Airlines response to the coronavirus
 

Good morning

I got an email from United this morning. They explained their measures to protect against the coronavirus including the below and that any bookings made in March can be changed for free.

"Our team of in-house medical experts and industrial hygienists oversee our aircraft cleaning procedures to ensure they meet or exceed all CDC guidelines. Hard surfaces such as lavatories, tray tables, window shades and armrests are thoroughly wiped down with a high-grade disinfectant and multi-purpose cleaner. And when we are advised by the CDC of a person who has traveled on board and is potentially exhibiting coronavirus symptoms, that aircraft is taken out of service and sent through a full decontamination process that includes our standard cleaning procedures plus washing ceilings and overhead bins and scrubbing the interior."

Has anyone seen anything similar from other airlines?

Yes, Delta and American both have similar blurbs on their websites.

Southwest just says they clean nightly.

Yes, I'm holding a ticket on Alaska Air and received a letter of reassurance from a higher up. Tickets purchased after February 27th are refundable and changeable. Tickets purchased earlier, unfortunately, nothing special offered.

I canceled two tickets to New York on Delta (1-6 April) this morning and got refunded.

I got the message about cleaning and refunds for tickets bought AFTER March 1: so the schlubs who bought domestic tickets 2 months ago can just eat the cost, or take their chances. Cr@p move.

Precisely. Mine was purchased a few weeks pre-unexpected-deadline (hey who knew at the time???). And I don't know why it matters, but probably would be more p*ssed if I'd bought it the day before the cut-off -lol- I do the super duper Saver when I can on Alaska so they are very clear about no nothing no changes no deals for any reason with that fare category. So not sure if I could change this particular ticket even within the dates of their offer.

I have my ticket for Oakland in a couple of weeks and don't plan to change it. I HOPE my flight won't get changed but there IS that chance with flight cancellations. I also have a ticket to Las Vegas in May and so will see how things are at that time.

Mr. Gruezi just got a cheap upgrade to Biz Class on our trip to Mx this week.

(For those still flying.)

I leave for Spain tomorrow. Wish me luck.

This from Lufthansa:

Dear passenger,

We realize that the current news regarding the impact and spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is cause for uncertainty among airline passengers. We therefore thank you for continuing to place your trust in Lufthansa and choosing us for your travel needs.

On every journey you take with Lufthansa, your safety and well-being, and that of our staff, is our top priority. Having information on what we are doing to help our customers is vital for giving you peace of mind when travelling. Please rest assured that we are monitoring the situation and developments, and we will continue to provide you with regular updates. Lufthansa is prepared for all possible scenarios and we are working closely with the health and governmental authorities, following their advice for further steps to be taken. According to the World Health Organization WHO the risk of infection has not yet been fully determined.

We want to make sure that your stay with us on board is as pleasant and safe as possible under any circumstance. We have therefore implemented precautionary measures in order to best protect you, our crew members and our ground staff against any risks. This includes providing our cabin crew and our staff at selected airports with respiratory masks.

The air on board all Lufthansa aircrafts is cleaner than outside on the ground, it consists of up to 60% fresh air. Pollutants such as dust, bacteria and viruses are filtered from the air circulating in the aircraft cabin, meeting the standards for hospital operating rooms. We are also well prepared should a passenger show signs of a Corona infection while on board. Our Medical Service has long established procedures for passengers with infectious diseases and our crews are all well-trained for these situations.

We kindly encourage you to support our protective measures on board by following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (www.who.int). These include washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, correctly covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

We will do everything we can to help and look forward to welcoming you on your next flight.

That seems backwards. People who bought later already knew about the virus and bought despite that.

I have a thread going about exactly this in the Air Travel Forum. I booked three domestic trips for May-July back in early February. People booking the same trips after March 1 get the chance to change/cancel without penalty. I'm screwed if I want to do the same.

A friend of mine called Delta earlier today to cancel a flight overseas. He asked them if they would waive the change fees and they did. It never hurts to ask.

It makes all the sense in the world. The policies are intended to entice customers to book tickets now. Allowing free cancellations to tickets in hand just gives up revenue.

That seems backwards. People who bought later already knew about the virus and bought despite that.

Yea, no kidding that!! I was not being a risk taker, none of this was happening on February 18th when I purchased my usual vacation ticket for this time of year.

I got a notice from AirFrance this morning that they were allowing passengers already ticketed to re-ticket up until May 31 at no charge, assuming the flights they wanted to be re-ticketed to were flying and had seats. No mention at all about cleanliness of the aircraft.

I did not consider this a terribly generous offer. Nor do I have any flight booked or contemplated on Air France in the near, or far, future.

Of course it was happening on February 18th, you just weren't aware of it. The first posting about it in the Lounge was on January 25, and dcd even mentioned that there were two cases in the US at that point in time.

Of course it was happening on February 18th, you just weren't aware of it. Or you were aware of it but never thought it would affect you.

The first posting about it in the Lounge was on January 25, and dcd even mentioned that there were two cases in the US at that point in time. By February 18 there was already discussion of what was happening on the Diamond Princess.

Who knows, by the time you need to leave, Mexico maybe banning passengers from the Seattle area and your flight will be cancelled for you.

IIRC, Mexico was where H1N1 (swine flu) broke out in 2009, and they were serious about locking things down.

Inaccuracies are not unheard of around here.

I just got an email from Air France. For travel by May 31, changes or cancellation, including changes to destinations, will be made free of charge. For travel after that, they will issue vouchers.

Unfortunately, we’re on Air Canada, and they’ve been silent, unless you’re flying to a level 3 destination. I’m crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath.

Who knows, by the time you need to leave, Mexico maybe banning passengers from the Seattle area and your flight will be cancelled for you.

Fine with me. That would make it a very easy non-decision.

But you always can cancel and rebook a flight using the credit within a year, standard policy.

No you can't always do that. Depends the kind of ticket you bought.

That's what I thought too. I'm just taking it one trip at a time and maybe the situation will resolve itself (with flights being cancelled).

I'm surprised on a travel forum people don't know that different types of plane tickets have different rules and restrictions.

It is absolutely not "standard policy" that you can rebook any ticket for full credit and reuse within a year.

That isn’t too surprising, really.

I was recently in a conversation with seven other women, six of whom travel internationally at a minimum, once a year.

Only one knew there was a difference between non-stop and direct. Actually, that did surprise me.

Thread has been moved to Travel Tips.

ibobi - If you really feel the need to move this thread, shouldn't it go to the Air Travel forum?

How in the world is this a Travel Tip?

suze

It is on the Air Travel forum . . . Maybe it was moved it again?? ;)

janisj - Yes, obviously, it was moved again, but without a note from ibobi this time.

Lufthansa group (including Swiss Air, Austrian, and several others) is waving rebooking fee for all tickets no matter the purchase type. Can rebook flight dates up to April 30 for rebooking onto flights until end of the year. I am not positive of the advantage. In theory, summer months should mean greatly reduced virus transmission (as is true for most viruses), as where April is predicted to be the peak month. Our flights are for April.

If I rebook, it makes sense to go for summer, as fall and winter will see increased rates of transmission. But I am also worried that more and more people will have it. I am going to Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. Numbers are limited so far to clusters, with Bulgaria having almost no cases right now, but a big Flu epidemic at the moment.

Posted this in my thread on this topic, but sharing here too:

JetBlue is now allowing cancellations and changes without penalty for travel through April 30, regardless of when you booked. My travel starts May 2nd, so I'll keep an eye on this policy. For now I'm still planning to travel but would appreciate the option if it comes to it. (Refunds are really just travel credits, but as I usually only fly JetBlue, that's fine with me)

I have been trying for the past 2 weeks to cancel my flight to Zurich, Switzerland through Orbitz and I can't online or you're on hold for a long time viz phone.
I am flying out of the US with Lufthansa and back to the US with United. Any Ideas?
Trip isn't till May.

Can you just wait it out on the phone? That's what I was thinking of doing here from my office job. Just stay on hold for hours if necessary to hopefully/eventually speak to someone.

Do you have to cancel this week? I know Princess Cruises is asking people with requests for cancellations not in the near future to wait until next month while they work through the nearer term reservations.

Are you calling the airlines? Your post doesn't make that clear. Yes, you might have to wait it out on the phone for a long, long time. With my flights, I can rebook to the end of the year, but it's looking doubtful that the situation is going to change to the extent that it becomes ok to fly. I fear that I am going to have to eat the money for the plane tickets. My slim hope is that they cancel the flights in which case I could get a refund. My flight to Zurich, and then on the Athens, is April 5.

Some travel agencies and airlines are advising customers to not bother calling unless they're leaving within a week as they're bombarded with calls. I'd leave it alone for a few weeks. We've got a trip planned for Portugal in late April and don't plan to cancel for a few weeks for this very reason. The system is just overwhelmed.

If things are still a mess by May never fear, they will cancel the flight without any input from you.

It was absolutely impossible to get through to an airline or train service via phone or on line when I was desperately trying to get out of Spain last week and I needed to go immediately. It probably didn't help that those with trips several weeks away were also trying to call.

In the end we just turned up at the airport (which was on the verge of being closed) and waited until we got a flight. All the gory details to follow in my trip report. It was a disaster of a trip.

Priceline has a form you can fill out. Airlines and websites are generally asking you wait until 72 hours before your trip to call or contact. My outbound flight to Greece for April 5th no longer appears on my trip itinerary with the airline, so I assume it's been canceled.

Sorry the trip was a disaster, at least you made it home (waiting to hear the gory details). It seems in the last few days with all the prohibitions on international visitors, there are very few commercial international flights left.