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The Aftermath: Will Airline Policies Hemorrhage Revenue?
In the dawn of the original COVID-19 outbreak in China, I was planning a Spring Break trip to Austin, Texas. For once I was actually going to put all my work on hold for a few days to explore a new city with a friend I made while I was pursuing my Bachelor’s degree. But then, the virus reared its ugly head in Washington and California. Before long, cases were reported in nearly every state. After extended discussion with my friend in Texas, I canceled my flight with American Airlines about 7 hours before the flight was supposed to take off from Knoxville.
That night I read that Gregory Fenves, the President of the University of Texas-Austin, made an announcement on Facebook that his wife had contracted the coronavirus while visiting New York the previous weekend (see here for his announcement).
I’m sure there are countless frustrating stories of this type, and I’m not going to lie by pretending like I wasn’t disappointed. However, the situation left me wondering how my circumstances might have differed if I had booked my flight with an airline besides American Airlines. In particular, I was left seeking the answers to two questions:
- Which airline would give me the best refund/cancelation deal at this present moment?
- Which airline might I have preferred to book with on the…