Delta Airlines Eliminates Change Fees For Most Domestic Flights

ATLANTA – After temporarily suspending change fees earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Delta Airlines announced Monday that passengers will no longer be charged to make travel changes or cancel tickets for most domestic flights.

The policy change will be permanent for main cabin, Comfort+ and first class and comes after United Airlines announced a similar change. Before the change, Delta charged $200 on domestic, non-refundable flights plus any difference in price. Basic economy flights are not included in the waiver of the change fees, the airline announced.

However, tickets booked before April 17 – including basic economy flights – will extend travel credit expiration dates through December 2022.

The fare difference will still apply, Delta officials announced in a news release Monday, but said the change provides more flexibility for travelers in either cancelling or changing their plans after they purchase tickets.

The airline announced it has refunded $2.6 million to passengers in 2020. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that according to transportation data, Delta collected $830 million in revenue from cancellation and change fees in 2019.

“We’ve said before that we need to approach flexibility differently than this industry has in the past, and today’s announcement builds on that promise to ensure we’re offering industry-leading flexibility, space and care to our customers,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement issued by the airline. “We want our customers to book and travel with peace of mind, knowing that we’ll continue evaluating our policies to maintain the high standard of flexibility they expect.”

In addition to the elimination of change fees, Delta announced Monday that it will continue to keep middle seats empty through Jan. 6, 2021 to ensure safe travel for passengers.