Update: 1/18: American has finally added NYC to their weather waiver.
Winter Storm Harper is predicted to dump heavy snow across the Midwest and East coast this weekend.
Airlines typically allow free changes and cancellations for tickets booked for travel during major weather events, with the exact dates varying based on the city. This post will be updated as airlines post their waiver rules.
Alaska Airlines is waiving fees for tickets bought by 1/17 for travel on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday for Boston only.
If you have tickets for those dates you can make proactive changes now to travel from 1/21 through 1/25, free of charge. If you have to change your outbound flight, airlines will also allow you to change your return flight as well.
Air Canada has weather waivers in place for airports like Chicago, Detroit, LaGuardia, Montreal, Newark, Philadelphia, and Toronto. See their link above for free change options.
American has 2 separate weather waivers:
- Airports in the Midwest, like Chicago, Cleveland and Kansas City, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Friday or Saturday
- Airports on the East Coast, like Boston, JFK, LaGuardia, Montreal, Newark, Pittsburgh, and Toronto, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Saturday or Sunday.
If you have tickets for those dates you can make proactive changes now to travel from today through 1/23, free of charge. If you have to change your outbound flight, airlines will also allow you to change your return flight as well.
Delta has 2 separate weather waivers:
- Airports in the Midwest, like Chicago, Cleveland and Kansas City, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Friday or Saturday
- Airports on the East Coast, like Boston, JFK, LaGuardia, Montreal, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Toronto, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Saturday or Sunday.
If you have tickets for those dates you can make proactive changes now to travel from today through 1/23, free of charge. If you have to change your outbound flight, airlines will also allow you to change your return flight as well.
Frontier has 2 separate weather waivers:
- Airports in the Midwest, like Chicago, Cleveland and Kansas City, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Saturday
- Airports on the East Coast, like LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington DC, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
If you have tickets for those dates you can make proactive changes now to travel from today through 1/31, free of charge. If you have to change your outbound flight, airlines will also allow you to change your return flight as well.
JetBlue is waiving change fees for tickets bought by 1/17 for travel on Saturday or Sunday, 1/19-1/20 for airports including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
If you have tickets for those dates you can make proactive changes now to travel from today through 1/23, free of charge. If you have to change your outbound flight, airlines will also allow you to change your return flight as well.
Southwest has 3 separate waivers:
- Airports in the Plains, like Omaha, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Thursday or Friday
- Airports in the Midwest, like Cleveland and Kansas City, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Friday or Saturday
- Airports on the East Coast, like Boston, LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Chicago has been added to this waiver.
If you have tickets for those dates you can make proactive changes now to travel from today through 14 days of your original travel date, free of charge. If you have to change your outbound flight, airlines will also allow you to change your return flight as well.
Spirit has 2 separate waivers:
- Airports in the Midwest, like Chicago, Cleveland, and Kansas City, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Friday or Saturday
- Airports on the East Coast, like Boston, LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
If you have tickets for those dates you can make proactive changes now to travel from today through 1/23, free of charge. If you have to change your outbound flight, airlines will also allow you to change your return flight as well.
United has 3 separate waivers:
- Airports in the Plains, like Omaha, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Friday
- Airports in the Midwest, like Chicago, Cleveland, and Kansas City, currently have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Saturday
- Airports on the East Coast, like Boston, LaGuardia, Montreal, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Toronto, have a waiver if you are booked for travel on Saturday or Sunday.
- Chicago currently has a waiver if you are booked for travel on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
If you have tickets for those dates you can make proactive changes now to travel from today through 1/23, free of charge. If you have to change your outbound flight, airlines will also allow you to change your return flight as well.
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126 Comments On "Roundup Of Airline Travel Weather Waivers For This Weekend: AA, Air Canada, Alaska, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, And United"
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I booked an Etihad award through AA, do I need to wait for Etihad to issue a Travel Waiver?
No, an AA waiver would cover that.
Thanks for making things so simple!!
Would the same be true to cancel your trip all together?
Depends on the agent, but typically this is just to change your flight.
If your flight is cancelled then you would get a refund of course.
How about Delta?
Read the post.
My return is on Sunday but outbound on Thursday. Will they let me change?
Yes.
is this for united mileage tickets as well?
Yes.
Nice of Mr. Harper to bring back a souvenir from Antarctica
i have a flight Sunday with united. if i don’t do the waiver i don’t get my miles back?
what about a united vacation package? Will they waive hotel as well?
Call and ask.
Will IHG allow waivers for hotel stays in Syracuse? Thank you.
Looks like New York won’t get the storm that bad this weekend.
If I have a flight booked for Sunday out of Newark can I change to a different airport on the same day?
Can’t hurt to call and ask.
Which airport in the Tri-State area do you believe will be a better solution (weather-wise)?The farther west you go, the stronger the intensity of the storm.
I would leave Thursday and stay with my sister in DC and leave from there Sunday.
JFK
What about if booked through chase rewards?
I have a United flight Sunday from Newark, but coming back in the end of the week with JetBlue – Booked it on Expedia – any way to change JetBlue flight too?
I’m on UA1038 CLE-CUN leaving at 6:26a Saturday…I should be good…right….right????
Southwest has an advisory posted for select midwest airports.
I had a ticket for this past Tue night (Delta)(LGA-YUL) and returning this Saturday night (united)(booked on priceline). Something came up I couldn’t use either part of this ticket. I assume United might let me cancel and get refunded for the Saturday night flight. Would there be any way to get Delta to refund their part (Tuesday).
I doubt they will give you a refund on the ticket since you didn’t use the flight leg. You need to call before your flight.
Does Chase Sapphire Reserve insurance allow me to get reimbursed for booking a one-way flight on a new carrier, or only for hotels/incidentals if I actually get delayed missing my connecting flight?
If I get back this Friday to New York at noon. When I qualify for I change?
I’m on the $600 ElAl flight this Sunday and have 3 paid tickets from NY to YYZ ..Friday…MS and Sunday morning but on AC and AA not . Must cancel 2 them.
i have a 6 am flight from ewr jet blue to Orlando i hope we make it out!
I’ve got a Spirit flight Sunday morning. Am I screwed?
With Spirit—- yep
I flew last January on a Friday morning after a Thursday night blizzard where my Spirit flight was one of the only ones to take off out of Newark. You never know!
Yes, The moment you put your thought into action. sorry.
Good old Yeshiva Break and its impeccable timing
can i do this for a ticket i booked today for sunday EWR-TLV to go tomorrow instead?
Yes.
is this limited to United or any airline departing these airports?
Is there any waiver for JetBlue from.newark on sunday?
Looks like the other airlines are being much more optimistic than UA.
I have a ticket for Saturday night from LaGuardia but spirit airline won’t change my flight to an earlier flight with out charging me full price
Spirit is being a dick. They wont post a weather advisory yet even though they know about the weather. Theyre doing this to me too. Im flying from Detroit to LaGuardia Saturday night returning Monday morning. So far wer just out the money.
Easy solution, don’t fly with Spirit again. You end up paying in different ways, in more ways than one
I’m flying out of ORD on Sunday, and received an email about a weather warning and waiver. I guess it’s Sunday as well.
Just curious. If would want to fly ewr-tlv next wednesday, but there are no saver seats available on either direct flight. Can I book now a flight for this sunday, which has saver seats avail and have them switch the flights to wednesday?
Should work u as u have 24 hours to cancel uh might get lucky as well to get the direct flight
you do not always have 24 hours to cancel if you are flying within a certain time frame..make sure before you book!
Airlines tend to write into the waiver policy, that the tickets must be ticketed before X Date (usually before it’s known that there will be a waiver + airline must have availability on new flight, in same ticketing fare code, as original flight).
Southwest now also has an advisory
If the return was booked as a separate one way not within the waiver days, would they let me change it?
I have the same issue .. booked on a different airline for the return through Frontier airlines and I am wondering if I could change that also
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/travel-alerts.jsp
even if they waive the my change fees they are still going to charge me the difference in fare? am i mistaken?
Come on Delta! Get with the program!
And Jetblue…
Link?
Sorry Dan-that was a comment to the previous comment to delta getting w the program. Spoke to JB earlier, they are monitoring all closely and will advise as needed.
Ha! Gotta click reply for that 🙂
Noted! Hopefully i get out of JFK Sunday morning. Not looking promising.
Delta. WTH?
I had a JetBlue flight for Sunday leaving out of EWR, booked through Chase portal with poini, and they let me change it yesterday ( to today, just arrived a little bit ago). I told them I couldn’t wait til Friday or Saturday for religious reasons. They made the change with no fees for “weather and religious” reasons. I didn’t even call, did it all on Facebook IM.
Tried calling chase. They called Jetblue and said fee and the difference in airfare would apply.
I went straight to JetBlue
I have a flight leaving Newark Sunday on Viva Aerobus to Cancun. How can I find out updates on my flight for possible flight changes to avoid the winter storm.
I was on the phone with Jet Blue, they said they already accept no-fee cancellations even though they haven’t advertised an official waiver.
Were you able to rebook?
I am still waiting to see how it all cooks out
Best of luck.
I have also a flight going out Sunday morning from ewr and hoping for the best (can’t go this week)!!!!
I love this quote – “Alaska has not yet issued a weather waiver”
Of course not, they are used to snow up there.
Any way to be notified only when this post is updated?
unrelated good news: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/193288-190116-florida-governor-warns-airbnb-to-review-settlement-ban-or-face-state-sanctions
I just DM’d DL on Twitter, and they told me “I think something will come out soon. Just keep an eye out on our Twitter page”. FWIW.
Frontier just posted an expanded travel waiver.
thanks for helping out, have a flight with jet blue on sunday
Delta is the worst. Been calling them and no waiver yet. Theyre either in denial or just don’t really care about inconveniencing travelers.
I called United, they’re only allowing changes, not cancellations (I didn’t huca to confirm)
Correct.
Any news with AC?
Have a few flights in the next few days.
Not that I see.
Thanks for the update. i hope the flights are running tom. and not get stuck in Toronto for shabbos.
Potentially silly question. If you booked through Delta but they put you through Virgin Atlantic and KLM if Delta issues a flight waiver can you still make changes through Delta booking?
Yes.
Deltas posting a waiver this afternoon
If you have a flight Sat night with 5 people, what’s the consensus wait to see what happens or change preemptively for Sunday so all those flights do not get totally booked!? I have never had to do this (cali transplant in NY)
leaving jfk on turkish.. no real options of an earlier flight…
Jetblue has a waiver
i can keep my Sunday morning flight from ewr at 6am or change to Saturday night 940 what would you do if i my ask?
Only paid $75 for same-day flight change tomorrow for both American and Delta.
Can I book a flight right now for one of these days and then switch it to a flight in 3 months from now for free?
Most airlines have certain restrictions for this. For example, “must be booked before x date”
United now also allows Chicago on Friday
Delta Midwest only
https://www.delta.com/us/en/advisories/weather-alerts/central-plains-and-ohio-valley-winter-weather
what about caribbean airlines?
I am flying American out of Chicago on Saturday. No waiver for Chicago at all. United, Delta, Jet Blue and Southwest all have a waiver in place for Chicago. I can’t believe American does not. There is a winter weather advisory in place and poor driving conditions to even get to ORD.
Spirit Changed my FLL>LGA from Satruday Night to Friday Free of charge
spirit issued waiver
https://www.spirit.com/TravelAdvisory.aspx?culture=en-US
Its worthless.
AA Just added a whole bunch of airports but its still ignoring NYC.
I noticed. Weird. I’m hoping they know something no one else does:-). Scheduled to fly out of lga on aa on sunday.
I’m on areoflat flight out of jfk sunday…is there a waiver or it’s only for American based airlines?
What about ELAL?any change
I called elal and they said there aren’t even any weather conditions to worry about. Typical Israeli arrogance
No waivers or changes without penalty
Good luck finding an alternative flight.
used virgin atlantic points for delta flight. I should call delta,right?
I booked 2 separate one way tickets 1.Spirit from EWR-FLL on Sunday 6am and returning with 2. Jet Blue Tuesday am -FFL-JFK. If my out-going flight is delayed will Jet Blue honor the waiver for my return?
Copa Airlines please get on board! They have not offered a waiver from O’Hare yet, and my flight is departing at 12:30am-in the height of the storm. It would be nice to leave this afternoon so that I can meet my group in San Jose in a timely manner.
I’m traveling from Milwaukee to O’Hare and the last Copa flight today leaves at 1:30pm. It won’t be terribly useful to have a waiver offered after that time. I’ll end up with a completely different set of travel arrangements, including possibly having to drive myself 3 hours to Manuel Antonio. Or, pay hundreds for individual transportation. I would much rather book a room in Panama City for this evening for a fraction of the cost.
I have an LH flight, booked via United MilagePlus, flying into JFK Sunday. Contacted United to make a change, but they claimed there’s no weather related waiver for Sunday at this time?
Thank you for this helpful information. I had a trip to Bermuda booked with miles on Delta this weekend. Just called, cancelled and got the miles back due to the travel waiver. Well done, Dan!
i thought a waiver doesn’t give you the right to cancel or does that vary by airline?
Alaska issued a waiver for Boston
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/advisories/travel-advisories?lid=Homepage&int=AS_HomePage_Advisory
Now waiver for NYC as well.
Aa issued waiver for NYC but they changed the issue date to 1/16 from 1/17. So crazy
AA has added NYC. I just received an email from them telling me that I can change my sunday flight from lga for no charge. Keeping it for now and hoping for the best since I cant leave sooner at this point anyway.
The only airport left off the American waiver now is Philadelphia! Hoping for the best for my Sunday evening flight out of Philly!
Can someone please explain to me what I am missing? ALL the weather reports that I am looking at say rain. Not snow.
Do airports really cancel so many flights due to rain?
I have a flight leaving 643 am Sunday morning out of Newark. Do I need to worry and reschedule do to the rain?
Are there supposed to be heavy winds?
I am in same boat and wondering if I should switch my flight to Monday morning to play it safe (only 3 tickets left which is what I need).
Anyone have advice on this?
I have a sat night flight booked on elal which seems to still be flying, at least the website says as scheduled. Is elal offering any flight changes? Is there a shot they are really even departing?
Delta canceled for me free of charge for travel on Teusday. #JustSaying
Just spoke to AA, for each day you delay your outgoing trip, they will add a day to your return trip. Keep in mind this 1:1 exchange when extending your tickets!
I just learned the hard way that JetBlue is no better than Spirit in that they have no interline agreements…had a flight out of Newark to Florida for Sunday morning and they cancelled the Flight (they cancelled 3 out of 4 flights for tomorrow). It can’t be weather related as United didn’t cancel any flights at the exact same time. Anyways, JetBlue couldn’t book us another flight until Monday night. I ended up having to book on United and pay 2.5 times the original fare. Never again JetBlue.
I was able to get from JFK tomorrow 1:55 PM I was on the 6 am flight.
I also booked a ticket on spirit airlines for tomorrow 7 30 am and paid only $100 more
Unfortunately, I needed to leave today, not tomorrow. I understand if there was truly a weather need to cancel the flight, but from the fact that United was able to fly all of their flights out of Newark shows that it had nothing to do with the weather. As I said, never again with JetBlue.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/united-airlines-passenger-walks-away-with-10-000-voucher-1.4590801
is there a waiver code or travel 1/19 on AA flt 3011 from FSD to ORD.
thanks