United Airlines has missed out on $2 billion since getting rid of fees for passengers to change flights
- United Airlines got rid of change fees for customers in 2020.
- Since then, it's missed out on $2 billion as over 10 million passengers changed their flights.
United Airlines has missed out on an extra $2 billion after changing its fees for customers, it announced Tuesday.
In 2020, United became the first legacy carrier to get rid of change fees for passengers. That means it's free for customers to change the time of their flight or even the airport — unless they're on a Basic Economy ticket.
Delta and American Airlines followed United by making the same policy change less than 24 hours later.
The airline said that more than 10 million customers have taken advantage of the change since its introduction.
It said the most popular change was to alter the time of day of a flight, which 3.6 million people did. Another 1.8 million extended their trip; 1.5 million chose to fly to or from a different airport; and 300,000 switched a domestic flight to an international one — or vice-versa.
United disclosed the figures as it announced a new commercial campaign with the actor Kyle Chandler, known for "Friday Night Lights" and "The Wolf of Wall Street."
The commercials speak to football fans of five different fees and encourage them to book flights without worrying about sudden changes.
"This simple policy change has had a dramatic impact on our customers and the overall experience of flying United," said Linda Jojo, United's chief customer officer.
"You can book with confidence knowing that even if your — or your teams' — plans change, United has your back."
United also has sponsorship deals with the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, both of which it will fly to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas this weekend.
Like some other airlines, United has announced new flight routes for the Super Bowl which reference Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, the Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, in the flight numbers: UA 1989 and UA 1587.