Airlines have prolonged travel waivers for Los Angeles airports as wildfires proceed to burn in the world.
American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and other airlines serving the world have waived flight change fees for travelers booked into Los Angeles as town grapples with power outages, water and conservation shortages, and total damage to greater than 10,000 homes and other buildings.
According to flight tracking platform FlightAware, airports within the region were operating normally on Friday, but parts of town were still affected by the wildfires. Power outages were reported across Los Angeles County and residents within the decimated Pacific Palisades area were told to boil water or use bottled water. Parts of the county were also still under evacuation orders as firefighters tried to contain the fires.
American Airlines said Friday that travelers who’ve booked flights to or from Hollywood Burbank Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport and John Wayne Airport, which serves Orange County, can rebook and not using a change fee or fare difference in the event that they book by Be capable of fly in January. 20.
Southwest said the wildfires could impact service to those airports and that customers could rebook inside 14 days of their original travel date at no additional cost. Customers could also rebook their trips to other California cities: Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and San Diego.
Meanwhile a Delta Air Lines An executive said Friday that sales of flights to Los Angeles, one in all the airline's busiest hubs and a provider of high-end business and leisure travel, had declined.
“We monitor sales by geographic region daily and have seen a decline in sales over this period, not a wholesale decline or an increase in cancellations, but a decline in sales,” Delta President Glen Hauenstein said in a press release In the earnings release, the airline also stated that it might otherwise see strong travel demand across its network. “Once the period is over we will probably be able to give an overview of how much we think this cost us. But I don’t think it will be significant for the quarter, hopefully not.”
However, Hauenstein said that after natural disasters there is usually a rise in demand as a consequence of reconstruction.
“Our condolences go out to everyone in Los Angeles affected by this,” he said. “But from a long-term airline perspective, we faced hurricanes, floods and all of that. And usually the effects occur in the initial phase, followed by a recovery period.”
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