Airlines cancelling flights to Caribbean and Florida as Hurricane Matthew nears

Airlines are canceling some flights to the Caribbean and
even the mainland U.S. as Hurricane Matthew is expected to spin toward Florida later this week.

By late Tuesday, American Airlines had canceled about 120
flights through this Saturday, a spokesman said. Nearly half were departures from
Miami, mostly to Caribbean destinations.

Delta Air Lines planned to check the latest storm-tracking
models on Wednesday before deciding whether to scrap any Florida flights,
according to an airline spokesman.

Many U.S. airlines are letting passengers change travel
plans without penalty if their trip might be affected by the hurricane, which
pounded Haiti on Tuesday and caused flooding that was blamed for several
deaths.

• American said it would waive change fees on trips scheduled
  Thursday or Friday to or from eight cities in Florida. The airline had already
  offered waivers on trips scheduled through Thursday in several Caribbean nations
  including Cuba.
• United Airlines said it would waive change fees and any
  difference in fare for customers scheduled to fly Wednesday through Friday to,
  from or through five airports in Florida.
• Delta waived change fees on trips through Wednesday in the
  Caribbean and through Thursday at eight Florida destinations, although
  differences in the fare would still apply.
• JetBlue Airways said passengers flying Thursday through
  Sunday to or from eight cities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South
  Carolina can change planes without a fee or additional fare. A similar offer
  covers Caribbean travel through Thursday.
• Spirit Airlines said it would waive the change fee and fare
  difference on Florida trips Thursday and Friday.

The offers come with conditions that vary by airlines.
Customers usually have just a few extra days to complete their rescheduled
trip.

The fee to change a nonrefundable ticket on United, American
and Delta is typically $200 for domestic flights and usually more for
international trips.

Travelers whose flights are canceled can get a refund.

U.S. cities  covered
by waiver offers:

American – Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Key
West, Melbourne, Miami, Orlando, West Palm Beach in Florida.

United – Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, West
Palm Beach.

Delta – Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Key
West, Melbourne, Miami, Orlando, West Palm Beach.

JetBlue – Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville,
Orlando, West Palm Beach; also Savannah-Hilton Head, Georgia; Raleigh-Durham,
North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina.

Spirit – Fort Lauderdale, Orlando.