CHICAGO/PARIS: A radical bid to revive air travel demand by permanently sacrificing billions of dollars in fees to change tickets has left U.S. airlines isolated, as foreign rivals fear the tactic would undermine the higher fares paid by premium travellers.
American Airlines , Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have all permanently axed the charges on domestic travel in recent days, followed by Alaska Airlines. Lufthansa has announced a waiver until year-end, while Air France-KLM has set no date for a resumption of fees and says it is unlikely to make them permanent.Analysts say restoring fees could prove near-impossible through the weak northern-hemisphere winter - and will only get tougher as consumers increasingly take new terms for granted.