Fly with the flu, or pay nearly $800 to reschedule
 

We are supposed to fly to Florida with our small children tomorrow afternoon (12/21/12) and my wife was just diagnosed with the flu. She got a doctor's note and called US Airways, but was told that they don't do medical waivers for any reason, even with the doctor's note. In addition to the $110 or so dollars we'd have to pay per ticket to reschedule, we'd also have to pay around $150 in addition per ticket because of the price difference between tomorrow's flight and flying out on Monday – around $800 more!!

So what this tells me is:

- US Airways would rather have their passengers exposed to the flu – during Christmas travel rush no less – than swallow the cost (significantly less to them than to us) of rescheduling our tickets.

- Though we are trying to make the socially responsible decision to not fly in close quarters with other passengers and the flight crew and expose them to the flu – already an inconvenience for us since we're having to change our travel plans –* the airline would rather encourage us to get on the plane tomorrow by discouraging us from changing our plans ($800 in additional charges is significant discouragement).

- When an 'Act of God' (i.e. weather), happens to them and my flight is delayed or canceled, I don't get any restitution. When it happens to a passenger in the form of an illness (especially a contagious one), we have to swallow all of the costs.

So with those additional costs in mind, we may end up flying tomorrow after all. My wife will wear a hospital mask and we'll hope for the best. Thanks US Air!