UPDATE: March 1: To help prop up demand, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and JetBlue have said that they will waive change or cancellation fees for flights booked in the next two weeks for trips through early June. It's important to note restrictions on these waivers, though. First, they only apply to bookings made now through mid-March — they do not apply to tickets purchased before that. Also, these waivers do not include "get your money back" refunds for canceled trips. Instead, you'll be issued a flight credit that must be used within one year. Remember, you'll only get a refund from an airline if it cancels your flight; you will not get one if you decide to cancel your trip.

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Several international airlines in recent weeks have waived fees for changing or canceling flights to areas affected by outbreaks of coronavirus, but JetBlue has taken that policy up a notch by allowing fee-free changes for all its flights booked in the next couple of weeks – even though it doesn’t fly anywhere that is currently threatened by the virus.

It’s a big step in a fast-changing environment, as each day brings news of additional coronavirus cases around the world, and it could put pressure on other airlines to do the same for their domestic flights.

It could also be a sign that passenger bookings have started to nosedive for all air travel after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week publicly warned that Americans should be prepared to see the virus expand in the United States. Another sign of a gloomy outlook for the travel biz: United, which is heavily exposed in the Asian markets, pulled its full-year financial outlook today, citing concerns about COVID-19. Even MasterCard is warning investors that its business could take a hit as transborder travel (and, therefore, credit card transactions) declines sharply.

So far, we have not seen any across-the-board fare sales as airlines scramble to prop up demand during the crisis.

Specifically, JetBlue said it will suspend change and cancellation fees for new flight bookings made from Feb. 27 through March 11 for travel completed by June 1. The policy applies to all fare types, including the airline’s no-frills Blue Basic – which usually doesn’t permit any changes or cancellations – and for flights booked through JetBlue Vacations.

“Customers who book in the next two weeks will receive a full travel credit should they need to cancel their trip, and customers who wish to change their plans can apply the full amount from their original booking to a different itinerary, although fare differences may apply,” the company said.

JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty said that even though there are currently no travel restrictions to anywhere on JetBlue’s route map, “we want to give our customers some peace of mind that we are ready to support them should the situation change.”

Recent polls have indicated that substantial percentages of both business and leisure travelers are rethinking upcoming travel plans due to the unfolding coronavirus situation, especially since it is no longer confined to China. This week, the CDC urged Americans to avoid unnecessary travel to South Korea, where coronavirus cases have surged in recent days, and warned travelers to be careful about trips to northern Italy, site of another outbreak. Delta, United and American, which already had fee waivers in place for travel to China, extended those waivers this week for flights to Seoul; Delta also extended waivers for travel to northern Italy.

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Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE biweekly email updates!

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