Remember the good ol’ days when changing your flight at the last minute was as easy as showing up to the airport a little earlier? Or, if you were having such a wonderful time soaking up the sun on a tropical island and wanted to stay a few extra days all you had to do was call the airline and book a later flight… and not have to offer up your first child to do so?
These days it’s next to impossible to make changes to your itinerary without being socked with a fee. Some carriers are a bit more lenient than others, but all impose some sort of financial penalty to travelers who want to make changes to their flight plans.
Just in time for the busy holiday travel season here is a list of the fees assessed by some U.S. carriers on domestic flights only:
American Airlines. The airline charges a $25 fee for same-day flight changes on all fares. The company also offers the same day option of standing by for an earlier or later domestic flight for eligible fares at no charge.
Continental Airlines. Paying $25 will get you a confirmed seat on a same-day flight and means you no longer have to wait as a stand-by customer if there is an available seat on an alternate flight.
Northwest Airlines. For a fee of $25 Northwest permits you to change your flight to another one that leaves earlier or later on the same day you are holding a reservation.
JetBlue Airways. It will cost you $25 to get a confirmed seat on an earlier or later flight on the same day of your original departure.
US Airways. According to the airlines’ website, you are allowed to “’move up’ to any earlier flight on the same day of your originally scheduled departure time at the airport (with the exception of flights to Hawaii and Europe). You can only make day-of-departure changes at the airport (and not by calling Reservations).”
If there is an open seat available on any earlier flight that departs on the same day as your original one, you may change to that flight for $25 and the airline will automatically confirm your reservation—-BUT only on flights within the 48 contiguous United States. The fee jumps to $50 for flights to Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada and Alaska.
Delta Air Lines. For $50 you can change your flight on the same day of travel. However, you must confirm your new flight within three hours of the scheduled departure time. An added bonus: If you have a flexible fare (usually a refundable ticket), you can change your itinerary without a fee.
United Airlines. The airline will assess you a $50 fee to confirm a seat on an alternate flight on the same day of travel anywhere United flies within the continental United States provided you make the changes within four hours of your original departure time.
JetBlue Airways. JetBlue’s policy is a bit trickier. It states: “For travel to the same destination, reservations can be changed to standby travel only on the flight immediately prior to the original departure without an additional charge. Standby travel is not available in markets that only have one flight a day or if there are no flights prior to the original departure. Confirmed seats are available for $25 on an earlier or later flight on their same day of departure.”
Southwest Airlines. At first glance the carrier’s policy seems ideal. Basically it states that you can change your travel dates on a non-refundable fare and travel within a year from the original flight (even on a different route) without having to pay a fee. However, that’s not the case if you want to fly same day on a different flight. For example, if you paid $100 for a flight that departs at noon and you want to switch to the 3 p.m. flight you will have to pay the difference between your $100 fare and whatever the current “walk up” (no advance purchase) fare is on that route, which is typically three times the amount of an advance purchase ticket.
Related Articles:
Are Airlines Becoming More Family Friendly?
Air Travel: Good News and Bad News
A New Exit Option–Could It Help Keep Airfares Down?
So Long to $99 Plane Tickets???