About 11% of all open, unused flight credits are set to expire this year, down from 55% as of January 29, according to Bloomberg. The reduction reflects United and American Airlines’ decision to extend expiration dates into 2022, following similar moves by rivals.
The shift in expiration dates of the flight tickets reflects an adjustment by airlines to accommodate customers in the fluid travel environment.
The changing rules suggest the uncertain recovery of air travel after last year’s unprecedented collapse following the coronavirus pandemic.
As airlines extend deadlines, flight-credit expirations in 2022 have risen to 89% from 45% before.
Following the grounding of air travel at the onset of the pandemic, airlines turned to issue customers travel credits and vouchers for future trips.
About $11.7 billion travel credits and vouchers remained in the books of the six largest U.S carriers at the end of last year.
About 8% of new bookings are made with flight credits now, up from 1% to 2% historically.
Airlines may extend expiration dates again if the recent uptick in domestic flight demands wanes-Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge.
While domestic passenger levels are the highest since the start of the pandemic, traveler volumes are still down 44%, compared to a similar period in 2019.American and United Airlines stocks are currently gaining. AAL: NASDAQ is up 1.62% on premarket, UAL: NASDAQ is up 2.02% on premarket.
