The coronavirus pandemic has brought an unprecedented time of change and cancelation flexibility with all of the major airlines. While the situation is changing daily – and sometimes hourly – it's you can change or cancel almost any existing reservation for a waiver for any travel through April.
Read how all airlines are allowing free change and cancellation on many flights.
But just because the airlines are waiving change fees doesn't mean the process is easy. With anxiety running high, airlines have been swamped with calls and messages, leading to hours (if not days) of delays to get a final answer. And in some cases, airlines' systems aren't yet able to handle these changes online – requiring an extra step and causing more frustration.
Delta is specifically asking to leave phone and message lines clear unless your request is urgent, as are other airlines. Getting an agent to help via phone or Twitter direct messaging is proving to be extremely difficult.
At a minimum, expect long wait times of six-plus hours – if not much, much more.
Here are four tips to help you navigate the process of changing or canceling an existing flight reservation amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Be Patient and Let the Airlines Catch Up
We've contacted both Delta and American Airlines over the past few days with change and cancelation requests. Both airlines' phone lines are absolutely slammed. In fact, we received messages that “call volume is too high, and to try calling later.” There hasn't even been an option for a callback line in some cases.
The experience hasn't been much better via Twitter direct messaging – oftentimes a much faster way to deal with airline issues than picking up the phone and calling their customer service line. In our experience, requests that typically take minutes were taking up to 12 hours or not answered at all.
The airlines' systems are simply overwhelmed. And unless your flight is scheduled to depart in the next few days, we recommend waiting at least a week or two before contacting them about a date change or a cancelation.
Don't Cancel or Change Online
Airlines are granting these change and cancelation waivers to reassure anxious travelers – and convince them to keep buying tickets. Delta was the first major U.S. carrier to apply these waivers retroactively for upcoming travel, though other airlines have eventually matched that policy.
But actually getting these waivers has proven more complicated. The airlines are not set up to issue them or to waive cancelation fees online. It requires a manual touchpoint with a customer service agent at the airline to get this processed correctly.
Canceling online will create more work as you will need to call the airline or contact them via Twitter to have them remove the cancelation or change fee. It's best to have a customer service agent help you out.
Use Twitter Direct Messaging
In our experience, there is no easier or faster way to sort out a problem with your flight than direct messaging an airline on Twitter. And if you don't have a twitter account, it could be worth setting one up just to get a private line into the airline employees who can help you out.
And amid the coronavirus outbreak, it might be your best bet on getting through to the airline for help with your reservation. As mentioned, even the dedicated customer service lines for the airlines' elite flyers are currently slammed – requiring 6 hours or more of waiting time for an agent to help you out.
Yesterday, I was unable to get through to the American Airlines customer service line. It simply said call volume was too high and to try again later before automatically disconnecting the call. I sent my request to their twitter account via direct messaging, and while it took almost 12 hours, I was able to get an agent to help me out and cancel our flights.
Our flights were scheduled to depart today (March 12). And as mentioned above, if you have time to wait, give it a few weeks before contacting the airlines. They are slammed.
If you don't have time, Twitter is likely your best bet if you can't get through to via phone, or try both and see which is faster.
We won’t list all the accounts here, but here’s a smattering of some of the largest airlines on Twitter.
- @AmericanAir
- @Delta
- @United
- @SouthwestAir
- @jetBlue
- @AlaskaAir
- @British_Airways
- @Lufthansa_USA
- @Iberia_en
- @AirFrance
- @KLM
Be Nice to Customer Service Agents
Long wait times can be frustrating. But it is important to remember that the situation we are dealing with isn't the customer service agent's fault. They are just as frustrated as you are. This is unprecedented, and these agents have a lot of power to help you out and adjust your travels – or not if you're unpleasant.
We always say that kindness is a superpower and can go a long way to help you quickly resolve your travel issues. Crack a joke, tell them you appreciate the work they are doing, spread some love. We all need it right now.
Bottom Line
While the airlines are offering free changes and cancelation vouchers for flights due to the coronavirus outbreak, the process of actually getting it taken care of is proving to be difficult. If you have time, be patient. Wait a few weeks for the airlines' systems to catch up.
If your flights are departing within the next few days, Twitter will likely be your best bet.
Lead photo courtesy of Chris Lundberg via Flickr.
There was 4 in our party and one friend wanted theirs cancelled last month and of course she got the fee. That was with JetBlue so probably no way to reverse the fee at this point..
I received excellent customer service from Sun Country Airlines this week when I had to cancel my trip to Mexico due to illness. Due to the high volume of calls, there was a 20 minute wait for a customer service rep or the option to request a call back without losing my place in line. I chose the call back option and it was flawless. Cancellation fee was waived and full ticket amount transferred to a voucher for future use. I did purchase travel insurance for this trip, so I do have the option of filing a claim for refund.
What happens if you can’t get thru to cancel before the flight departs?
We haven’t seen any data points on how the airlines are handling this.
Can I go to the airport and talk to an agent at the desk to cancel my Saturday am flight?
You can but I’d do this as a last resort. Try calling or Twitter first. It should get handled before Saturday
We were supposed to be headed down to Puebla, Mexico THIS morning to work at the orphanage dental clinic we help run, but they have closed their doors to visitors due to the risk of COVID-19 and lack of measures to increase safety and decrease exposure at the MEX airport.
We booked through Chase rewards and so Delta will not cancel it for us but we have been on hold for over 20hrs since Wednesday and been disconnected 1-3hrs in to holding 8-9 times. We have tried email, TwitterDM, and sending a secure message but have heard nothing back. As a last ditch effort this AM I even called the MSP airport to see if I could get a desk agent on the phone even just to let them know we wouldn’t be showing up for our 9am departure, but can’t do that either. I would drive there, but I am stuck in Tampa until tomorrow AM.
Any suggestions?!?!?? Getting desperate as we have 2 award tickets and 3 cash worth $750 each we want to be sure to get cncld!
34min until takeoff and don’t even know what other option I have!
So sorry to hear about this, Haley. This has turned into an absolute mess. Given all the drama and trouble getting through, you should be able to file some kind of dispute with Chase in hopes of getting your points/cash back.
easyJet: I have been trying to cancel our upcoming flight from Paris to Marrakech on April 6, 2020 on easyJet. They state you can change or request a refund on their website (Manage Bookings), but there is no way I can find to do this. We can’t get to Paris (Delta cancelled), and no idea when we could reschedule this trip. We need a refund. Help!!
Hi Linda, sorry to hear this. I’d suggest reaching out to them on Twitter to see if they can help you out. Try and send them a direct message.
Thanks, Nick…I have reached out via Twitter and their message board. Hope to hear something soon!
Keep us posted!
I requested a flight change yesterday to fly earlier (on the 20th). My changed request hasn’t been confirmed yet and I’m suppose to fly in 4 days. (I also fly with 3 different airlines!) What happens if I get to the airport on that day but my flight change hasn’t been confirmed yet?
You’ll want to make sure you get this taken care of before your flight. Keep calling and trying Twitter direct messaging. Delta is prioritizing dealing with itinerary changes that depart within 72 hours. I’m not sure which airline you’re dealing with, but if it’s Delta, you should hear something soon.
Hey Nick – our flight isn’t until April 14th (MSP to MCO) and so far we aren’t doing anything about it, because we REALLY wanted to do this family vacation, but after hearing that Delta is grounding half their fleet, what happens if they cancel the flight? Are we better off canceling it soon and getting the vouchers? If they cancel due to all of this, will they still do the vouchers?
Kathy, there’s no telling whether Delta may cancel your flight or if all domestic travel may eventually be stopped. If that happens, you may be eligible for a full refund (versus a free change or a voucher for the value of your tickets).
There’s no harm in waiting to see how this plays out — for now. Delta is asking travelers to wait until their flights are 72 hours away before getting in touch. But you can always cancel online as well.