Do you have Flight Refund Questions?
While you may hear or presume that cancelling your flight due to COVID-19 will result in a refund, please note this is only possible if the ticket was refundable to begin with or if the airline cancelled the flight. Airlines are not offering refunds on non-refundable tickets cancelled by the traveler. Rather, it is the change fees that are being waived so that travel can be rebooked or the funds reused at a future point. Only the instances outlined above (refundable fare or flight cancelled by airline) are eligible for refund. If you have cancelled are will be cancelling previously booked travel, please review the below summaries for each airline.
If your travel was booked through Concur or through the University’s travel agent, Christopherson Business Travel, you can reach out to Christopherson to assist with any name changes or rebookings.
Delta Extends Rebook Options
Delta announced that they are extending the ability to rebook travel with them for up to two years. Tickets normally expire one year after purchase, but Delta has waived change fees to travel through May 31, 2022 for customers who have:
- Upcoming travel already booked in April or May 2020 as of April 3, 2020
- Existing eCredits or canceled travel in March, April, or May 2020
New tickets purchased between March 1 and May 31, 2020 can be changed without a change fee for up to a year from the date of purchase. More information can be found here.
United Extends Rebook Options
United Airlines announced that electronic travel certificates can be used for up to two years from the date it was issued to book a new flight, as well as up to an additional 11 months to travel. This includes all currently valid and all new electronic travel certificates issued on or after April 1, 2020.
American Airlines Waives Name Change Fees
Effective April 3-May 31, 2020, American Airlines is waiving all name change fees for corporate customers. Christopherson is able to process those complimentary name change waivers for you.
Southwest Extension and Schedule Revisions
Southwest Airlines made changes to the expiration date on traveler funds and to their flight schedule last week. Customers’ funds that have expired or will expire between March 1-May 31, 2020, will now expire June 30, 2021. Any newly created travel fund because of a flight cancellation between March 1-May 31, 2020, will have an expiration date of June 30, 2021. All traveler fund extension information can be found on their community page.