AerLingus is refusing to waive change fees on existing bookings in the face of a virus outbreak. I booked a flight last November for this upcoming weekend from New York for St Patrick’s Day. Besides the potential threat of both catching the disease and/or being quarantined in a foreign country, all St Patrick’s Day festivities have been canceled. My friend and I are trying to just reschedule our flight for a few months out when we can visit the country with peace of mind, and not under mass hysteria of a global epidemic. AerLingus is insisting that there’s no reason to do so, despite repeated warnings from the CDC to limit nonessential travel, and is charging a $300 change fee. 

There are hundreds of comments on AerLingus' Twitter, Facebook, etc. from other customers who are losing hundreds to thousands of dollars. Pregnant women who have to make the decision not to endanger their growing child. Elderly people who have saved for months for their trip and now can no longer afford to go AT ALL due to change fees. Younger people who are flying with elderly parents with underlying health conditions who have to make the decision between paying hundreds in rebooking fees, or losing all their money completely. These are dream vacations that we all planned months in advance, well before any virus news - and we're being punished for doing so. 

This is incredibly irresponsible as AerLingus is making clientele face the decision of paying gross fees to rebook, or take the trip and risk illness or travel bans. AerLingus is not only punishing its customers for something entirely out of their control, but is contributing to the spread of a deadly virus. Both their customers and their staff are at risk. Customers may feel they have no choice but to fly given the inflexible rebooking policies, even if they do have a slight cough or are feeling generally unwell. This is NOT okay. 

I'm sympathetic to the fact that AerLingus is struggling right now but so is every other airline that has done the right thing by waiving change fees for their clients. We are all struggling. You should not be profiting on your customers during a crisis. Greediness never wins.