Oct 27, 2009 1:00 pm US/Pacific
Airline Cancellation Policies
(CBS 5)
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A passenger holds an airline ticket.
AP
We asked several major airlines to explain their policies with regard to sick passengers and the need to change flights. Here are the questions we posed:
- If a passenger is ill with swine flu at the time of his or her scheduled flight, do you waive flight change fees?
- What if a customer presents a doctor's note advising no travel?
- If you have no such policy, have you considered one?
- If you have no policy, do you take responsibility if the sick person decides to fly in spite of illness and other customers become ill?
- Finally, what should a passenger do to get flight change fees waived in this situation?
Not all airlines chose to answer all questions. Here the statements we have received:
From Virgin Atlantic:
If a person calls and has to delay their flight because of a confirmed case (of H1N1), then we will reschedule the passenger for a later flight without a change fee.
I can confirm that Virgin Atlantic assesses passengers based on our usual policy for communicable viruses or diseases. We have had procedures and equipment in place for many years to enable our crew to deal with any passenger who becomes ill in-flight.
Our staff, both on the ground and in the air, are able to obtain immediate medical advice from MedLink, 24 hour medical support for commercial airlines.
If our airport or airline staff have any concerns due to passengers not looking or feeling well, they can seek further guidance from our medical experts who will decide if a passenger is fit to fly. In accordance with International Health Regulations we won't carry a passenger suspected of suffering from any infectious disease and will ask them to return to the airport when they are well again. If they are on a non-refundable ticket, then we will seek to place the passenger on the next available flight, at our cost.
From JetBlue:
We continue to work with Air Transport Association (ATA) in collaboration with CDC and DHS to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus. We have the infrastructure and teams in place in preparation for H1N1 virus or a similar event.
All JetBlue flights have Onboard Service Kits that containing alcohol wipes, extra gloves, and five masks available to be used by ill customers. In addition, we are confident that our cleaning procedures act as a redundant barrier to the spread of infection. It's useful to note that all JetBlue aircraft utilize the latest technology in HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arrestor) filters. The total cabin air content on each of our aircraft is replaced more than 30 times an hour which is more than once every two minutes; this far exceeds the exchange rate in an office building. In addition, each two-minute cycle is made up of half fresh air and half re-circulated air. Our aircraft HEPA filters offer filtration comparable to those used in hospital operating rooms and are capable of trapping contaminants down to 0.3 micron in size.
At nearly all our stations we have installed hand sanitizers for crewmembers. At Terminal 5 at JFK we also have them for our customers (that's the only terminal that JetBlue controls vs. our smaller operations at all other airports where an airport authority would be in control of the customer areas). If our crewmembers feel ill, we urge them to stay home and consult a health care provider to determine appropriate next steps.
The health and safety of JetBlue crewmembers and customers is paramount; we will not hesitate to take further action should we feel it is necessary to protect crewmembers and customers.
From US Airways:
US Airways continues to work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and following their guidance as we prepare our procedures. We're in contact with the CDC and the World Health Organization and are following all prescribed protocols.
There are no travel advisories at the moment. If and when we do issue a travel advisory, customers can get the latest updates on usairways.com. We're actively monitoring the situation and will update our travel advisory as needed.
We're also communicating with our employees on staying healthy in the workplace. Flight Attendants and customer facing employees have tools available to help contain germs (hand sanitizers, gloves, etc.) These items are replenished often.
When customers need to make changes to nonrefundable tickets, change fees generally apply. We have not amended our policy to allow customers experiencing flu like symptoms to avoid change penalties. Tickets allowing flexibility are available at time of purchase, generally at a premium fare.
From Southwest:
Paul Flanigan at Southwest told us the company feels that its overall cancellation policy covers the scenario of a passenger with the H1N1 flu. Their cancellation policy is online and mandates no fees for canceling or changing flight dates. (Check page 10 of the document for the refunds section.)
From United:
Whenever a passenger is too ill to fly, we will waive the change fee. Here is our policy.
From British Airways:
If the customer has a refundable ticket there is no problem, but if it is a non-refundable ticket he/she will need to contact the airline. Each case is assessed individually, but if a customer has a compelling medical reason with a valid doctor's note or evidence of hospitalization, the airline can refund the ticket or apply the payment to future travel. British Airways recommends buying travel insurance each time customers travel to ensure that no matter the circumstance they will be taken care of.
From American:
As a company, we work closely with the CDC, Department of Homeland Security and other public health officials to address appropriate responses to medical outbreaks of this nature. We created our current emergency response plan for handling unexpected and urgent situations using this knowledge and immediately put the plan into action at the first sign of the H1N1 flu outbreak.
American has taken preventive measures to minimize crew exposure by supplying all aircraft with ancillary medical kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitizer wipes, and thermometer strips.
Beyond that, we have our standard measures in place to identify passengers who are too ill to travel, whether that is with H1N1 or any other illness. Our policies are in place and active for communicable illnesses and not specific to H1N1 flu. Neither WHO nor CDC guidelines call for any other measures at this time.
Our conditions of carriage allow us to deny boarding to a passenger who has a communicable disease that has been determined by a federal public health authority to be transmissible to other persons in the normal course of flight. In that instance, we can preserve the value of that passenger's ticket for future travel.
If a person chooses not to travel because of an illness or for other reasons, then the value of their ticket is governed by the applicable fare rules. For a non-refundable ticket, the value of the ticket can be used for future travel - minus the applicable change fee.
That is the process we have in place. If public health officials change recommendations or other circumstances change, then we have the ability in the future to put in other processes for H1N1. We have not at this time.
From Virgin America:
We have not had an issue to date with H1N1, but we will continue to follow our normal cancellation/change policies (i.e. if you have an illness with a doctor's note we will cancel any flight without a penalty).
We also offer travel insurance.
Below are the precautions Virgin America is currently taking:
We've continued to follow the direction of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and our flight crews are trained in First Aid procedures and to be aware of airborne pathogens (like H1N1). If they encounter them, they have specific steps to follow at the advice of doctors-on-call through our medical partner MedLink (via air-to-ground communication if this happens in-flight). Airport staff also have access to MedLink to help evaluate potentially ill guests;
We've introduced antibacterial hand wipes, antibacterial gel on planes and at airports for crew use (we also have Method antibacterial gel at counters and gates for guests);
Although the CDC has not recommended this as of yet, we've also equipped our cabins with masks for potentially ill guests, as a precautionary measure;
We have removed all pillows and blankets from day flights. On red eye flights we offer a limited amount of sterilized and pre-wrapped pillows and blankets for each individual use.
Also, an interesting point that is not often reported re: aircraft air quality: Virgin America's new Airbus fleet actually re-circulates and sterilizes 100 percent of the air on the plane every 3-15 minutes. Which essentially means in terms of air quality that you're in a safer environment than in a theatre, crowded restaurant or other enclosed space.
From Air France:
An Air France spokesperson told us they are currently reviewing their policy and will be updating their website at some point, but for now, customers should call to find out what the current policy is.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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