I won’t be flying United

United basic is very restrictive but I have family members who do it all the time. You basically have to take a backpack. But this is no surprise. If you buy a regular economy seat, you can take a standard regular carry on.

Basic for American and Delta allows for a regular carry on.

So when comparing prices, you have to make sure you are comparing equivalent products.

Umm. Much ado about nothing. Domestic basic economy has always been only a personal item that must fit under the seat. Since when has a roller bag that cannot fit under a seat been considered a personal item?

It has been that way for a couple of years with Basic economy. And you board last. So buy an economy ticket. Not sure why you are not flying United when the other legacy airline are doing the same thing. Not sure what the complaint is. Buy a business class ticket and you will not have any problems.

We fly frequently domestically on United, it’s their basic economy price for traveling without a carryon and it’s been like that for quite awhile. The bag you bring needs to fit under your seat.

Basic economy can save money, as long as you know the downsides and don't show up with a big bag. That way you don't waste your money.

The final paragraph of the article is to the point of the matter

My previous post was written as I was getting ready to board my IAD to RIC flight last light. Anyway, this article just strikes me as a straight up lie.

Basic economy has always been a reduced fare with the price for certain elements subtracted for passengers shopping on price where they do not place importance on seat selection or having a carry-on sized bag. When a customer chooses a basic economy fare, warnings on the fare's restrictions pop up and one must confirm they understand the restrictions and want the BE fare.

If you've purchased BE and now want carry-on baggage or seat selection, you can add those features back in (so why didn't you buy economy in the first place? ). On a BE fare if you want to have a carry-on bag the fee is paid online or at the check-in desk and is $35. But! Don't think you're going to pull one over on anyone or think you're going to sneak a carry-on bag past the gate agents. Get past all the layers and to the gate, try that, and you're now going to pay a $30 penalty and that $35 fee is now $65. Good! Everyone wants the rules enforced until its the rules apply to them.

The anger should not be directed at United, it should be directed at media outlet for leaving out important information.

VAP, the trend is the create victims then defend them. Its everywhere. I dont want a ticket where I dont get everything ... so you shouldnt have the same opportunity because you are being victimized. ..... no, I am travling light and cheap.

I won’t be flying United

Maybe that will translate into more cheap seats for me? I doubt it, but makes me feel better to say it.

I vaguely remember when United and American introduced this basic economy fare to compete with the Southwests of the world on price albeit without Southwest’s more standard luggage rules. I’m a million mile flyer on United. It was my go to airline— mainly because it used to have great connections for me. Plus it was a righteous outfit back in the day!

If I recall, American rolled back the extra fee but United persisted to this day,

I generally fly business class nowadays so none of this really applies me any longer. But to this day, I avoid United when I have the option. (Heck, on a week ago domestic flight, I took Southwest!)

What can I say? Nickel and dime folks, well, you can create a backlash! And us victims share a class consciousness! As a descendent of abolitionists, luggage discrimination rubs me the wrong way! Bring me your tired, your poor, your roller-board luggage without extra fees!

Happy travels!

I don't know the policy on other airlines, but I inadvertently booked a Washington DC-Boston roundtrip in Basic Economy earlier this year. I don't fly American often, wasn't familiar with the UI on its website and must have been very careless. I was upset at what I thought was going to be a costly error, because I needed to check a bag. Well, I have an AA credit card and had used it to buy the ticket. As a result, I was able to check a bag for free, even in Basic Economy.

Friends don't let friends fly basic economy. I can see it if you are just taking a short domestic flight, but for international flights, you need the bag, you want to reserve your seat, if something goes sideways, you want some recourse and help to get it straightened out.

"The wisdom of crowds" on display once again. As a whole, the traveling public has spoken loudly and clearly to the airlines, and they have given the traveling public exactly what they keep asking for: the cheapest possible ticket, to the exclusion of any other consideration. Can't really blame United for serving up what most people say they want. You just need to remember that if other things matter to you, you'll need to 1) be aware of what you're buying, and 2) figure out how to get what you want - which for some of us is definitely NOT "basic economy".

Friends don't let friends fly basic economy. I can see it if you are
just taking a short domestic flight, but for international flights,
you need the bag, you want to reserve your seat, if something goes
sideways, you want some recourse and help to get it straightened out.

Paul,

"Basic Economy" the branded name for a class, or baisc economy meaning the cheapest fare class available? It means different things on different airlines. In the last 18 months I have flown on a number of basic economy tickets and a few Basic Economy tickets.

I have done it on Wizz, Ryan, Air Serbia, Austrian and Lufthansa. You said International, well they all were. I live in Budapest and you cant fly domestic. LOL.

One Lufthnasa to Dulles and one Lufthansa to Frankfurt. Air Serbia to Sarajevo, Wizz to Croatia and to Montenegro and Ryan to Malta, Austrian Air to Budapest.

No regrets on any of them. Was able to select seats on ALL of them. Yes, that can add $20 a flight leg. Some allowed a carryon and a personal item. Some just the personal item, but no carryon. The deal I was most proud of was Lufthansa RT to IAD for under $600 including seats.

I discovered that the economy seat with the cheap ticket is the same size as the economy seat with the next up from cheap ticket. Amazing. And the customer service number is the same for all of the economy tickets.

David in Seattle, correct-a-mundo. Its why Ryan is near the top on the number of passengers served. Some of us are po-fok but we still want to travel .... and pay the rent.

Pricing transparency is the issue. According to Consumer Reports' last airline survey, united did well in many categories-- but fell short in pricing transparency.

Remember back in the good old days when you bought a pound of coffee it actually weighed a pound? Then it started weighing 15 ounces, then 14, then 13 and then the next thing you know United is jamming you extra for hidden and opaque fees! No wonder folks are abandoning United for likes of Ryan and Southwest! Those guys may pack you in like sardines but at least they are upfront about it!

Honesty counts! Also, united cut 80% of the departures from Cleveland. Obviously they are Pittsburgh steeler fans. I see why folks are saying "I won't be flying United." The careful consumer knows a thing or two!

Happy travels!

I feel like United's super restrictive basic economy fare has been in place for a while. I haven't booked a BE fare since before the pandemic (for a short domestic flight) but on Delta if you try to book a BE fare you are given multiple warnings about what you DON'T get, one of which, now, is SkyMiles. I have both a SkyMiles AMEX and United Visa, so I get a free checked bag but I'm pretty sure you're warned about bag fees before you click "purchase".

In short, if you're paying attention when you book, I think both airlines give you ample warning about what you're getting, or not getting, because of course they want you to buy the regular economy fare. Google Flights also allows you to exclude BE fares when searching now, too.

In short, if you're paying attention when you book, I think both airlines give you ample warning about what you're getting, or not getting, because of course they want you to buy the regular economy fare...

Sure, they want yo to book the regular economy fare. But also because probably their least favorite thing they have to deal with are customers who ignored all the fine print, and blew past all the warnings in huge, bold, blinking, red text, all repeatedly warning them that they were booking a no-frills fare and they were not getting their huge, heavy roller bag on board with that cheap ticket...because, CHEAP TICKET!!!!

Every day airline staff have to deal with customers who are outraged and angry, seeking retribution for not being allowed to bring along a 50-pound steamer trunk as their "personal item" with their $25 no-frills ticket. They cause headaches (and added stress) for gate staff, they go online to trash the airline, they are not happy campers. I see them all the time, seemingly at every airport, at every gate. And endlessly online. No matter how big bold and blinky they make the warnings, people just seem to have dilated pupils after seeing the super cheap ticket price, they go into some sort of semi-conscious "fugue state" where they shut down all other input.

The airlines do try to warn customers. It's just that a lot of those customers stop processing everything once they find a "deal" on a cheap ticket, it's like they have simply shut down all non-involuntary reflexes. "I won't be flying United" is the result.

Just maybe the Basic economy ticket is aimed at people that travel and don’t require a carryon. I think it’s great I get a discount for all the time I have to wait for people that take forever to force their oversized bags into the overhead bins which means more time required to try and pry them out when disembarking.

Ha! David in Seattle, I 100% agree with you. As I was typing "if you're paying attention when you book" the thought bubble above my head read "which most people don't seem to do, or else they think 'they don't mean me.'"

The other day I had to use Zelle to pay a tree company for some work. At every step of the process I had to check a box confirming that I understood I was sending money to someone and confirming I knew the recipient. Maybe airlines need to adopt this strategy - I acknowledge I am booking the most restrictive fare. I acknowlege that a bag is not included and will cost me X if I bring it. I acknowlege that I can't pick a seat until checkin opens.

When discussing with Miss Bennet both United Airlines' sneaky hidden fees and Mr Wickham, I think Mr. Darcy put it best:

Maybe it's that I find it hard to forgive the follies and vices of
others, or their offenses against me. My good opinion, once lost, is
lost forever.

So I understand why he too won't be flying United.

Happy travels!

"Basic Economy" the branded name for a class, or baisc economy meaning the cheapest fare class available?

Per the OP, I think as it applies to the big three US based airlines. They are only talking of United, but American and Delta have a similar class of service.

The European flag carriers are their own entity, what sells as a standard ticket, in regards to baggage, is strict by US standards. The Budget airlines I have no problem with, you get what you pay for, you need something, pay for it, but don't expect full service for nothing. I fly Ryanair reasonably often, and I almost always pay for a checked bag. Similar when I fly Easyjet, rarely use any others, though I would if that is a better option.

The other day I had to use Zelle to pay a tree company for some work. At every step of the process I had to check a box confirming that I understood I was sending money to someone and confirming I knew the recipient. Maybe airlines need to adopt this strategy - I acknowledge I am booking the most restrictive fare. I acknowlege that a bag is not included and will cost me X if I bring it. I acknowlege that I can't pick a seat until checkin opens.

At least some of them have. I’ve gone through the basic economy booking option on Delta. I can tell you that you get about three or four warnings of what you’re buying and yet every few days on social media I read somebody having a hissy fit because they didn’t understand that they weren’t going to get a seat until they got to the airport and they couldn’t sit with their friends , etc. etc.

it doesn’t matter that they have those warnings people don’t want to read them. They’re just hitting the buy button or they’re buying these tickets on Bubba Gump’s discount travel because Bubba ‘d gonna get you a deal

Having read enough of these complaints I feel certain I could set up Carol‘s discount travel and put in the small print “ By the way I’m just going to take your money and not give you a ticket” and some people would still send me their cash.