Yesterday, we broke news that United Airlines had authorized its reservations agents to rebook passengers who did not want to fly into Palm Beach International Airport, now called President Donald J. Trump International Airport, to nearby airports at no charge, even if the new itinerary was more expensive. After this story went viral, United backtracked and pulled authorization for agents to reaccommodate passengers at no charge who preferred to fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale to avoid flying into DJT.
I understand why United decided to quickly end its surprisingly generous policy of accommodating these disgruntled passengers…it was far too generous in the first place and ripe for abuse for those who may have booked into DJT because it was cheaper than used this unpublished policy to move to FLL or MIA. I suspect when United offered its agents this leeway, it did not expect the policy to go viral, especially during a critical period in which United CEO Scott Kirby has carefully cultivated a strong relationship with the Trump administration.
It was neither United Airlines nor the airport itself that renamed PBI to DJT…those who are opposed to the move should take it up with Florida state legislature who made this unprecedented change, the first-ever instance of naming an airport after a President who was still in office. In that sense, United’s policy seemed disproportionate considering it had no control or input over the airport name change.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Live and Let's Fly.
