British Airways and American Airlines have announced they
will waive change fees for the next two weeks as the demand for travel
continues to drop in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
While both American Airlines and BA have cut capacity on
routes to mainland China and northern Italy in response to the crisis, the
carriers now say they want to give any traveller the “flexibility to delay
travel”.
BA’s fee waiver will apply to new bookings made between 3 and
16 March, while American put the agreement into force on 1 March. Both will
allow customers to make changes their bookings so long as they are requested 14
days prior to travel.
Any fare difference incurred by a date change will still
apply.
Andrew Brem, BA’s CCO, said: “As some customers may choose
to change or delay their travel plans at the moment, it’s important we offer
them greater flexibility. By waiving our change fee our customers can have the
added confidence to book a trip with British Airways that suits them.”
Meanwhile, according to BTN's Donna M Airoldi, Peninsula Hotels has extended the cancellation policy it enacted due to the spread of the coronavirus to all of its properties, not just those in Greater China. Travellers to any Peninsula hotel at any location across the globe can cancel their bookings through 30 April without a fee, a company spokesperson said.