Airlines relax cancellation policies in wake of terror plot

Airlines are relaxing cancellation policies in the wake of the terror plot uncovered by authorities yesterday.

Several major carriers said they will not charge passengers who want to change their flight plans due to the threats, even if those passengers are holding non-refundable tickets that usually carry change fees of $100 or more.

United Airlines, which operates 38 daily flights daily from Logan International Airport, is waiving all cancellation and change fees for passengers holding non-refundable tickets. United usually charges a $100 fee if passengers want to change their flights after buying a no-refund ticket, but in the wake of the terror plot, the airline is allowing such changes with no penalty as long as passengers notify it between now and Sept. 1. If passengers want to cancel their flights without rebooking, they can keep the full value of their tickets for a year to apply to future travel, but there won't be cash refunds offered on non-refundable tickets.

The policy applies to all domestic and international flights.

"We’re just trying to be sensitive to our customers' feelings during this time," said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski, who added the carrier hadn't seen a significant increase in cancellations in the last two days.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said the airline has seen hundreds of cancellations, but called that a "statistically minuscule" number compared with the number of passengers with flights scheduled between now and Sept. 1, the date that its cancellation fee waiver expires. American is waiving fees for passengers with non-refundable tickets between the United States and the UK and on all domestic flights.

Those fees range from $50 to $100. American has three daily flights between Logan International Airport and London.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is also waiving change fees, the company said in a statement this morning. Virgin has one daily flight between Logan and London.
(By Keith Reed, Globe staff)