basic economy

Tag Archives for basic economy.

United Is Selling Upgrades From Basic Economy To Regular Economy

by Gary Leff on February 4, 2021

Feb 04 2021

In a move perhaps akin to selling upgrades from United Cargo to Economy, United is offering customers who buy basic economy tickets the ability to pay up after purchase to convert their ticket to regular economy.

With basic economy now a tool to segment business travelers from leisure travelers, and with virtually no business travelers, there’s little downside and only incremental revenue in offering passengers the ability to ‘buy out’ of the restrictions on the tickets they’ve purchased.

Andaz Singapore Testing New Basic Economy Room Rate

by Gary Leff on December 12, 2020

Dec 12 2020

The Andaz Singapore is taking a page from airline Basic Economy fares, offering a new ‘room only’ rate. When you think of room only, you may assume that it simply excludes breakfast or other inclusions. In this case they mean it literally: you can stay in the room, but have no access to the hotel’s gym or pool.

This also lets them sell rooms for less on third party websites without running afoul of best rate guarantees, since the restriction doesn’t apply to Hyatt direct booking rates.

Thanks To Expedia, Most Customers Don’t Even Know What A Horrible Value United Basic Economy Is

by Gary Leff on October 19, 2020

Oct 19 2020

The cheapest tickets on United are a worse value than similar fares on Delta and Southwest (especially) but even American too. Right now most passengers aren’t well-informed and disproportionately book through sites like Expedia – and as a result don’t know that they’re getting less value, because these sites don’t tell them. Online booking sites don’t serve the people who are ostensibly their customers.

American Airlines Wants To Attract Younger, Infrequent Flyers

by Gary Leff on September 5, 2020

Sep 05 2020

Ultimately basic economy isn’t how American and other airlines will attract more of the travelers that are out there – it is how they will give those travelers less than they used to, in order to charge more money to people that aren’t as price sensitive.

The Real Reason Airlines Eliminated Domestic Change Fees

by Gary Leff on September 4, 2020

Sep 04 2020

The change isn’t about being ‘customer friendly’ and it wasn’t about share shift – which won’t happen, because major airlines quickly matched each other on this – it’s about modernizing the pricing model and getting rid of a tool that wasn’t relevant anymore, while at the same time making those non-basic economy fares more attractive to less price-sensitive buyers.

How Eliminating Change Fees Makes Airline Elite Status Harder To Earn

by Gary Leff on September 1, 2020

Sep 01 2020

Airlines have been working to use their loyalty programs to shift customers to higher fares, and to make status a benefit for only those flying on those high fares. Eliminating change fees on the one hand, while doubling down on using Basic Economy as the tool to segment customers, is the latest attempt at doing this.

American Airlines Beats United’s New Change Fee Policy, Improves Basic Economy Fares

by Gary Leff on August 31, 2020

Aug 31 2020

United announced an end to change fees on most domestic tickets. American matched in less than a day, including more destinations. They’re extending change fee waivers on international, basic economy, and award tickets to the end of the year. And they’re letting Basic Economy customers have elite benefits again, too.

American Airlines Backtracks, Allows Change Fee Waivers On Basic Economy Tickets

by Gary Leff on July 14, 2020

Jul 14 2020

At the end of May things were looking really good for summer travel, and American tried to place limits on its change fee waivers. Since the beginning of the pandemic airlines have allowed a change fee waiver on ticket purchases, so that customers faced with uncertainty would have greater comfort buying travel.

As forward bookings have softened, though, and competitors haven’t followed American’s lead in restoring the ‘no changes’ rule to Basic Economy fares American too has backed off.

American Airlines Makes Basic Economy Better: Paid Seat Assignments At Booking

by Gary Leff on March 28, 2020

Mar 28 2020

I do not see any real reason to stay way from Basic Economy fares at this point, unless the buy up to regular economy is very small. It largely is a buy up for the possibility of an upgrade and more credit towards re-earning elite status, which has been less likely and less valuable in recent years. And that means, effectively, the end of basic economy as a pricing strategy.

In Leaked Employee Address Southwest Airlines CEO Promises To Never Adopt Basic Economy Fares

by Gary Leff on January 8, 2020

Jan 08 2020

Southwest though has a long history of profits and margins that have eluded much of the industry, and they haven’t gone down the same fees and restrictions rabbit hole. They are the largest domestic airline in the country. They do not have change fees or checked bag fees (for up to 2 bags per passenger). They don’t have seat fees, without assigned seats, but they do charge to be at the front of the boarding queue which means earlier dibs at seat selection.