Traveling?
What you Need to Know Before Purchasing Airfare

“...it is crucial to know what limitations or benefits your ticket provides you in the case of an emergency.”

By Shannon Wood
Editor

When it comes to changes in travel plans due to unforeseen circumstances, are all airlines created equal? What happens with your airline tickets if you have an emergency situation come up? To find out, I contacted a number of major airlines and found in some cases options may be limited.

Most Flexible

Southwest Airlines and American Airlines won my vote for flexibility. Southwest continues to provide discounted senior tickets for customers 65 and over. The senior tickets are always fully refundable and Southwest Airlines does not charge change fees on any of their fares whether it be senior fare, nonrefundable or any other fare. Paula Berg, spokesperson for Southwest explains, “Life happens every day and knowing this, our customer service representatives are waiting to help the customer.”

Tim Smith, spokesperson for American Airlines said, “Unfortunately stuff happens. We empower our reservation agents to make decisions for the customer in an emergency. We are philosophically committed to our customer’s different needs and know that every situation is different.” US change fees are $100 and international fares have change fees of $200, but fees may be waived in certain emergency situations. The reservation agents are trained to listen closely, but in the event that a disagreement in compensation does occur, American Airlines gives customers the option to provide documentation which can be sent directly to a company-provided address along with an explanation of circumstances. In addition, American tries to offer the lowest fairs without advance purchase requirements when death or sudden illness occurs.

JetBlue Airways, does not sell refundable tickets but is flexible with change fees of $30 when called into the airline and $25 for an internet change. Bryan Baldwin, spokesperson for Jet Blue Airways said “In some cases where customers have been unable to contact us prior to their flight due to medical complications, we have issued a credit for the missed flight, less the cancellation fee, after they provided the necessary medical documentation which was reviewed by our Customer Feedback team.” Jet Blue may wave change fees on a case-by-case basis. Baldwin said, “We strive for what is fair for the success of JetBlue and the customer.”

US Airways and America West have most recently merged and are in the process of integrating policy changes. There is a change fee for both airlines, but Morgan Durrant, spokesman for the merged airlines said, “While the policies were in place to provide structure, the airline realizes that emergencies do happen and medical emergencies are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”

Least Flexible

Northwest Airlines and United Airlines were the least flexible. Ms. Walker, Northwest Airlines customer service supervisor said, “we have no policies covering medical emergencies.” Walker also stated that they have never waived fees or additional charges for any reason and have always adhered strictly to the restrictions. Northwest Airlines management emailed a statement that said, “To ensure the integrity of our fares and the equitable treatment of all our customers, we adhere to the terms and conditions of the fare each customer has selected.” The safest way to go in this situation is to pay the higher price for a refundable ticket.

United Airlines also adheres strictly to the restrictions surrounding the ticket fare policies. Sarah Massier, spokesperson for United states, “We recommend the customer view the fare rules.” A non-refundable change fee for a US fare is $100 plus any fare differences based on changes made. Massier also details the policy for international flights as, “some fares cannot be changed, some the customer can only buy up on, some have a change fee of anywhere from $150 - $200 and then may only allow exchange before travel has started or sometimes only after travel has started.” Fares with a medical waiver may be purchased, or you may opt to spend more for a refundable ticket.

For anyone planning a long-awaited dream vacation, or who travels frequently, it is crucial to know what limitations or benefits your ticket provides you in the case of an emergency. By carefully selecting your fares for travel and being informed of your airline’s policies, additional stress and extra expense may be avoided in the case of an emergency.

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