After flying on the 4 biggest US airlines I saw why offering free flights changes is a hollow gesture to customers when there's few alternatives

• The big four US airlines are split down the middle in how they're handling social distancing onboard their aircraft.
• Delta and Southwest are blocking middle seats and limiting bookings while American Airlines and United Airlines are only offering free flight changes.
• American and United are both claiming low take-rates for the changes while the reality is that there are too few alternate flights for the policy to be useful, with no guarantee of moving to an empty flight.

The big four US airlines can be neatly divided into two camps when it comes to their social distancing policies: those that block middle seats and those that don't.

Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines have made commitments until September 30 to block middle seats or limit bookings on flights to ensure that passengers don't have to sit directly next to each other. American Airlines and United Airlines, alternatively, will fill their planes to capacity but offer a way out for passengers by allowing for free flight changes on crowded flights.

United had offered the free changes as a consolation prize after the airline was called out on social media for not following its previously announced policy of blocking middle seats onboard its mainline aircraft, while American had offered free changes while also limiting capacity at 85%. American, however, began filling its flights to capacity starting July 1, though keeping the free changes.

Having flown on all four airlines in June, I saw how both models are not equal and do not play out as cleanly as the airline claim they do.

An empty gesture backed by questionable data

In a recent interview with PlaneBusiness Banter, American Airlines CRO Vasu Raja said that the take-rate for free flight changes is 6%. American spokesperson Ross Feinstein later confirmed to Business Insider on Monday that the take-rate is now around 4%.

United Airlines wouldn't share specific numbers but a spokesperson told Business Insider that "very few customers choose to rebook."

With those low numbers, one can easily speculate that passengers don't care about flying on crowded flights and blocking middle seats is a luxury, but not a necessity, for most. It's the same reason flyers are willing to book a basic economy ticket and risk getting a middle seat rather than paying more for a guaranteed aisle or window seat, an airline revenue analyst might assume.

That assumption may be true if airlines were offering the same amount of flights they were in 2019. But what the airlines aren't making clear is that there are fewer alternatives to choose from, if any at all, with no guarantee that the back-up flights will stay empty.

Flying in the US right now means dealing with reduced options and entire routes disappearing. Aircraft from nearly every major airline have lined boneyards since March and many remain today, leaving fewer options for travelers across the board when it comes to flying.

American had reduced its May schedule by 80% from the year prior after seeing load factors in April average around 15%. From the period May 1-23, daily passenger averages jumped up to nearly 79,000 with an average load factor of 41% while the last week of the month saw over 110,000 passengers daily on average and the average load factor 55%.

The number of passengers increased but the number of alternate flight options remained the same, leaving passengers with few back-ups to make the switch. With passenger numbers only rising, according to figures from the Transportation Security Administration, there's no guarantee that waiting it out will result in an empty flight.

My experience with crowded flights

My first encounter with this system was in early June when flying from Atlanta to Hartford, Connecticut via Charlotte on American Airlines. When I checked in, I was told that my flight was full and I would be given the option to change to another flight, only to be told that there were no alternatives available.

And there weren't — at least to Hartford. My flight was the last to Hartford and taking another flight would've meant leaving the next day or leaving around six hours earlier and connecting in Dallas, in the complete opposite direction, neither of which I was even offered.

The only option, really, was to take the crowded flight. That was when American was capping flight bookings at 85% and I was still assigned a middle seat in a crowded row, despite there being entire rows open in sections of the plane.

My second encounter came on a United Airlines flight from Orlando to New York via Washington. I was given the same notification at check-in and given the option to change my flight within a generous 5-day time frame.

Not only could I change the date but could also change my departure and arrival airports to nearby alternatives. But despite the generous scope, the next available flight between my airport pairs was 25 hours later.

An announcement was also made at the gate informing passengers of their right to a free change to the next flight. Upon further inquiry, however, I was told that the next flight to our destination was 24 hours later and showed signs of filling up, as well.

Again, I had no option but to take that flight and found myself with a seatmate for the first time since before the pandemic.

United and American may say that low take-rates for free flight changes are indicative of passengers not caring about how many people are on their flight but with no suitable back-up options, they don't always have a choice.

American told Business Insider in an email: "As a result of busier flights and more demand for air travel, we are adding additional flights in July," echoing their June 4 announcement.

A United spokesperson also told Business Insider in an email: "We're providing options within 5 days of the full flight notification so it depends on a customer's flexibility and what they're searching for. Some options may be more limited than others, like in a market we don't fly daily or some international flights."

The airline also advised that customers with concerns should reach out to United directly for a resolution.

Raja also acknowledged that most travelers in the months following the peak of the pandemic aren't doing so for leisure and it's likely rather to an important event where a flight change isn't feasible. This doesn't mean they don't care about how crowded their flights are but that they can't afford to wait multiple hours until the next one.

American's schedule is now offering passengers more options with the airline operating 55% of its July 2019 domestic schedule. More flights will provide more options for passengers but TSA trends show passenger numbers only going up so even if the next flight is an option, there's no saying whether it will be empty.