Taylor Swift’s postponed Argentina show forces airline to waive flight-change fees
- Taylor Swift postponed a show in Buenos Aires for Friday until Sunday.
- LATAM Airlines, the largest carrier in South America, said it wouldn't charge customers date-change fees or differences in fare so they can stay in the city longer.
- Industry executives told CNBC that it was a highly unusual measure.
Like hurricanes, blizzards or wildfires, Taylor Swift is now prompting an airline to waive ticket-change fees.
The popstar said she was postponing a show in Argentina's capital scheduled for Friday until Sunday because of heavy rain, writing on X, the platform formerly called Twitter: "due to the weather being so truly chaotic it would be unsafe to try and put on this concert."
The Chile account of LATAM Airlines, the largest carrier in South America, reached out to customers on X: "#AttentionSwifties: we know your planes changed so starting today we are updating our flexibility policy for those with flights from Buenos Aires" for Saturday or Sunday.
The Chie-based carrier said it is waiving both ticket-change fees and differences in fare if travelers can fly anytime until Nov. 17 after Swift's show at Argentina's largest stadium was postponed.
Some customers complained to LATAM on social media, however, that they were having trouble finding seats and that the carrier told them about the waiver too late. The airline didn't immediately comment on whether it is adding additional flights.
Money Report
Airlines routinely add extra flights for events like high-profile concerts, conferences like CES, or sports.
But a change fee waiver when a concert is canceled or is postponed is very unusual, industry executives told CNBC, and is also a sign of how much her tour drives bookings. While it might be a new era for airline waivers, The Eras Tour has impacted other industries like hotels.
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