Why do airlines hate basic economy passengers? Let me count the ways.

For some airlines that's been in place for a couple of years.. not sure that it's still "news"

Unable to read without surrendering my email to them.

In general I think there is no 'hate' involved. If all you want is the cheapest way to get there, they will do that, but you are not going to get any perks.

A bare bones Corolla will get you to/from the grocery store, but if you want the comfort of a Lexus, you have to pay more.

Same with airfare.

It’s because they are not as profitable as other passengers.

You get what you pay for. If you only want the cheapest, you dont get the extras. Too bad, so sad.

From AI, "Yes, airlines often restrict benefits for basic economy passengers—such as charging for carry-ons, limiting seat selection, and restricting mileage earning—to incentivize signing up for co-branded credit cards. These cards offer perks like free checked bags and priority boarding, which act as a high-margin revenue source for airlines, often more profitable than selling actual flights."
Airlines make billions from their co-branded credit cards annually. If you feel the pinch, you might just obtain the salve.

I have noticed the people who have the most issues with Basic Economy are those who would never buy it. That doesnt make sense to me. I suspect that those Basic Economy seats sell out as fast as the Business Class does. And I suspect those Basic Economy seats allow tens of thousands of people to travel who otherwise wouldnt be able to. By the way, I have been known to fly Basic Economy. I value what I can spend my money on at the final destination more than the size of a seat for a few hours. Of course I travel with the stigma of being "one of them".

I buy basic economy and wasn't bothered by losing those miles. I'm more excited about round trip tickets from middle USA to Europe for under $700...

For those who fly Basic Economy, how do you handle the "No changes allowed" and "Choose your seat for a fee"? I have been tempted to choose BE because the next level allowing changes and choice of seat is always $200 more. I usually fly United. Are you taking a risk that you will be out the price of your ticket if something happens causing you to cancel? I've never been able to find what the "fee" is for choosing my seat.

I won't pay to choose a seat. I just want to get where I'm going. I was about to board a plane a few years ago and I heard a fellow passenger ask another fellow passenger about the seat assignment fee and they both tried it once and agreed it was a waste.

I am one of those 'unwashed masses' that populate the back of the (air)bus. I do have an AA credit card on which I collect miles. Last year, the mileage paid for the entire round trip. This year, one leg. Would I like to travel business class, stay and eat in fancy hotels and restaurants, absolutely. Do my finances allow it? No. Therefore, I will deal with seat 37D, Airbnbs, and 5 euro kababs in order to witness shafts of sunlight in the am pouring into a Romanesque church in a hilltop village somewhere in southern Europe.

The big airlines no longer make their most of their money on flights: they're banks that happen to offer flight services. Almost all of their money comes from credit card fees and point exchanges. It's an extraordinarily lucrative business for them and they're milking it for every dollar they can.

YouTube vid by Wendover Productions explains this pretty well.

-- Mike Beebe

I provided an email and it still won't let me read the article. But even without reading it I'll take a guess that it's a whiney, entitled writer complaining about not being satisfied that they don't get any perks when paying for the lowest possible airfare. I blame the consumer as much as I do the corporation. Everyone wants a deal but connotation that is still not enough.

I really fail to see the issue.

Products at different price points will have certain levels of features and perks. How hard is that to understand? In BE airlines have provided a fare that customers happily or willingly purchase, lacking features that they probably place little importance on. In turn I do not fly or spend money enough to have status and I do not have an airline branded credit card. I don't go around thinking "they" hate me.

I have noticed the people who have the most issues with Basic Economy are those who would never buy it.

There's truth in that.

As a frequent flyer , the people on here are posting that they don’t care what seats they want get so they’re not willing to pay are not the majority of the people buying basic economy. The majority of the people buying basic economy thought the airline had a special exception for them so that they could sit with their spouse, adult children, etc. I mean, I recently saw a woman having a fit because she couldn’t sit with her son - her son was 30 something years old and no, neither one of them had any kind of special needs. She just thought that the airline would understand they were a family.

I see it all the time - they’re at the airport just having a little fit because they’ve got a middle seat in the back, but they thought the airline knew they were special and they wouldn’t have to sit in the middle seat all the way to Europe( yep, they’re gonna have to sit in the middle seat all the way to Europe ).

Of course they’re not as bad as the people who saw on TikTok that the way to get a whole row to yourself is to take the middle seat and then people won’t book the window or the aisle or if they do they will move so that they could sit next to each other. I actually had this happen to me. The man in the middle seat said to me, don’t you want to move to sit by your husband? I said who? he said your husband on the other side of me. Since I was traveling alone, I had to tell this nice man that the man next to him was not my husband. The man next to me then said he thought he would not have to stay in the middle seat because he he’d seen this on TikTok. Yeah, he paid for a seat to wind up, sitting in a middle seat from Atlanta to California.

Caveat emptor. At all of my various and varied points of purchase, I consistently battle with my wants versus my need for a good deal. I appreciate having a broad spectrum of price points for the products and services I spend my hard earned money on and mostly aim for a win-win where I feel I've gotten the best value for the financial outlay. Depending on length of flight, I am either a BE or PE denizen with aspirations to live the BC life. I've enjoyed scoring excellent fares for international travel as well as gritted my teeth as I over pay for a domestic direct nonstop. I play the airline loyalty game, more for the advance seat assignment, priority boarding and check a bag perks than getting a decent deal using their miles or points. Just used 50K points for SEA - PSP midweek early April and I yearn for the days that route was often had for half that amount. But, I consider that I'm playing with house money when using the system for an airfare and that I have little control over how the financial valuation is set.

First we fly every three weeks to SFO. It’s a little over an hour flight. For $100+ less than economy, I can manage to sit in the back of the plane next to someone other than my husband. I had to laugh on our last flight, the plane was full in the far back “be” seats and almost empty everywhere else and the flight attendants were moving us all around to more even out the plane.

I always choose Basic Economy. That won't change. Not interested in any additional level of luxury, these perks since you have to pay extra.

No way am I going to pay for choosing my seat. That I leave up to "them" to choose at check-in and negotiate if possible. Sometimes it is. Choosing my seat and paying for it is what I used to do , didn't know any better then.

As pointed out above, I am only interested in getting over there the cheapest way offered regardless of the discomfort on the 11 hour flight. That flight going over in 2023 SFO to Frankfurt Basic Economy really taxed my capacity for tolerating unpleasantness , if not downright discomfort , on such a long flight, most likely the worst flight ever for me.

"...every man for himself." Just get me over there in that 11 hour time span.

I had to laugh on our last flight, the plane was full in the far back

Not sure why people who have fewer financial resources that they can spend on travel are funny?

There are some airlines that do indeed require that you take the seat they give you when you fly basic economy but as the post above points out, you can get moved or you can choose to move after the flight is full. I’ve never seen anyone be denied that opportunity; and not every airline denies you the opportunity to choose. The airlines I bought cheap tickets on have allowed me to buy a seat. So, odds are if someone is sitting in the back it is personal choice or financial choice.

I checked the various options on a Lufthansa flight. All categories allow you to purchase seat assignments. The price for this flight was 33€ for an average seat and 67€ for an exit row or bulkhead. The first available Basic Economy row was the first row after Premium Economy. Not in the back. Every airline will be different, so generalizations don’t work.

Someone asked how you deal with cancelations. If you don’t travel often its an issue. If you travel often that cheap ticket will save you enough that over time you are self-insured. Look below and the difference on that one-way flight between the cheapest and the first one that is fully flexible is 152€. The cheap ticket cost 397.48€ so after three flights on a cheap ticket you can lose a ticket and still be a little ahead on the game. But its really about what you are comfortable with. Nothing else.

FRA to IAD Depart 22 May

Economy Light 397.48€
No Refunds / ReBookng fee 250€ / Carry-on Bag, but no checked bag / Pay for seat reservations / Miles 936

Basic Economy 464.48€ / Premium 888.48€ / Business 1,924.48
No Refunds / ReBooking fee 150€ / Carry-on and a checked bag / Pay for seat reservations / Miles 1204

Economy Basic Plus 524.48€ / Premium 963.48€ / Business 2024.48€
Refund less 200€ / ReBooking fee 150€ / Carry-on and a checked bag / Pay for seat reservations / Miles 1444

Economy Green 549.48€ / Premium 1003.48€ / Business 2099.48€
Refund less 200€ / ReBooking fee 0€ / Carry-on and a checked bag / Carbon offset / Miles 1544

Economy Flex 584.48€ / Premium 1038.48€ / Business 2124.48€
Full Refund / ReBooking fee 0€ / Carry-on and a checked bag / Miles 1684

The "Basic Economy" fare was brought in by major airlines to compete with the discounters. Even though the profit margin on BE seats is virtually nil, it's better than having that seat fly empty. I don't think the airlines are concerned about customer loyalty from BE customers.

What you get with a BE fare is basically the same as you would get for a similar fare with a discounter. Everything above just the seat is extra.

These fares open up air travel to a lot of people. A woman I knew in London was originally from Romania. She needed dental work and it was cheaper for her to fly to Romania on Ryanair, have the work done, and fly back to London than have the dental work done completely in London. She only took a bag that was the size of the "allowed luggage" and didn't care where she sat.

Speaking of credit cards......United recently announced that passengers can earn more miles and get better fares by using the United branded credit cards.

At check-in upon being assigned a seat , it is then I try to negotiate unless the seat assigned is indeed towards the rear of the seating. Sometimes it works just depending on your luck that day...very whimsical.

There have those few occasions my aisle seat assigned or negotiated was in the second or third row from the last. Fantastic. it pays to ask last minute at check-in. I want that seat as far to the rear as possible without having to pay for it, ie getting my ideal seat for free on the 11 hour flight, more important going over SFO to Frankfurt or Paris. than on the return flight.

I expect that being able to change your seat or negotiate to a better seat may become harder.

Delta, for example, seems to have made a recent change to basic economy. Once your seat is assigned, it’s assigned - that’s it.

Now I have a theory as to why they’ve done this. My theory is that people like me who didn’t pay for basic economy and got things messed up because of changes in our travel plans were not happy we found out we were sitting in the middle seat in the back while somebody who paid for the cheapest ticket had a Delta comfort seat on the aisle upfront because they negotiated or waited till the last minute or whatever reason. And the same thing would be true for a business traveler who is buying a ticket literally at the last minute and all that’s left are the middle seats because the basic economy people have been able to move into the better seats those people who are paying top dollar were not happy being stuck in the middle seat and honestly, I can’t blame them. I’ve had to buy last-minute business tickets and when you’re paying top dollar you aren’t really thrilled when you discover you’ve got one of the worst seats on the plane

I expect you’re going to see more and more restrictions like that from the airlines- maybe I’m wrong but time will tell

So much negativity towards people who have different values. Values that have zero impact on others.

Guessing hate as reason tells more about the author than about the airlines. Unbelievable that this thread is not deleted by webmasters.

The power of the written word without tone of voice. I’m sorry Mr e if you think I was ragging on basic economy travelers. I am one of them! We BE’s were laughing at United, they had to even out the weight of the plane and we all got better (I guess) seats because of it without paying a fee, simple as that. And frankly, I don’t see a whole lot of difference sitting in Row 9 versus sitting in Row 33 unless of course you have a connection to make.

Thats okay margie, I get a little over reactive at times. Accept my apology.

Its is beyond me how people attach any kind of negative emotion coming from either the airline (they dont hate you OP, they just know how to make a buck) or towards any of the other fliers. Any negativity I've seen here seems to have been directed towards the airline and the way they are doing business, and its consequences. Not sure where Mr E is seeing negativity directed directly towards other fliers. Other than a couple of well described examples of unrealistic expectations by ill informed people.

CJean

I’m always amazed at the amount of emotion tied to an airline.

I will periodically see on the other social media people saying that they’re leaving Delta, united, American because now they are now a free agent. So prior to now they were contractually bound like an NFL player to an airline and they couldn’t go any other airline because they didn’t have the ability to make a choice? Somehow, I don’t think so.

Or the people who say they’re divorcing their airline. There was a legal commitment between you and your carrier that required you to go to the formality of getting a divorce?

Or people who really seem to think that the airline canceled the flight because the airline hated them. No, that’s not why airlines cancel flights.

And of course they’re the people who will only fly airline X because airline X loves them. No, it’s a corporation. It is incapable of love. I live in Atlanta and there are people here who will not fly any other carrier but Delta because “Delta loves me.” my only airline emotion is I won’t fly spirit because I despise them. But I’m smart enough to know if they don’t even know I exist so it’s not like it’s a mutual dislike.

Complaint about paying 'top dollar' and being forced to take an undesirable seat compared to the losers in the back who were able to 'negotiate', at the last minute, their way into said desirable seat is something I am happy to read this weekend.

Carol, members of the SSoFBBEF have no allegiance to or love for any airline.

SSoFBBEF

???

SSoFBBEF Secret Society of Farm Boy Basic Economy Fliers. The cost plane tickets is expressed by how many goats have to be sold to the slaughter house to pay for the ticket. "Martha premimum economy is a 5 goat ticket!"

Every time there is a topic about the fare class ‘basic economy’ there are posters (at least a half dozen here) who think basic economy is synonymous with ‘the seats in the back of the plane.’

If this is you, do a web search. The misunderstanding never seems to go away, even after years.

I can’t blame them. I’ve had to buy last-minute business tickets and when you’re paying top dollar you aren’t really thrilled when you discover you’ve got one of the worst seats on the plane

I guess I'm a little confused. Would you think that about a hotel? In most cases, if you wait till the last minute to buy a hotel room or even a train ticket, you are almost certainly going to pay a premium price. That's how it works, and you may or may not get a room or train seat that is comparable with the price you are paying.

Why should it be any different with a flight?

Yes --- we fly Delta Main Cabin "Classic" and always choose to sit in the back of the plane. Row 54 if possible! It's fine back there.

toby, the only airline that I have flown lately has been Lufthansa (a couple of times to Germany and once to the US last year) and i few the cheapest catagory. I was able to select my seat for the same price as it costs the upper economy classes to select their seats. This may not be true on other airlines but the blanket assumption doesnt hold.

If seats in Basic Economy were indeed those to the rear of the plane, all the better. It's one of those seats I take a chance on still being available when asking last minute check-in. Some they are , other times you're saddled with a seat in the middle...very whimsical.

Lemme tell 'ya: I wish I could comfortably sit in BE (or pretty much any economy seat)!

Sure, for a short 1-2 hour hop it's fine, but for longer distances my long legs don't tolerate being wedged into a seat with a 30-31" pitch (or lower). It's definitely a "me" problem, being 6'4" with a long inseam.

Blockquote I guess I'm a little confused. Would you think that about a hotel? In most cases, if you wait till the last minute to buy a hotel room or even a train ticket, you are almost certainly going to pay a premium price

actually as someone who often books hotels last minute for business travel I found that I tend to get upgraded because I’m paying more for my hotel. I’m not being locked out the best hotel rooms to give them to people who didn’t pay for them.

Yes, I’m paying a premium and I’m being rewarded for that when it comes to hotels

I failed to see why when I’m paying top dollar for a plane ticket. I should be penalized by getting bad seats

I am a little confused as to why people who pay more should wind up with worse accommodations or seats