Yesterday United announced the removal of domestic change fees. Today American Airlines has announced the removal of all change fees for domestic and short haul international flights for premium cabin and most main cabin fares (excludes basic economy). American Airlines is also following United’s move and allowing fliers to fly standby on earlier flights for the same day/destination for free.
Basic economy fares will now be able to purchase Upgrades, Priority boarding, Preferred/Main Cabin Extra seats, Same-day confirmed flight changes. Elite members will also have access to Upgrade privileges, Elite seat privileges, including access to Main Cabin Preferred and Main Cabin Extra seats and Same-day confirmed flight change benefit when purchasing basic economy fares.
These new changes go into effect for tickets purchased from October 1, 2020. Now we wait to see if other airlines follow these changes or not.
