[dustballs1]

What a thoughtful response. It sounds like the International Red Cross has a planned response.

Now if only the National Red Cross organizations had such arrangements domestically. We obtain our tickets through a Red Cross designated travel agency, and the volunteers are informed that they are entitled to the same waivers as the military because we all respond under similar charter to domestic incidents. The volunteers come from cities all over the country, so it would have to be a nationwide policy of some kind.

However the reality is that the domestic airline check in employees have no knowledge or training, no matter what the volunteer has been told. So we mostly have to pay up or just not go. We do not deal with the back office. We just show up at the airport with Red Cross travel orders, Red Cross purchased tickets, Red Cross ID, Red Cross charge cards, etc.

My experience in six years in the U.S. : If the incident is big enough and the airline employee knows why you are going on travel, they waive the charge. Otherwise you pay. On the way home from the affected city, the airlines do not charge, because they know what you did for their city. (Or maybe its the look of absolute fatigue on our faces, LOL).

[BKK_FLYER]

Originally Posted by dustballs1

However the reality is that the domestic airline check in employees have no knowledge or training, no matter what the volunteer has been told. So we mostly have to pay up or just not go. We do not deal with the back office.

This is the exact reason why the national, regional or local offices commonly handle this with the airlines head office.. That way the airlines head office can enter or amend the reservation to reflect the passengers unique travel status and to effectively 'authorize' the waiving of bag fees to the level that was agreed.

Not every agent across the system will know of the disaster, be that domestic or international, that the IRC passenger is responding to, so by centralizing it, the head office makes this information available to the station agent by way of some notation or similar in your reservation, or PNR.

This way the waiver is consistent and in line with what the IRC expects and authorizes for travel under their program.