Photo: Artem Oleshko (Shutterstock)
Wherever you’re planning to go this summer, whether it’s one of the most overrated tourist destinations or one of the music festivals actually worth traveling to, you’d be lying to yourself if you said your plans were truly set in stone. That’s because things come up, schedules change, and life delays us. This unpredictability of your life makes it harder to pull the trigger on buying plane tickets, because you don’t want to end up out of luck when a conflict arises and you need to pay big bucks to move your flights around. Luckily, a handful of airlines offer no change fees on a number of their flights. If flexibility is the name of the game for you, consider booking on one of the following airlines.
Southwest Airlines. Not only does Southwest Airlines not charge fees for both domestic and international changes, they’ll even let you change your flight day-of without paying any sort of up-charge. Yes, you’ll have to pay a difference in fare if the new flight you’re choosing costs more than your original itinerary, but if your new flight costs less, they’ll actually refund the difference.
American Airlines. American Airlines does not charge change fees for all domestic, short-haul international, and select long-haul international flights for passengers who’ve paid for Premium Cabin, Premium Economy, and Main Cabin fares. Basic economy passengers aren’t so lucky; fares bought on or after April 1, 2021 are non-refundable and non-changeable.
British Airways. British Airways offers flexible booking at the moment, but that’s due to change soon. But for flights due to be completed by Sept. 30, 2022, you can still change the dates with no change-booking fee.
Delta Airlines.Delta Airlines does not charge change fees when you purchase a Main Cabin ticket or higher on flights originating from North America. This means you have the flexibility to change the date, time, or location of your trip prior to departure. Additionally, there are no change fees for flights traveling between the Caribbean, U.S., and Mexico. This, unfortunately, does not apply to basic economy fares.
Hawaiian Airlines.Hawaiian Airlines does not charge a change fee for any flights in their network for passengers who booked Main Cabin fares or higher. Tickets for their Main Cabin Basic fares are not subject to fees if they were purchased before Oct. 31, 2021.
United Airlines. There are no change fees for United Airlines customers traveling within Continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean, and Mexico for tickets that are Economy, Economy Plus, United First, United Business, and United Premium Plus. Change fees will apply for international flights and Basic Economy tickets.
