfair policies to win customers back. I guess things have gotten so bad that even being in a triopoly isn't enough.

What's next, actually awarding a competitive number of miles even on lower fares?

Heck, I remember when it was a paper ticket and going down to the airport to get one of those changed. Seemed a real hassle at the time (both to me and to them)...by comparison it's a breeze now.
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Old Sep 2, 2020, 5:57 am
  #103  
 
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Originally Posted by RustyC
We're definitely getting this because they're on the ropes and actually are having to review their most unfair policies to win customers back. I guess things have gotten so bad that even being in a triopoly isn't enough.

What's next, actually awarding a competitive number of miles even on lower fares?

Heck, I remember when it was a paper ticket and going down to the airport to get one of those changed. Seemed a real hassle at the time (both to me and to them)...by comparison it's a breeze now.
Last year I did a VDB with AA for $1,000. Each and every time I wanted to use the paper voucher I had to go to the airport. In 2019!
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Old Sep 2, 2020, 9:53 am
  #104  
 
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Originally Posted by sydneyracquelle
Last year I did a VDB with AA for $1,000. Each and every time I wanted to use the paper voucher I had to go to the airport. In 2019!
On the bright side, AA did you a favor by not having to endure a 27 hour estimated call back.
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Old Sep 2, 2020, 10:13 am
  #105  
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Originally Posted by RustyC
What's next, actually awarding a competitive number of miles even on lower fares?
I do wonder if the "next thing" will be mileage-based. Although the airline doesn't make money on redemptions (beyond the accounting aspect of reduced liability), they do make money when they sell them to partners (and indirectly to the extent that people are motivated by RDMs for flight activity) so they need to provide at least some value for using them... so maybe following VS in making award travel elite-qualifying, or a 2x promotion on things like PWM or using miles instead of cash for FCM...
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