BE AWARE - new UA Basic Economy Fares

For those who buy on the basis of price, a heads up on the new Basic Economy fares that UA will be rolling out for sale starting in January 2017 for flights in Q2 of 2017.

These new fares go beyond even the restrictions that DL has on their lowest fares (regarding advanced seats, refunds, changes etc.) The new UA fares will only allow for a personal item carried onboard - no roller bags or anything that would need to go in the overhead bins. In addition, no assigned seats nor the ability to change once UA gives you an assignment - in other words, everyone will get the separate middle seats in the back of the bus. No elite mileage credits, no upgrading (miles, status or cash) to Economy+ and more.

So...UA may not be your best "value" for the cheap seats.

Lots of articles on this on the web. Here is Gary Leff's post on the announcement and his thoughts. LINK HERE.

Ohhhh,,,,,, you just KNOW that there will be huge complaints about how they didn't know, and big bad corporate greed etc.

Almost looking forward to reading about the first complaint.:)

MANY, MANY people will tunnel on the lowest price....the rest is unimportant.

I read the news release and will avoid these cheap seats for sure :eek:

This will be great for short haul business flights where people fly in and out the same day.

I fly to visit my mother every other month. It's about a 2.5 hour flight. I usually take the first flight in arriving mid-morning, spend a bit of the afternoon with her until her nap time, and then fly home the same day. I bring my cross body with my iPad, a clean shirt and change of underwear and some essential toiletries, just in case. Easily fits under the seat. If the cost is significantly below WN or AA I might give it a try.

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United web page.

Given that these tickets put you in the last boarding group, there won't be any room in the overhead bins for your roller bag anyway.

I just hope the other airlines (American, Delta etc) do not follow this. Profits have been increasing in the industry so they have relaxed some of the restrictions / charges, but this certainly goes against the current trend.

Maybe United needs to pay for a new computer system so they are going to make their passengers pay for it in a big way

Warren Buffet recently invested in the airlines, hopefully he wasn't using the United new scheme to justify the investment.

I just hope the other airlines (American, Delta etc) do not follow this. ... .

Delta already has it.

What's DL' s luggage restrictions at that fare? It seems UAL has gone a bit further.

Yep, my husband got those tickets purchased for May cruise yesterday. We got assigned seating but don't know if I will be allowed a carry on or just an under seat backpack at this point. Or what our boarding group will be either. Sigh.

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Yep, my husband got those tickets purchased for May cruise yesterday. We got assigned seating but don't know if I will be allowed a carry on or just an under seat backpack at this point. Or what our boarding group will be either. Sigh.

Since UA has been reported to be not implementing this until January, could you please tell us how you bought them yesterday? Or are you talking about Delta? Or what exactly?

When purchasing your ticket, you were given the baggage and carry-on rules for your fare. Did you not look at it, or not see it?

I just hope the other airlines (American, Delta etc) do not follow this.

I actually hope Delta DOES follow it. They already have a basic "E" fare which doesn't allow upgrades, seat selection etc. The only real difference is that they still let you carry on a rollaboard suitcase AND a personal item, and their GA's tend to be very lax about the size of each, and the quantity of additional purses, tote bags and shopping bags that pax carry on. I would welcome seeing those on the very cheapest fares limited to just one under-seat carry on to speed up the boarding process.

Delta already has it.

See above. They don't limit carry on luggage to the extent that United will with these fares.

For those who buy on the basis of price, a heads up on the new Basic Economy fares that UA will be rolling out for sale starting in January 2017 for flights in Q2 of 2017.

 

These new fares go beyond even the restrictions that DL has on their lowest fares (regarding advanced seats, refunds, changes etc.) The new UA fares will only allow for a personal item carried onboard - no roller bags or anything that would need to go in the overhead bins. In addition, no assigned seats nor the ability to change once UA gives you an assignment - in other words, everyone will get the separate middle seats in the back of the bus. No elite mileage credits, no upgrading (miles, status or cash) to Economy+ and more.

 

So...UA may not be your best "value" for the cheap seats.

 

Lots of articles on this on the web. Here is Gary Leff's post on the announcement and his thoughts. LINK HERE.

Booked with UA for next June to Alaska...(this will be only our second time flying) Our flight says Economy...assuming that is not basic?

Booked with UA for next June to Alaska...(this will be only our second time flying) Our flight says Economy...assuming that is not basic?

Shouldn't be since they aren't selling it yet. Also, these fares should only be on routes that compete with Spirit, Allegiant or Frontier.

FlyerTalker, we purchased the United seats this week, before the new rules go into effect about paying extra for assigned seating. But, because the flight is in May, I am unsure as to the rules about boarding groups and carry ons. Our tickets list nothing about that. That doesn't mean, though, that we can't get some sort of "change notice" in the future from United. I will be researching more on it.

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The pessimist in me wonders if UA is going to be selling these "basic" seats after January 1 at their regular Economy rates and then raising the fares further for regular assigned seating with no carry-on restriction? Any thoughts?

The pessimist in me wonders if UA is going to be selling these "basic" seats after January 1 at their regular Economy rates and then raising the fares further for regular assigned seating with no carry-on restriction? Any thoughts?

As the Leff article discusses, the move is to try to incentivize passengers to "buy up", thus increasing revenue. These fares are primarily to leisure destinations in competition with Spirit et al.

Along the way, be sure to thank all those consumers who buy solely on price and don't differentiate products - thus making it more and more of a commodity rather than a service. They got what they wanted - a race to the bottom.

FlyerTalker, we purchased the United seats this week, before the new rules go into effect about paying extra for assigned seating. But, because the flight is in May, I am unsure as to the rules about boarding groups and carry ons. Our tickets list nothing about that. That doesn't mean, though, that we can't get some sort of "change notice" in the future from United. I will be researching more on it.

 

You don't have one of these fares; they aren't even selling them yet. None of these rules will apply to your ticket.

As a long time Elite/Premier flyer who is now retired and does not have to fly I will be checking my other options more and more. In the back of my mind I am trying to decide if this is the return of Frank Lorenzo and his Peanuts Fares or just UA trying to be more like Spirit in the memory of Jeff Smisek.....

In the past 18 months I have actually seen some improvement in UA and booked most of my 2017 flights with them already. I think I will just wait on the one unbooked trip next summer.

United web page.

 

Given that these tickets put you in the last boarding group, there won't be any room in the overhead bins for your roller bag anyway.

Thanks for posting a link to the direct source vs. a subjective commentary blogger's link (no offense). The horse's mouth is always the best source.

The pessimist in me wonders if UA is going to be selling these "basic" seats after January 1 at their regular Economy rates and then raising the fares further for regular assigned seating with no carry-on restriction? Any thoughts?

As the Leff article discusses, the move is to try to incentivize passengers to "buy up", thus increasing revenue. These fares are primarily to leisure destinations in competition with Spirit et al.

 

This. This is not an isolated move. As Flyertalker said, it's about competing with true budget airlines on specific routes.

I booked this type of fare on Aegean Air last summer, though that one at least included a seat assignment. I regretted it after because we considered making a change at one point and couldn't even pay a fee to do so. I at least want the freedom to pay a darn change fee.

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I actually wish American would do this, too. It's the only airline we can take to get to our new grandbaby without driving to LAX. I get stuck in middle seats all the time, anyway, because my husband has to have a window seat because of the width of his shoulders, so yours truly is a middle seat rider. (I just put on my Bose and watch whatever Amazon movie I've downloaded for the flight.)

I don't mind just a personal item, either, since we keep clothes at our son/dil's house, anyway.

I actually wish American would do this, too. It's the only airline we can take to get to our new grandbaby without driving to LAX. I get stuck in middle seats all the time, anyway, because my husband has to have a window seat because of the width of his shoulders, so yours truly is a middle seat rider. (I just put on my Bose and watch whatever Amazon movie I've downloaded for the flight.)

 

 

 

I don't mind just a personal item, either, since we keep clothes at our son/dil's house, anyway.

He takes the window, you take the aisle or window in a different row. Being apart for an hour or two isn't the end of the world. I would much rather do that than be uncomfortable.

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I actually wish American would do this, too. It's the only airline we can take to get to our new grandbaby without driving to LAX. I get stuck in middle seats all the time, anyway, because my husband has to have a window seat because of the width of his shoulders, so yours truly is a middle seat rider. (I just put on my Bose and watch whatever Amazon movie I've downloaded for the flight.)

 

I don't mind just a personal item, either, since we keep clothes at our son/dil's house, anyway.

Then, if he has the window seat, when you buy a cheap ticket, you get whatever they choose to give. Plus, you can't buy two different fare classes for two people on the same reservation so you are not even together on the airline system.