RELATED: Delta Just Made This Permanent Change for All Passengers, Starting Now. Like many airlines, United has recently updated a number of its flight rules. Many of these changes have been significant upgrades for passengers. In Nov. 2021, United Airlines finally started serving hard liquor on its flight again after banning the service during the height of the COVID pandemic. The airline also lifted its restriction on pre-departure beverages for premium passengers at the same time. “The ability to offer a complete food and beverage menu is something that we know is important to our customers,” United told CNN in a statement at the time. The carrier’s most recent change might be one of the most surprising to passengers. United Airlines confirmed that it is now allowing passengers to cancel their basic economy flight tickets, Travel + Leisure reported. This is the cheapest type of ticket you can book for the carrier, but it has often come with more restrictions than any other fare option as a result. According to the magazine, United’s new policy went into effect on April 13 and allows those who have bought a basic economy ticket to either upgrade to a standard economy ticket or cancel it.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb RELATED: For more travel news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. This major change to United’s cancellation policy doesn’t come without stipulations, however. To cancel a basic economy ticket, you will be charged a fee. For domestic flights, the cancellation fee is $49.50 for one-way tickets and $99 for roundtrip tickets. If you have an international flight, this cost is higher at $99.50 for a one-way ticket and $199 for roundtrip tickets. Passengers who pay to upgrade their ticket to standard economy instead will get “all of the benefits” of this type of fare, “including premier benefits, free seat assignments, a free carry-on bag and more,” as well as be able to reschedule their flight, a United Airlines spokeswoman told Travel + Leisure. “Or if a customer doesn’t want to rebook, they can cancel their trip and receive a residual credit for their basic economy ticket,” she said. The cancellation fee will come out of this credit, which will be worth the price of the ticket. The new policy is part of an overall push for the carrier to become accommodating to passengers, which could help them capitalize on increased air travel demand and beat out their competitors. “As part of an ongoing effort to offer more flexibility, United is making it easier for customers to change their Basic Economy tickets,” United’s spokeswoman told Travel + Leisure. According to the magazine, Delta Air Lines and JetBlue are two of the only other major U.S. carriers that allow customers to cancel a basic economy ticket. Delta charges a cancellation fee of $99 to $199, depending on your flight. For any basic JetBlue ticket bought after June 8, 2021, the airline has a $100 cancellation fee for flights within the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America, or a $200 fee for all other routes. But carriers such as American Airlines and Alaska Airlines don’t allow any changes to basic economy tickets—even with a fee, Travel + Leisure reports. RELATED: United Is Finally Bringing Back This Service for Travelers.
