US: Airlines add seats, cap fares in Caribbean ahead of Hurricane Maria

Airlines were flying bigger planes and adding flights Tuesday to get travelers out of Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands in the path of Hurricane Maria. American Airlines capped fares at $99 for standard coach seats and at $199 for premium seats through Sept. 24 for departures from 12 locations in the Caribbean. The fare caps apply to non-stop flights; connections may cost more. United capped fares at $384 for non-stop in economy class. It also added 500 seats to its flights Tuesday out of Puerto Rico. A larger flight left Aguadilla for Newark at 1:53 a.m. and seats were added to three Tuesday flights from San Juan, with an extra departure at 3:30 p.m. Delta added two flights Tuesday from San Juan to Atlanta on a Boeing 757 and Airbus A321, as it continued flying its full schedule to San Juan from Atlanta and JFK. Delta flights to St. Thomas remain canceled because of damage from Hurricane Irma, but are expected to resume Thursday and to St. Martin on Saturday. Delta capped main cabin fares at $199 through Sept. 21 for non-stop flights departing San Juan in Puerto Rico and from the Dominican Republic cities of Punta Cana, Santiago and Santo Domingo.<br/>