Will American Airlines bar customers from changing a ticket?
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – American Airlines is threatening to prohibit customers from making changes to nonrefundable tickets if Congress makes good on a proposal to crack down on unreasonable airline fees.
American CEO Doug Parker says his airline would be acting just like sports teams or the opera by refusing to let customers swap their ticket for a different flight or another day.
The airline industry’s main trade group is mobilizing to defeat a proposal in Congress to limit airline fees. The proposal has been approved by the Senate, but not the House.
Changing a domestic ticket on the largest airlines typically costs $200. Last year, U.S. carriers collected nearly $2.9 billion in change fees. American led the pack with $878 million – a big chunk of its $1.9 billion 2017 profit.
