Many airlines have generous rebooking policies for people who purchased tickets to Israel before 10/7.
- American has allowed rebookings on El Al.
- Delta has allowed free date changes for flights booked through next September.
United originally allowed rebooking to Amman, Athens, or Dubai. Commercial flights between Amman and Tel Aviv have been suspended since 10/6, so that was never a practical connecting option. However, the Athens and Dubai options offered passengers the ability to book separate travel from those cities to Israel. Some passengers have even been able to get United to rebook them onto El Al.
However, while other airlines have extended their waiver, United has failed to extend their waiver beyond 11/30. I reached out to United multiple times over recent weeks, but the airline had no comment on a waiver, merely reiterating, “Our flights to TLV remain suspended until conditions allow them to resume.”
But while United was unwilling to make a public comment on a waiver extension, DDF member Solma sent me the following internal email that United sent to their reservation agents:
The memo states that United will be extending its Israel flight suspension, which is no surprise. But surprisingly, they will no longer accommodate changes to nearby airports like Athens and Dubai. United says that’s due to most stranded passengers being accommodated. However, because so few seats are available to fly from the US to Israel these days, customers who purchased travel long ago from December 1st and onward are getting the short end of the stick.
Granted, United’s seasonal service to Athens is ending next week, but I can’t understand why United won’t allow reroutings to other European cities, such as Amsterdam, London, Milan, Paris, or Rome, that have nonstop flights to Israel available for purchase.
Instead, United is only allowing rebookings to Amman, which has no flights to Israel currently, or a refund, only after United cancels its flights.
With United canceling many flights close-in to the flight departure date, it creates additional uncertainty for passengers who need to travel to or from Israel. Passengers assume United will cancel, but don’t want to book travel on another airline as United won’t offer a refund until they actually cancel the flight. United gets an interest-free loan on a flight it will likely cancel, but by the time United canceled the latest round of flights from Newark to Tel Aviv, prices to book alternate travel on El Al skyrocketed. United’s refusal to book alternate European travel just adds salt to those passenger’s wounds.
I think that these changes taken as a whole represent an unfair and deceptive practice.
During the pandemic, United tried claiming that flights weren’t canceled if they could find you an alternate flight within 25 hours and that passengers would have to wait a year for a refund.
The DOT announced in April 2020 that airlines had to provide timely refunds for US flights that they cancelled. The DOT announced again in May that fines would be coming for airlines that failed to come into compliance with timely refunds. The DOT highlighted United’s new policy as being deceptive and unfair.
That forced United to resume its pre-pandemic refund policy for canceled and changed flights.
If you find yourself in a situation where United didn’t cancel your flight until it became cost-prohibitive to book an alternate option, and they refuse to offer alternate flight options, I’d recommend filing a DOT informal or formal complaint against the airline. The DOT is slammed with informal complaints these days, so you might need to file a formal one to get a response.
A friend of mine who planned to make a Bar Mitzvah in Israel in 2 weeks from now was waiting for an extension of the waiver. Instead, he’s now facing expensive last-minute rebooking options and says that United supervisors have been extremely rude and abrupt in refusing to do anything to help him get to Israel.
You can message United to let them know your thoughts on this change and like and Retweet this post:
Hey @united, Why are you discontinuing your travel waiver for flights to #Israel when other airlines continue to accommodate their passengers with extended waivers?
What happened to #GoodLeadsTheWay? pic.twitter.com/zmSJsRiHtG— DansDeals (@DansDeals) November 21, 2023
Have you been able to get any changes done by United since this new no-favors, no-waivers policy went into effect?
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40 Comments On "Have A United Ticket To Israel After 11/30? Your Only Alternate Flight Option Will Be To Fly To Amman"
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They only offered to change my flight for up to 7 days before or after my cancelled flight, which since all those flights are cancelled is extremely unhelpful for obvious reasons.
Were they allowing full refunds for un-cancelled flights till now? What changed besides for ending the ATH flight?
Either way, United flights to the European airports you mentioned are typically cheaper than TLV so in most cases it would be worth getting a refund and purchasing a new ticket, or just changing and getting flight credit for the difference (unless it’s Basic Economy)
Awards can be cheaper to TLV now than to Europe (27k vs 40k).
But you can always cancel awards for free, so you’re not stuck with a ticket for a flight that will be cancelled.
But they don’t honor the price and flight they promised.
27k? Where?
It was posted here in the past.
Usually from TLV to EWR, not vice versa. They have it on and off, also limited seats at that price even if it shows XN9. It may go up by a couple of thousand when you book larger parties
Having the same issue with other airlines that cancelled flying to Israel, but won’t offer a waiver to actually cancel the advance purchased tickets
Dan.. pls help me understand Delta policy – I booked 2 tickets for Dec. They send a note they are cancelling till 2/5 – I still see my flight in itinerary. I purchased the tickets using amex offers and E credit – ( long story but I got reimbursed) – do I wait for them to cancel? will they cancel?
I assume then it goes to my CC.
and do i get the orig e- credit back to my account? I assume to wait is my best option?
not sure I understand waiver but cash is king
Thanks in advance for your help
When requested, United allowed us to use the waiver for Dec 6th through Rome (continuing on ElAl) and credited the difference.
What do you mean that they credited the difference? If rebooking with a waiver, they waive the difference. If the flight is cheaper, then they allow you to change and credit the difference with no change fee anyways.
I know a befitting United pilot for this flight…
Lol
I experienced this first hand. My flights could not be changed to anything remotely accommodating.
Wow, Dan took UA as a project
A family member has flights booked on AA for the end of December (one leg direct, and one leg a BA codeshare with a stopover in LHR). Any advice for the best approach? The direct AA flight no longer appears on the itinerary, but hasn’t been officially canceled yet. The BA codeshare leg is still showing up.
Call AA?
AA is doing reprotection on LY for tickets booked in econ before oct 7th?
Yes, though it may require a connection in Europe. Call AA to discuss options.
I had a flight booked 1/17 with my wife and kids. i pleaded with united saying even if things slow down, i cannot bring my kids to a war zone. eventually, they agreed to cancel the flights and issue a travel certificate that can be used for any passenger for the total amount. Being that i plan on going in the summer and travel for work, i will use it up pretty quickly
If you don’t plan on going anyway, why not wait till it gets cancelled? You can always fight for the credit in case it doesn’t.
yes we just got cancelled on sunday for our dec 11 flight tlv-ewr and returning on dec 25 ewr tlv thru your deal THNX AGAIN FOR THAT!!:) for our family of 9 ble”h and once we heard that united started cancelling flights we kept on calling and asking united if will cancel or refund me NOW [oct and nov] so can book elal and they said no as flight is on schedule and no we are not cancelling and if we do cancel we will rebook you elal we have recorded the conversation as well with the agents name! and now they refuse to put us on elal now!! we sent an email to the ceo of united scott@united.com,
scott.kirby@united.com one of the email got rejected the other one no response yet are these correct email address [i dont have twiiter to tweet:( any other options??]
how do we make a formal compliant with the dot thnx in advance
We have a direct flight jfk-tlv with Delta 12/3. They cancelled, I asked if they would switch me to stopover in LHR, LHR-TLV flown by ElAL. Delta said that even if I got to LHR, ElAL will not honor any tickets not purchased directly thru ElAL and I would be stuck in London. Delta suggested I book directly thru Elal which is much more $$$$.
they also kept promising me they’d fly by Dec (I booked for like 67000 miles) and then cancelled when elal tickets are now up to 1600+. Calling them extremely rude and abrupt is accurate. They offered a multi stop flight through Jordan. gee. Then told me to complain online, which the system didnt allow as the flight didnt happen yet. I told them they need to take some responsibility and put me on elal but they just reiterated the same no im sorry line in broken english with no attempt at customer service and basically hung up on me. It seems if you know what youre doing you can get transferred. I know someone who just last week was transferred from a delta stopover flight to elal for a small fee. Does anyone know what theyre doing and have some advice??:>
If i knew id get reimbursement through DOT I’d book for $1700 but i dont want to risk the bill
Do themIs it possible to take them to court and is there a chance to wine
Baruch Hashem
I had tickets for Hanukkah for $901 RT wish I had booked over eight months ago.
I then got an email Sunday that they canceled it and I can fly from Amman Jordan instead. Lol.
My 2nd call, they were telling me to take the refund which I declined.
HUCA
Finally got a representative to change my flight to june. for no additional charge.
I received an email confirmation….
10 minutes later, I received another cancellation for this time the June reservation. After another five phone calls, United reassured me that for the time being these flights are canceled. but when they would be reinstated, I can call up with my June confirmation number and get my flight reinstated for no additional charge.
Lesson of the story, HUCA.
Have faith in Hashem
Update: they now canceled my June flight and I’m having a challenge getting it reissued. They are saying that I need to pay the fare difference
Why is Amman unsatisfactory? Unless any of the Israeli carriers is flying there, no air option. Granted—overland is a hassle—but as lesser of evils—it is a viable alternative.
When they offered me to send my son to Amman , I kindly declined by telling them that there was not a shortage of suicide volunteers in that region.
It might be uncomfortable, but it’s not dangerous.
Does anyone know of a good lawyer to sue an Airline?
I have a flight with United on Dec 28. Will it work for me to change the flight to a flight with a stopover and get missed connection insurance?
Most amazing fact is that the TLV routes, while only 2% of UAL capacity, contribute to 20% of the revenue. Is that how an airline should treat it’s most profitable segment?
Where do you see that?
JUST received an email from UAL – TYH!!:
Dear ,
We understand that the suspension of our Tel Aviv flights may have disrupted your travel plans and your path to requalify for MileagePlus® Premier® 1K® status for 2024. Because of this, your current Premier status will be extended through January 31, 2025.
Next year, as a Premier 1K member you’ll also receive a deposit of 280 PlusPoints into your account.
We appreciate your loyalty, and we’re looking forward to seeing you on board again.
Sincerely,
Luc Bondar
Luc Bondar
Chief Operating Officer and President, MileagePlus
United Airlines
Yup i just got the same bh
Can I please get a copy of what you wrote to them. I want to do the same.
Is there a place to keep track of United’s status changes for future flights? Are they maintaining a page as they roll off flight dates? I have a flight that is expected to leave Newark on Dec. 18th that still has not been canceled. We purchased separate tickets through ELAL to accommodate the trip with the anticipation of United canceling, but still no word yet from them that they are canceling so we can receive our points back to book a hotel and car with the balance.
What happens if a book an open jaw ticket now from Europe to the US now with a return to TLV in January, and the flight gets canceled. Will I get a refund or credit for the portion of the ticket allocated to the return Any way to figure out what that amount is?