Delta Air Lines offers free rebooking for ‘July Fourth’

Bloomberg

Delta Air Lines Inc, which has struggled with flight delays and cancellations this summer, is letting passengers change their travel plans for the “potentially challenging” Fourth of July holiday weekend without having to pay a fare difference.
The “unique” waiver is available across Delta’s system for trips July 1 through 4, as long as customers travel between the same origin and destination airports, the airline said in a statement. In a letter to loyalty program members, Delta said will be “the busiest holiday period we have seen since the pandemic.”
Many US carriers have struggled to handle domestic demand that has roared back to pre-pandemic levels as Covid-19 cases slowed. A shortage of pilots and other workers has hampered the industry.
“Delta people are working around the clock to rebuild Delta’s operation while making it as resilient as possible to minimise the ripple effect of disruptions,” the Atlanta-based airline said. “Even so, some operational challenges are expected this holiday weekend.”
Delta has cancelled about 3% of its flights since the start of June, with 21% delayed arrivals averaging 59 minutes, according to FlightAware.com. That compares with 5% cancellations and 29% delays at American Airlines Group Inc, and 1% canceled flights and 30% delayed at Southwest
Airlines Co.
To receive the fair difference waiver, trips have to occur by July 8. Any applicable change fees also are being waived.