It’s no secret that airlines have been taking a major beating throughout this current pandemic, but United Airlines has decided to make a change when it comes to nickel-and-diming customers.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby announced in September that there would be some pretty drastic changes for the company.
“We’re making a big change for the better,” writes Kirby. To support you during your U.S. travels, we’ve decided to get rid of change fees for good.”
Kirby reiterated that all United customers can say goodbye to change fees on most economy and all premium tickets when traveling to the United States, the U.S Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
In addition to waving the change fees, according to Kirby, “United will be the only U.S airline to let customers in all classes of service fly same-day standby for free.”
So what exactly does this mean?
It technically means that many airlines have manipulated the cost of flying by adding questionable fees or raising rates and taxes so high that it’s almost impossible to afford to travel, especially if you have a family. A a result of covid, airports are less crowded which isn’t good at all for a multi-billion dollar industry.
However, it is very honorable that United is taking major steps to not break the bank of customers that want to fly or travel often. Instead of defaulting to cuts, they are actually looking at ways to serve travelers better. It’s also a quiet criticism of other airlines that don’t want to put the customers first.
According to UStravelers.org, Leisure travelers (domestic and international) spent a total of $792 billion in 2019, up 4.1% from 2018 (not adjusted for inflation). Business traveler spending increased 2.2% to $334 billion in 2019.
United might not be your first, second, or even third choice of airline but they do deserve credit for making a change and putting the customer first. Maybe on your next trip, you’ll think about who’s making you a priority.
