Airlines Show Some Lenience on Zika
January 28 2016 - 8:50PM
Dow Jones News
In recent days, several U.S. airlines have said passengers
planning travel to destinations where Zika has spread can change to
alternative destinations, switch travel dates or cancel flights for
refunds. In most cases, the travelers must be pregnant or attest to
trying to become pregnant in order to exercise those options.
Delta Air Lines Inc. said customers can make fee-waived changes
to future tickets until Feb. 29. United Continental Holdings Inc.
said customers should contact its call centers to rebook or receive
refunds. United, on its website, included a link to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention's information on Zika, which now is
present in nine countries in South America, eight locales in the
Caribbean, Mexico and four nations in Central America.
American Airlines Group Inc., among the largest U.S. carriers to
Latin America, initially said it would refund customers who
provided doctor's notes saying they were unable to travel due to
pregnancy. But American later this week expanded the policy to
include pregnant women and their companion travelers, who still
would need a doctor's note related to the woman's pregnancy. The
company didn't disclose how many countries would be covered but
said it would review travelers' situations on a case-by-case basis.
JetBlue Airways Corp. joined in this week as well with a refund and
rebooking policy.
Hotel chain Hilton Worldwide, which has 109 properties in Latin
America and the Caribbean, said cancellations were being considered
on a case-by-case basis. "Hilton Worldwide is working closely with
local health departments and its properties to follow CDC
prevention recommendations for Zika virus," it said.
Ryan Dube contributed to this article.
Write to Susan Carey at susan.carey@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 28, 2016 20:35 ET (01:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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