Last edit by: IADCAflyer
What is Basic Economy?
Basic Economy is (generally) the lowest, "no-frills" Main Cabin (Economy) fare on American Airlines and their Atlantic Joint Business partners (British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair). Basic Economy fares on American Airlines book into the As the lowest fare, it has some special restrictions that other Main Cabin fares do not.
What are the Restrictions?
You can read American Airlines' web page summarizing Basic Economy for the exact details, but there are a few points that likely matter most to FlyerTalkers:
* exceptions apply for American Airlines elite-level frequent flyers as noted below.
Despite these restrictions, Basic Economy can be a good value in certain circumstances.
Are the seats or service any different?
Once you are on the airplane, the experience (seats / drinks / snacks) will be identical to regular Main Cabin.
How can I tell if I have a Basic Economy fare?
Your reservation on aa.com may say it. Basic Economy fares on American Airlines flights book into the B booking class, though Basic Economy fares on BA/IB/AY and their AA* codeshares can book into almost any revenue booking class.
I have an AA credit card, what does that get me?
Yes, if you have an American Airlines credit card that comes with preferred boarding or a free checked bag on domestic itineraries, you will receive those benefits. Additionally, if you have a Citi Executive card, you may use the Admirals Club as normal.
I have AA elite status, what does that get me?
You WILL get the following elite benefits when you buy a Basic Economy fare (note this is not an exhaustive list, basically everything not expressly forbidden is allowed):
Families with children over 13 will have to pay for seat assignments to be seated with their children.
I am flying on a British Airways, Iberia, or Finnair airplane, is anything different?
If you do not have AA or oneworld elite status, the restrictions are quite similar and you should expect to pay for everything: paid checked bags, paid seat selection, and no changes / cancellations. Depending on available fare classes, you may have an opportunity to earn additional redeemable miles or elite qualifying dollars by booking a BA / IB / AY flight number instead of an AA flight number; check your options and the partner earning charts on AA for each respective airline (British Airways, Iberia, Finnair).
If you have status, buckle up, because it gets technical, though there are some opportunities to cherry pick benefits and save money. This has been already summarized in the counterpart to this thread on the British Airways forum., so we will not reproduce it here. Note the following correspondences between status levels:
Basic Economy is (generally) the lowest, "no-frills" Main Cabin (Economy) fare on American Airlines and their Atlantic Joint Business partners (British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair). Basic Economy fares on American Airlines book into the As the lowest fare, it has some special restrictions that other Main Cabin fares do not.
What are the Restrictions?
You can read American Airlines' web page summarizing Basic Economy for the exact details, but there are a few points that likely matter most to FlyerTalkers:
- Your first checked bag will cost money on a Basic Economy fare*.
- Your seat will be automatically assigned when you check in and unchangeable, unless you pay to change your seat. You may pay to reserve a seat any time after booking*.
- No elite upgrades to first class, or complimentary access to preferred seats (green on the seat map) or Main Cabin Extra (orange on the seat map)*.
- You will board last, in Group 9 for domestic flights or Group 8 for international flights*. On a full flight, this likely means you will have to gate check your carry-on bag (which is free)*.
- You will earn 50% EQMs per mile flown and 0.5 EQS per segment. You will earn full RDMs (based on fare flown) and EQDs.
- Changes are not permitted (worldwide from 01APR21).
- In IRROPS, Basic Economy customers will not be re-accommodated on other airlines, and will have to wait for the next American Airlines flight (or BA/IB/AY for INTL).
* exceptions apply for American Airlines elite-level frequent flyers as noted below.
Despite these restrictions, Basic Economy can be a good value in certain circumstances.
Are the seats or service any different?
Once you are on the airplane, the experience (seats / drinks / snacks) will be identical to regular Main Cabin.
How can I tell if I have a Basic Economy fare?
Your reservation on aa.com may say it. Basic Economy fares on American Airlines flights book into the B booking class, though Basic Economy fares on BA/IB/AY and their AA* codeshares can book into almost any revenue booking class.
I have an AA credit card, what does that get me?
Yes, if you have an American Airlines credit card that comes with preferred boarding or a free checked bag on domestic itineraries, you will receive those benefits. Additionally, if you have a Citi Executive card, you may use the Admirals Club as normal.
I have AA elite status, what does that get me?
You WILL get the following elite benefits when you buy a Basic Economy fare (note this is not an exhaustive list, basically everything not expressly forbidden is allowed):
- 1/2/3 checked bag fees waives, depending on status.
- Priority check-in / security / boarding.
- Lounge access, if applicable.
- No same-day standby or same-day confirmed flight changes, paid or otherwise.
As it does today, American’s reservations system will check for families traveling with children 13 and under a few days before the flight, and attempt to seat each child with an adult. This is the same process we follow for Main Cabin customers.
I am flying on a British Airways, Iberia, or Finnair airplane, is anything different?
If you do not have AA or oneworld elite status, the restrictions are quite similar and you should expect to pay for everything: paid checked bags, paid seat selection, and no changes / cancellations. Depending on available fare classes, you may have an opportunity to earn additional redeemable miles or elite qualifying dollars by booking a BA / IB / AY flight number instead of an AA flight number; check your options and the partner earning charts on AA for each respective airline (British Airways, Iberia, Finnair).
If you have status, buckle up, because it gets technical, though there are some opportunities to cherry pick benefits and save money. This has been already summarized in the counterpart to this thread on the British Airways forum., so we will not reproduce it here. Note the following correspondences between status levels:
- AA Gold - BA Bronze - oneworld Ruby
- AA Platinum or Platinum Pro - BA Silver - oneworld Sapphire
- AA Executive Platinum or Concierge Key - BA Gold - oneworld Emerald
- If you are a Platinum, Platinum Pro, or Executive Platinum elite, you can generally book Iberia or Finnair-operated Basic Economy flights and not notice any baggage or seating restrictions, as long as they were not marketed by BA.
- If you do not care about your seat assignment, you can book AA-operated flights with an IB or AY flight number and still receive a checked bag if you are Platinum or higher. You may earn more or fewer RDMs, EQMs, and EQDs.
- If you do not need to check a bag, you can book BA-operated flights with any flight number, and can choose your seat (7 days in advance for Gold, at booking for Platinum and higher, Exit Rows for EXP).
Basic Economy Fare as of 2017 (also AY, BA, IB), incl. elite benefits (Master thread)
#406
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: USA & UK -- AA EXP 3.5MM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, Avis President's Club
Posts: 6,411
For all practical purposes, AA is trying to foist a $40 or more price increase upon their customers.
(They took last week's price, stripped all the extras, and named it "Basic Economy". Meanwhile, last week's product now costs $40 more.)
In the past, when an airline tried to raise prices, other airlines often failed to match. Therefore, the attempted price increase had to be rolled back.
But this BE thing is just squirrelly enough that I wonder if AA can actually get away with an across-the-board $40 price increase (which would probably be the biggest across-the-board price increase in aviation history). Search engines are blissfully ignorant about the change. In their view, AA is the best deal in the sky.
In the past, our next move was to simply wait a few days until the other airlines Fail To Match the price increase. But if you're a search engine, this particular price increase looks like a price DECREASE. It's highway robbery, and those crooks just might get away with it.
(They took last week's price, stripped all the extras, and named it "Basic Economy". Meanwhile, last week's product now costs $40 more.)
In the past, when an airline tried to raise prices, other airlines often failed to match. Therefore, the attempted price increase had to be rolled back.
But this BE thing is just squirrelly enough that I wonder if AA can actually get away with an across-the-board $40 price increase (which would probably be the biggest across-the-board price increase in aviation history). Search engines are blissfully ignorant about the change. In their view, AA is the best deal in the sky.
In the past, our next move was to simply wait a few days until the other airlines Fail To Match the price increase. But if you're a search engine, this particular price increase looks like a price DECREASE. It's highway robbery, and those crooks just might get away with it.
#407
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Roughly exact same thread on UA regarding price increase to non-BE rather than cheaper BE. DL has close to the same back when it introduced its version a couple of years ago.
Air ticket prices did not drop when carriers started charging for checked luggage, onboard meals in Y and seat selection. Same whinging back then. It's largely all still here.
Air ticket prices did not drop when carriers started charging for checked luggage, onboard meals in Y and seat selection. Same whinging back then. It's largely all still here.
#409
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,405
Those of us who live in small-to-midsize markets are stuck. My current home city has no NK, is getting very limited F9 service in a few months. My parents live in AZO. No choice but to either suck it up with a B fare or pay basically a $20+ surcharge to (hopefully) not be treated like a caged animal.
#410
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL Plat, AA Plat Pro, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 7,489
They do now warn you that you are about to book a BE fare (I was actually not warned by the Chase portal yesterday, but I suspect it was due to a glitch because I was booking right around the time the fares were being rolled out). However, there is no option (at least online) to book anything but the cheapest fare in each cabin. I'm not sure what the success rate has been of people who call in and request to upfare.
#411
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,160
#412
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Those of us who live in small-to-midsize markets are stuck. My current home city has no NK, is getting very limited F9 service in a few months. My parents live in AZO. No choice but to either suck it up with a B fare or pay basically a $20+ surcharge to (hopefully) not be treated like a caged animal.
What people should look at if paying for their own tickets is that they are wholly inflexible, e.g. can't be changed. Thus, if not flown as booked, they have $0 value. Even if you are 100% sure that you want to take a trip, circumstances arise.
For businesses, this same inflexibility makes the tickets a poor deal.
#413
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 136
What people should look at if paying for their own tickets is that they are wholly inflexible, e.g. can't be changed. Thus, if not flown as booked, they have $0 value. Even if you are 100% sure that you want to take a trip, circumstances arise.
For businesses, this same inflexibility makes the tickets a poor deal.
For businesses, this same inflexibility makes the tickets a poor deal.
And for me to look at a one-way RE flight yesterday for $206, wake up the next day and BE is $206 and RE is $221, who do they think they are fooling? I sent off a complaint to AA and got a mostly boiler plate response about the cheaper price for BE for no-frills customers, responded saying I know that is not true since I am a semi-frills customer and like my regular prices and monitor the prices weekly, and they replied that they welcome the feedback.
Hope they re-consider, but know they won't.
#414
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,622
1/3 of the Y cabin gets a middle seat and the bulk of those are not MCE. So "caged animal" is a bit tough.
What people should look at if paying for their own tickets is that they are wholly inflexible, e.g. can't be changed. Thus, if not flown as booked, they have $0 value. Even if you are 100% sure that you want to take a trip, circumstances arise.
For businesses, this same inflexibility makes the tickets a poor deal.
What people should look at if paying for their own tickets is that they are wholly inflexible, e.g. can't be changed. Thus, if not flown as booked, they have $0 value. Even if you are 100% sure that you want to take a trip, circumstances arise.
For businesses, this same inflexibility makes the tickets a poor deal.
If pretty certain about outbound trips, given that the oneway fare from DFW-ORD can be $211 , it seems kind of pointless to pay $200 change fee plus $20 extra on the fare when a replacement ticket could be $211
Even at higher fares, if a company is making changes to 20% of tickets, it may be better to take the hit rather than pay the change fees
And for me to look at a one-way RE flight yesterday for $206, wake up the next day and BE is $206 and RE is $221, who do they think they are fooling? I sent off a complaint to AA and got a mostly boiler plate response about the cheaper price for BE for no-frills customers, responded saying I know that is not true since I am a semi-frills customer and like my regular prices and monitor the prices weekly, and they replied that they welcome the feedback.
Hope they re-consider, but know they won't.
Hope they re-consider, but know they won't.
#415
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: SNA/LAX, PHL
Programs: AA Gold, AS MVP, WN A-List, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Exp, Hertz PC
Posts: 449
#417
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DAY
Posts: 513
As a leisure traveler, I don't see why I would choose American over Frontier on the same route if the BE price was the same as Frontier's price. I've flown Frontier a few times and I usually get an aisle/window seat even if I don't pay for a seat assignment beforehand. I know that it's not guaranteed though. With American's BE fare, I'd say that I'm more likely to get a middle seat.
#418
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Then you ought to fly F9.
There is no requirement that anyone purchase an AA ticket or BE within that choice. Just like similar threads on DL and UA when each of those carriers started up their offering, people will chill out eventually.
There is no requirement that anyone purchase an AA ticket or BE within that choice. Just like similar threads on DL and UA when each of those carriers started up their offering, people will chill out eventually.
#419
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Usually in SAN or Central Europe.
Programs: AA:EXP/1MM. Accor/Radisson:Silver; HH:Gold; ICH:Plt Amb.
Posts: 22,307
In the past, our next move was to simply wait a few days until the other airlines Fail To Match the price increase. But if you're a search engine, this particular price increase looks like a price DECREASE. It's highway robbery, and those crooks just might get away with it.
#420
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: USA & UK -- AA EXP 3.5MM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, Avis President's Club
Posts: 6,411
Also I'm a bit peeved that they threw this onto all routes as a surprise move. If Basic Economy is really such a huge benefit to the public, why didn't they advertise it with lots of hoopla, offer promotions, etc? Instead, they kinda snuck it in on us.
I fly every week. I monitor prices every day. As a surprise maneuver, I found that my ticket prices stayed the same, but the benefits disappeared. If I want those same benefits, it costs $40 extra per trip.
Yep, I'm disappointed by the fact that AA snuck this one in on us.