Travel Week in Review – April 2, 2021

Are you thinking about traveling? The pandemic has prices fluctuating from every aspect of how you get to a location and how much it costs to stay there. Paul Glenn with Executive Travel says the prices are going to shuffle as more people get vaccinated and travel starts to pick back up. Plane ticket prices may rise but will still be cheaper until corporate travel picks up. Labor Day is when he thinks prices could skyrocket. Read More…

Unused airline tickets are getting extra shelf life as the steep drop in travel demand extends into a second year due to COVID-19. Fewer flight credits are on the verge of lapsing after United and American Airlines recently extended expiration dates into 2022, following similar moves earlier in the crisis by rivals. About 11% of all open, unused tickets are now set to expire this year, down from 55% as of January 29, 2021. Read More…

When the pandemic sent travel into a tailspin, airlines updated their formerly strict policies on canceling or changing flights to encourage customers to book with confidence. But as the number of passengers ticks up, some of those old practices are creeping back – especially for the cheapest flights. For flights booked April 1 or later, some carriers are essentially reverting to pre-pandemic treatment of their latest expensive fares. That means basic economy fares on American will again be “non-changeable and non-refundable.” Read More…

Delta Air Lines said Wednesday it will stop blocking seats on its planes starting May 1, the last US Airlines to end the pandemic-era policy as more travelers return to the skies. Delta first started blocking middle seats and limiting capacity on smaller planes in April near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other airlines had similar policies, including Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Alaska Airlines, but they have since gone back to selling all seats. Read More…

Airlines are optimistic for the summer of 2021. Carriers are ramping up service and adding new destinations to meet the growing demand for domestic and leisure travel. United Airlines announced it will fly 52% of its 2019 schedule, adding 26 new non-stop routes to coastal vacation destinations taking off Memorial Day Weekend. American Airlines also announced it will add 10 new, returning, and seasonal routes from Austin. Delta Air Lines will introduce nine new routes while adding flights to more than 20 leisure destinations. Read More…