Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Minding Your Business: War, Your Airline Tickets
Aired March 13, 2003 - 07:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk money right now. In the event that the U.S. goes to war, what happens if you have an airline ticket and you don't want to fly?
Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business." It could affect thousands of people right now, who may be in this very scenario.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Bill.
Millions of people. I mean, the amount of people flying at this time of year is tremendous, people looking to go on spring break. Kind of all over the board here.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) spring break?
SERWER: Yes.
ZAHN: We've all cancelled our vacations.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: Well, some people have here...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Over and over again.
SERWER: Listen, the airlines are providing some flexibility here, though, this morning. I want to run through some pointers here for people looking to travel, concerned about the war.
Most transfer fees will be waived if flights are cancelled due to a war. The window for change varies. Some will let you reschedule your trip 60 days and 90 days. Across the board, though, don't look for a refund from your airline. They're simply not going to give you cash back. If you decide to go to Tokyo instead of Paris, obviously you have to pay the difference.
And let's look here. Now, some airlines are being better than others. Delta and Northwest will only let you change your ticket if it's an international trip. All of the others will let you change if it's domestic if a war breaks out. And Continental and US Air -- very interesting here -- even if there's a code red alert will waive penalties if you change your ticket.
So, the airlines are really trying to get you to fly, obviously...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Yes, kind of sort of, though. But don't you think they should be a little more forthcoming in terms of flexibility?
SERWER: Well, maybe Delta will be a little more flexible if they're listening to this report this morning.
HEMMER: But they could. But I mean, given the tough times for airlines right now, you'd think they'd want to serve their customers the best way they can.
SERWER: Yes, but then they lose money, because people cancel flights. So, you know, they're looking at a situation that's very difficult for them.
HEMMER: Got it. Quickly, the markets were up yesterday, huh?
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Yes, the futures are up this morning, too. So, we'll be looking forward to that, we hope.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: OK.
HEMMER: See you next hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired March 13, 2003 - 07:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk money right now. In the event that the U.S. goes to war, what happens if you have an airline ticket and you don't want to fly?
Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business." It could affect thousands of people right now, who may be in this very scenario.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Bill.
Millions of people. I mean, the amount of people flying at this time of year is tremendous, people looking to go on spring break. Kind of all over the board here.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) spring break?
SERWER: Yes.
ZAHN: We've all cancelled our vacations.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: Well, some people have here...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Over and over again.
SERWER: Listen, the airlines are providing some flexibility here, though, this morning. I want to run through some pointers here for people looking to travel, concerned about the war.
Most transfer fees will be waived if flights are cancelled due to a war. The window for change varies. Some will let you reschedule your trip 60 days and 90 days. Across the board, though, don't look for a refund from your airline. They're simply not going to give you cash back. If you decide to go to Tokyo instead of Paris, obviously you have to pay the difference.
And let's look here. Now, some airlines are being better than others. Delta and Northwest will only let you change your ticket if it's an international trip. All of the others will let you change if it's domestic if a war breaks out. And Continental and US Air -- very interesting here -- even if there's a code red alert will waive penalties if you change your ticket.
So, the airlines are really trying to get you to fly, obviously...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Yes, kind of sort of, though. But don't you think they should be a little more forthcoming in terms of flexibility?
SERWER: Well, maybe Delta will be a little more flexible if they're listening to this report this morning.
HEMMER: But they could. But I mean, given the tough times for airlines right now, you'd think they'd want to serve their customers the best way they can.
SERWER: Yes, but then they lose money, because people cancel flights. So, you know, they're looking at a situation that's very difficult for them.
HEMMER: Got it. Quickly, the markets were up yesterday, huh?
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Yes, the futures are up this morning, too. So, we'll be looking forward to that, we hope.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: OK.
HEMMER: See you next hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
