# Domestic Flight Fee Changes United Airlines is Waiving Its $200 Ticket Change Fee By Riley von Niessen | Published 2020-09-01 | Business Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ticket-change-fee References: [adweek](https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/united-permanently-cuts-ticket-change-fee/) & [inc](https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/uniteds-ceo-sent-an-email-at-three-thirty-in-morning-its-a-lesson-in-emotional-intelligence.html) To make the flying a little less stressful, [United Airlines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/live-radar-maps) announced that it will no longer require customers to pay the $200 flight change fee that it previously charged if they chose to switch flights on a domestic trip. The company has stated that these changes will remain in place permanently, and has also explained that customers will be able to add themselves to a different flight's standby list if their plans change. Scott Kirby, United Airline's CEO, spoke to the recent shift by stating, "You may remember as we emerged from previous tough times, we made difficult decisions to survive financially but sometimes at the expense of customer service, either by adding new fees or cutting the things that made the experience better. United Airlines won't be following that same playbook as we come out of this crisis. Instead, we're taking a completely different approach, and looking at ways to serve you better instead of defaulting to cuts." Image Credit: Adweek ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.0/10 - Popularity: 18% | Activity: 2% | Freshness: 9% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Business](https://www.trendhunter.com/business) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Fee-free Flight Changes:** Removing fees for changing domestic flights is a trend airlines are adopting to improve customer experience. - **Focus on Customer Experience:** A trend among airlines is to prioritize the customer experience by implementing policies that make flying less stressful. - **Permanent Policy Changes:** A trend among airlines is to introduce policy changes that are intended to remain in place permanently, rather than temporarily. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Airline Industry:** The airline industry has the opportunity to differentiate itself by focusing on customer-centric policies and improving the overall passenger experience. - **Travel and Tourism Industry:** The travel and tourism industry can benefit from airlines prioritizing the customer experience by making air travel more appealing and reducing stress for travelers. - **Hospitality Industry:** The hospitality industry can leverage the trend of fee-free flight changes by promoting hotels and other accommodations as flexible and accommodating to travel plans. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Text Message Aircraft Updates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/live-radar-maps.md) - [Wheelchair-Mindful Airline Services](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/travel-experiences.md) - [Satellite-Powered In-Flight WiFi](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/united-airlines-and-starlink.md) - [Fresh Meal-Focused Flight Experiences](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fresh-meals1.md) - [Improved Airline Performance Initiatives](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/airline-performance.md) - [Elevated Aircraft Interiors](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/elevated-aircraft-interior.md) - [Upgraded Airlines Mobile Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/airlines-mobile-app.md) - [RTD Airline Wine Offerings](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/economy-wines.md) - [Budget-Friendly First-Class Seating](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/frontier-airlines.md)