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Delta eases ticket rules for rest of 2021

A Delta Airlines aircraft makes its approach at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas, in this Monday, June 24, 2019, file photo. Delta Air Lines reported its first quarterly profit since the pandemic devastated the airline industry more than a year ago, as hordes of vacation travelers and money from U.S. taxpayers offset weak corporate and international travel. Delta said Wednesday, July 14, 2021, that it earned $652 million in the second quarter. However, Delta's report shows that airlines still face turbulence as they try to rebound from their worst year ever.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
A Delta Airlines aircraft makes its approach at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas, in this Monday, June 24, 2019, file photo. Delta Air Lines reported its first quarterly profit since the pandemic devastated the airline industry more than a year ago, as hordes of vacation travelers and money from U.S. taxpayers offset weak corporate and international travel. Delta said Wednesday, July 14, 2021, that it earned $652 million in the second quarter. However, Delta's report shows that airlines still face turbulence as they try to rebound from their worst year ever.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File) A Delta Airlines aircraft makes its approach at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas, in this Monday, June 24, 2019, file photo. Delta Air Lines reported its first quarterly profit since the pandemic devastated the airline industry more than a year ago, as hordes of vacation travelers and money from U.S. taxpayers offset weak corporate and international travel. Delta said Wednesday, July 14, 2021, that it earned $652 million in the second quarter. However, Delta's report shows that airlines still face turbulence as they try to rebound from their worst year ever.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

By The New York Times 2 min read

Delta Air Lines is loosening restrictions on basic economy tickets to reduce the deluge of frustrated travelers facing hours-long waits on customer service phone lines.

Basic economy tickets normally do not allow any changes to the itinerary, even for a change fee. The airline temporarily allowed more flexibility during the pandemic, but that policy ended earlier this year.

Starting this week, however, Delta will temporarily allow changes to basic economy tickets for travel through Dec. 31, 2021, “to help address call wait times as we increase staffing,” CEO Ed Bastian wrote in an update to customers.

The changes can be made online without paying a change fee.

Delta cut about 18,000 of its 90,000 employees last year through buyouts and early retirements to cut costs amid the pandemic, leaving it short-staffed when travelers rapidly returned to the skies.