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United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ...Now cancellable for a fee

Old Nov 15, 2016, 1:38 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: jsloan
Related thread: Basic Economy Airport and Plane Experiences (First or Second Hand)

If purchased on united.com you will have to accept a warning about choosing Basic Economy and there will be orange "Basic Economy" highlights everywhere during the booking process.

Link to UA's description of how these fares will work: Basic Economy.

Here are the key facts:
  • No free seat assignments until check-in. Seats will be assigned by the system. Flyers (including elite) have the option to purchase regular economy and preferred economy (white seats with black triangle on seat map) seats after ticket purchase. E+ seats are not available for purchase until check-in. If you dont purchase an advance seat assignment, your seat will be automatically assigned to you prior to boarding, and you won't be able to change your seat once it's been assigned.
  • No guarantee of adjacent seats with companions
  • No voluntary ticket changes after 24 hour purchase period (1K's have successfully used Same Day Standby and received a confirmed seat without penalty)
  • Carry on limited to one personal item unless the customer is a MP Premier member, primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card, or Star Alliance *G, or traveling on an international BE product
  • Customers ineligible for carry-on who bring one to the gate will be charged a $25 convenience fee to gate-check in addition to standard baggage fees (source: @united twitter)
  • Customers are not eligible for premium cabin upgrades either via CPU, mileage upgrade award or PlusPoints
  • Customers will board in the last boarding group (currently Group 5) unless the customer is a MP Premier member, primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card, or Star Alliance *G, or traveling on an international BE product
  • Companions on same PNR will have same boarding group and carry-on if one on the PNR has a waiver
  • No combinability with regular economy fares or partner carriers. Interline travel is not permitted.
  • Normal PQPs / RDMs based on fare and elite multipliers
  • No PQFs
  • Flight(s) do count towards the 4 flight minimum for UA-operated
  • Lifetime mileage
  • Domestic Basic Economy tickets will use booking code 'N'. International BE can be in any class.
  • Online check-in only with paid checked bag, otherwise need to see a United representative to verify the onboard bag allowance and receive a boarding pass
  • Canceling a basic economy ticket will receive a flight credit for the price of the ticket, minus a fee. For domestic flights, the fee is $49.50 for one-way tickets and $99 for roundtrip tickets. For international flights, the fee is $99.50 for one-way tickets and $199 for roundtrip tickets
In air, passengers will receive the same standard economy inflight amenities including United Economy dining options, inflight entertainment, United Wi-Fi (availability depending on the flight)

To avoid domestic BE fares ITA Matrix ~bc=N . Ignoring them on international flights is much trickier because they do not have a consistent pattern in the fare basis; it appears to change by market / region. (That said, as UA is lifting BE from legacy GDS systems, it may result in them disappearing from ITA Matrix anyway).

Google Flights -- select 1 Carry-on bag

NO UNUSED TICKET MAY BE USED TOWARD THE PURCHASE
OF A BASIC ECONOMY TICKET.
-------
NO RESIDUAL VALUE MAY BE USED TOWARD THE PURCHASE
OF A BASIC ECONOMY TICKET.

How is this different from buying up BE to regular economy?

related threads
New UA/*A TATL -LGT Economy fare - no free first bag, no changes/upgrades allowed

Benefit impact of restricted economy fares on UA Elites (Basic Econ, -LGT, Light Econ

Pre-announcement speculation thread (now closed) New "Budget Economy" fares

United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ... {Archive}


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United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ...Now cancellable for a fee

Old Jan 31, 2022, 12:19 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Chicago
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I'm trying to book international economy through Amex and they don't seem to be able to exclude basic economy fares. I have tried on three separate occasions to book fare classes and prices that I thought would have given me full fare economy but to no avail. If anyone has any advice it would be very much appreciated.
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Old Feb 4, 2022, 8:43 am
  #17  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
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Apologies in advance for a somewhat newbie question, normally an AA flyer. I have to purchase BE for work purposes since it's the cheapest fare. Not a fan of the cheap seats, so do I have the ability to buy out of BE to first? I've never had an issue with upfareing on AA, but wasn't sure if that was possible on UA. Destination is SJU, if that matters. Thanks!
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Old Feb 4, 2022, 4:55 pm
  #18  
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Originally Posted by McSam18
Apologies in advance for a somewhat newbie question, normally an AA flyer. I have to purchase BE for work purposes since it's the cheapest fare. Not a fan of the cheap seats, so do I have the ability to buy out of BE to first? I've never had an issue with upfareing on AA, but wasn't sure if that was possible on UA. Destination is SJU, if that matters. Thanks!
no way to buy from BE directly to F.

If this is a domestic (or at least not long-haul), you should be able to do this by first buying up to regular economy. Then you should be able to buy up to F (if available) from there.
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Old Feb 5, 2022, 11:53 am
  #19  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 5
Hi I just upgraded my travelers from basic economy to economy. In doing so we’re supposed to have the ability to pick our own seats, right? When I go to seat selections it’s asking us to purchase seats with a message that pops up that says

“There are no complimentary seat assignments available at this time. You'll be assigned a seat at no charge prior to boarding, or you can purchase an available seat on the seat map.”

Which it wouldn’t be complimentary seating since we already paid for it when we upgraded from basic economy to economy. Is this right and even though I upgraded to economy I still have to purchase a seat?
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Old Feb 5, 2022, 12:29 pm
  #20  
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Originally Posted by Shygirl
Hi I just upgraded my travelers from basic economy to economy. In doing so were supposed to have the ability to pick our own seats, right? When I go to seat selections its asking us to purchase seats with a message that pops up that says

There are no complimentary seat assignments available at this time. You'll be assigned a seat at no charge prior to boarding, or you can purchase an available seat on the seat map.

Which it wouldnt be complimentary seating since we already paid for it when we upgraded from basic economy to economy. Is this right and even though I upgraded to economy I still have to purchase a seat?
Even for regular economy, for non-elites, there are free seats (those in white), and paid seats (Economy+, those in blue with extra legroom, and I think you can also buy preferred now, which are the same as the regular white seats, but they are closer to the front - they are half white half dark blue (IIRC), and used to be only available for certain pax - elites, corporates, etc.). When all the free seats are already selected, the message you are getting pops up, because, there are no free seats left to select.

You can keep checking - things do change - people might cancel, buy up, change flights, etc, so free seats could become available again. Failing that, you could elect to pay for one of the paid seats (IIRC, the option to buy to E+, though not sure about preferred, isn't available on a basic ticket). As you get closer to departure, and especially at check in, things can get better. You have elites (silvers) who are eligible to move into E+, others who might buy up, etc. In the absolute worst case, you;'ll be assigned a seat automatically at check in or at the gate, for free, even if the seat was one of the paid options from earlier.
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Old Feb 5, 2022, 1:14 pm
  #21  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 5
Originally Posted by emcampbe
Even for regular economy, for non-elites, there are free seats (those in white), and paid seats (Economy+, those in blue with extra legroom, and I think you can also buy preferred now, which are the same as the regular white seats, but they are closer to the front - they are half white half dark blue (IIRC), and used to be only available for certain pax - elites, corporates, etc.). When all the free seats are already selected, the message you are getting pops up, because, there are no free seats left to select.

You can keep checking - things do change - people might cancel, buy up, change flights, etc, so free seats could become available again. Failing that, you could elect to pay for one of the paid seats (IIRC, the option to buy to E+, though not sure about preferred, isn't available on a basic ticket). As you get closer to departure, and especially at check in, things can get better. You have elites (silvers) who are eligible to move into E+, others who might buy up, etc. In the absolute worst case, you;'ll be assigned a seat automatically at check in or at the gate, for free, even if the seat was one of the paid options from earlier.
Lesson learned because I paid $300 mainly so we can all sit together. The carry on was a convenience not a necessity. Should have just bought the seats then and just kept basic economy.
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Old Feb 5, 2022, 1:29 pm
  #22  
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Originally Posted by Shygirl
Lesson learned because I paid $300 mainly so we can all sit together. The carry on was a convenience not a necessity. Should have just bought the seats then and just kept basic economy.
I typically dont buy BE, but any seats you had available to purchase on your BE tickets are the same ones you would have been able to select for free on a regular economy ticket. If there was no option to buy seats when they were BE, wouldnt be much of a surprise to else there were no comp. Selections available after upgrading the fare type.

sorry you had to learn the hard way.
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Old Feb 5, 2022, 1:43 pm
  #23  
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Originally Posted by emcampbe
.... I think you can also buy preferred now, which are the same as the regular white seats, but they are closer to the front - they are half white half dark blue (IIRC), and used to be only available for certain pax - elites, corporates, etc.). ....
Unoccupied Preferred seats are free to any passenger at Check-In

Unoccupied economy seatmap coding
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Old Feb 5, 2022, 1:59 pm
  #24  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
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Originally Posted by emcampbe
I typically dont buy BE, but any seats you had available to purchase on your BE tickets are the same ones you would have been able to select for free on a regular economy ticket. If there was no option to buy seats when they were BE, wouldnt be much of a surprise to else there were no comp. Selections available after upgrading the fare type.

sorry you had to learn the hard way.
So, these seats in white that I'm seeing for purchase would have been complimentary if I had selected Economy in the first place? Since I upgraded to economy these are the seats I have to now purchase? That seems so silly. The difference in ticket prices from basic Economy vs regular economy was $ 299 pp vs close to $700 pp which seemed crazy.

I should have went with delta/Jetblue/AA which was more money up front but would have been cheaper in the long run. They didnt have all these caveat that you seem to have to navigate with united. I rarely fly so this is a lesson learned and something I will be mindful of in the future. I wonder if I contact united if I can have my ticket downgraded back to basic economy and refunded. It's the principal of the matter. I don't like feeling like I'm double paying for something.

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
Unoccupied Preferred seats are free to any passenger at Check-In

Unoccupied economy seatmap coding
So at check in the united economy seats will be available for me to choose and it's not going to be a case of United assigning random seats for me? My thing is I'm flying with first time flyers and anxiety about traveling will be at a max level. So it's important for us to be seated together and not randomly placed.
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Last edited by WineCountryUA; Feb 5, 2022 at 2:40 pm Reason: merged consecutive posts by same member
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Old Feb 5, 2022, 2:40 pm
  #25  
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Originally Posted by Shygirl
So, these seats in white that I'm seeing for purchase would have been complimentary if I had selected Economy in the first place? ...
Originally Posted by Shygirl
I should have went with delta/Jetblue/AA which was more money up front but would have been cheaper in the long run. They didn’t have all these caveat that you seem to have to navigate with united. ....
They also have a portion of the economy requing extra access fees.

Originally Posted by Shygirl
So at check in the united economy seats will be available for me to choose and it's not going to be a case of United assigning random seats for me? ...
Conditional Yes, depends on if adjacent seats are available at that time

UA has four categories of economy seats
Economy Plus -- bookable for free by some elites or by subscription or occasionally by anyone if the rest of the seats are occuplied
Preferred -- "reserved" for corporate customers or elites, access able before checkin by anyone for fee or free after checkin
Blocked -- UA will block seats for those with medical needs or family groups (especially with minors) -- need to call for access
Rest of economy -- free for any non-Basic Economy passenger

BE passenger have no say in placement which could be in any part of the entire economy cabin (including E+, preferred or rest of economy)

Blocked and preferred seats will open up at check-in for any non-BE. Getting adjacent seats for a large group at that time will depend on how full the flight is.

Note is worth checking the flight from time to time as people plans change and seats may open up. Also at check-in and afterward "free seats" will open up for the above reasons and as elites upgrade or move into E+. There is quite of bit of seat churn closer to departure.
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Last edited by WineCountryUA; Feb 5, 2022 at 3:35 pm
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Old Feb 5, 2022, 4:25 pm
  #26  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
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Originally Posted by emcampbe
no way to buy from BE directly to F.

If this is a domestic (or at least not long-haul), you should be able to do this by first buying up to regular economy. Then you should be able to buy up to F (if available) from there.
Super helpful. Thanks for your insight!
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Old Feb 6, 2022, 12:02 pm
  #27  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 68
United Explorer card and basic economy

I currently have a United explorer card and an economy plus subscription. I am curious on how priority boarding and my EP sub would play with a basic economy fare? Reading the terms of the benefits gets a little confusing.

Anyone have thoughts or insight how these 2 products/offerings pair with each other?

TIA
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Old Feb 6, 2022, 12:41 pm
  #28  
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
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Seat selection isn't included with basic economy tickets, so your E+ subscription doesn't come into play at all when flying BE.

With the United explorer card, you do retain your priority boarding order (group 2), have the ability to bring a full size carry on, and check a bag free.
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Old Feb 6, 2022, 12:54 pm
  #29  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
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Thanks AUSNYCflyer
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Old Feb 6, 2022, 1:55 pm
  #30  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
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United showed me good customer service. I shot them a tweet and they assigned my seats together.
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