American Airlines is stepping back from fees of as much as $750 to change tickets for international travel, largely abandoning a widely loathed charge as the company rushes to lure passengers back to its long-distance flights. Change fees will cease on flights originating in North or South America for all but the cheapest “basic economy” fares, American said Thursday. The new policy, which covers most of American’s long-haul international passengers, follows a decision by US carriers earlier this year to end change fees on domestic service even after the coronavirus pandemic abates. Giving up the lucrative charges on overseas trips signals the urgency of American’s push to revive international travel, which has all but vanished since March. American got $800m from ticket changes last year, part of a $2.8b pie from all fees collected by the top 10 US airlines, according to the DoT. Domestic passenger traffic today is at just 35% of 2019 levels and international flying is down even more. “We are committed to making travel easier for our customers who fly on American,” Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja said. “By eliminating change fees, we’re giving customers more flexibility no matter when or where they plan to travel.”<br/>
oneworld
Cathay Pacific is pouring more resources into profitable air freight, temporarily transferring 20 pilots to its subsidiary cargo-only airline in anticipation of strong demand in 2021. The airline is making use of new flexible employment contracts – which 2,613 cockpit crew members signed in spite of massive pay cuts under the airline’s company-wide restructuring – to redeploy otherwise grounded pilots. Hong Kong’s bailed-out flag carrier wants 10 captains and 10 first officers to fly for Air Hong Kong for three to 12 months, citing an increase in charter freighter flights sought by Cathay Pacific’s cargo business. “Continued increased demand from Cathay Pacific Cargo has created an opportunity for 20 pilots to fly with Air Hong Kong,” a company spokeswoman said. “We are requesting volunteers initially from the Cathay Pacific crew who are qualified to fly the aircraft. Any such secondments are simply to cover additional short-term cargo demand over and above current plans and are not related to any new aircraft deliveries.”<br/>