Nov 15, 2016, 1:38 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
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:
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}
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 don’t 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 including SDC (occasionally 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
- Full 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
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}
United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ...Now cancellable for a fee
Apr 8, 2022, 12:28 am
#76
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
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Status allows a checked bag and carryon, What other restriction are you trying to avoid? E+ selection, upgrades or changeability, those are a no go. If status waived everything, it makes BE price discount meaningless
More here, https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...onomy.html#mpp
More here, https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...onomy.html#mpp
Apr 8, 2022, 8:59 am
#77
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
UA wants its elites to buy regular Y. They offer BE pricing to price match LCC and appear at the top of kayak searches.
Apr 8, 2022, 9:04 am
#78
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
If I have two bags and a 1 bag allowance, and I don't want to deal with my second bag during a long connection, etc., I will usually check one bag at the counter, bring the second to the gate and check it there for free and board with just my personal item.
On a BE ticket they are supposed to charge $25 gate check fee plus the normal bag check fee. But I'm not aware of how universally this is enforced.
Apr 8, 2022, 9:04 am
#79
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David
Apr 8, 2022, 9:32 am
#80
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,029
There is no charge for anyone (not on a BE ticket) to gate check, even if you've already used your baggage allowance or had a 0 bag allowance. At that point they want people to check to avoid overhead bin congestion and get the flight out on time.
If I have two bags and a 1 bag allowance, and I don't want to deal with my second bag during a long connection, etc., I will usually check one bag at the counter, bring the second to the gate and check it there for free and board with just my personal item.
On a BE ticket they are supposed to charge $25 gate check fee plus the normal bag check fee. But I'm not aware of how universally this is enforced.
If I have two bags and a 1 bag allowance, and I don't want to deal with my second bag during a long connection, etc., I will usually check one bag at the counter, bring the second to the gate and check it there for free and board with just my personal item.
On a BE ticket they are supposed to charge $25 gate check fee plus the normal bag check fee. But I'm not aware of how universally this is enforced.
Apr 8, 2022, 1:35 pm
#81
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,834
Apr 8, 2022, 1:39 pm
#82
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
If you're worried about it, you and your friend approach GA together, your friend holds your bag while you check his bag on your PNR. Then later you take your bag back and board with it.
Apr 8, 2022, 1:47 pm
#83
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, CM Plat, Amex Plat, Hertz CP, Hyatt Globalist, SPG Gold, Vons Club
Posts: 6,849
Unless your friend isn’t taking any carry-on they could take one bag and you the other one. If it’s one passenger with two bags that will surely bring attention
Apr 12, 2022, 9:10 pm
#84
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT
Posts: 10,342
I've decided I'm going to give this a try (again). Remember last time I booked BE I wound up chickening out and rebooked regular Y for $150 more. This time regular Y is over $300 more so I'm pretty sure I'll stick with BE unless I decide not to take the trip entirely.
Interestingly, the outbound is 99% full in the back. After booking I plugged my flights into EF so I can track them and realized the EWR-Europe flight is Y1...H1. I'm booked in "T" as a basic economy fare. Plenty of seats open on the seat map so I imagine plenty of BE fares. No clue if they treat 1K passengers on BE "better" (meaning they auto assign us better seats). Does anyone know how the auto assignment of seats works? Anyone figure out if it's back to front? Based on status? Time of ticketing? Just wondering. It's a 7 hour flight eastbound but it is a red eye. I prefer a window but it's not the end of the world as I won't sleep on the flight anyway.
Flight departs in 3 calendar days. Will update if I wind up taking it and how the seating situation is handled for all four flights.
-RM
Interestingly, the outbound is 99% full in the back. After booking I plugged my flights into EF so I can track them and realized the EWR-Europe flight is Y1...H1. I'm booked in "T" as a basic economy fare. Plenty of seats open on the seat map so I imagine plenty of BE fares. No clue if they treat 1K passengers on BE "better" (meaning they auto assign us better seats). Does anyone know how the auto assignment of seats works? Anyone figure out if it's back to front? Based on status? Time of ticketing? Just wondering. It's a 7 hour flight eastbound but it is a red eye. I prefer a window but it's not the end of the world as I won't sleep on the flight anyway.
Flight departs in 3 calendar days. Will update if I wind up taking it and how the seating situation is handled for all four flights.
-RM
Apr 12, 2022, 10:05 pm
#85
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 19,896
I've decided I'm going to give this a try (again). Remember last time I booked BE I wound up chickening out and rebooked regular Y for $150 more. This time regular Y is over $300 more so I'm pretty sure I'll stick with BE unless I decide not to take the trip entirely.
Interestingly, the outbound is 99% full in the back. After booking I plugged my flights into EF so I can track them and realized the EWR-Europe flight is Y1...H1. I'm booked in "T" as a basic economy fare. Plenty of seats open on the seat map so I imagine plenty of BE fares. No clue if they treat 1K passengers on BE "better" (meaning they auto assign us better seats). Does anyone know how the auto assignment of seats works? Anyone figure out if it's back to front? Based on status? Time of ticketing? Just wondering. It's a 7 hour flight eastbound but it is a red eye. I prefer a window but it's not the end of the world as I won't sleep on the flight anyway.
Flight departs in 3 calendar days. Will update if I wind up taking it and how the seating situation is handled for all four flights.
-RM
Interestingly, the outbound is 99% full in the back. After booking I plugged my flights into EF so I can track them and realized the EWR-Europe flight is Y1...H1. I'm booked in "T" as a basic economy fare. Plenty of seats open on the seat map so I imagine plenty of BE fares. No clue if they treat 1K passengers on BE "better" (meaning they auto assign us better seats). Does anyone know how the auto assignment of seats works? Anyone figure out if it's back to front? Based on status? Time of ticketing? Just wondering. It's a 7 hour flight eastbound but it is a red eye. I prefer a window but it's not the end of the world as I won't sleep on the flight anyway.
Flight departs in 3 calendar days. Will update if I wind up taking it and how the seating situation is handled for all four flights.
-RM
Last edited by lsquare; Apr 13, 2022 at 8:37 am
Apr 13, 2022, 6:37 am
#86
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, CM Plat, Amex Plat, Hertz CP, Hyatt Globalist, SPG Gold, Vons Club
Posts: 6,849
I've decided I'm going to give this a try (again). Remember last time I booked BE I wound up chickening out and rebooked regular Y for $150 more. This time regular Y is over $300 more so I'm pretty sure I'll stick with BE unless I decide not to take the trip entirely.
Interestingly, the outbound is 99% full in the back. After booking I plugged my flights into EF so I can track them and realized the EWR-Europe flight is Y1...H1. I'm booked in "T" as a basic economy fare. Plenty of seats open on the seat map so I imagine plenty of BE fares. No clue if they treat 1K passengers on BE "better" (meaning they auto assign us better seats). Does anyone know how the auto assignment of seats works? Anyone figure out if it's back to front? Based on status? Time of ticketing? Just wondering. It's a 7 hour flight eastbound but it is a red eye. I prefer a window but it's not the end of the world as I won't sleep on the flight anyway.
Flight departs in 3 calendar days. Will update if I wind up taking it and how the seating situation is handled for all four flights.
-RM
Interestingly, the outbound is 99% full in the back. After booking I plugged my flights into EF so I can track them and realized the EWR-Europe flight is Y1...H1. I'm booked in "T" as a basic economy fare. Plenty of seats open on the seat map so I imagine plenty of BE fares. No clue if they treat 1K passengers on BE "better" (meaning they auto assign us better seats). Does anyone know how the auto assignment of seats works? Anyone figure out if it's back to front? Based on status? Time of ticketing? Just wondering. It's a 7 hour flight eastbound but it is a red eye. I prefer a window but it's not the end of the world as I won't sleep on the flight anyway.
Flight departs in 3 calendar days. Will update if I wind up taking it and how the seating situation is handled for all four flights.
-RM
Apr 13, 2022, 7:04 am
#87
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT
Posts: 10,342
Some time last night I was auto-assigned seats for my flights on Friday. The short-hop to EWR I was assigned an aisle in E- on a CRJ550. The long haul I was assigned 32D which is an aisle. My profile says I prefer window so that obviously makes no difference in BE seating. The flight is on a 757-200 and oddly it shows that there is no middle seat in that row. EF confirms this. There is now only a single E- seat available for selection in the last row, a window. If there really is no middle seat in that row I'd be happy with the aisle.
So far I can say: I was not assigned E+ (not expecting it), I was given a seat about midway through the cabin based on the open seat map last night (meaning 1Ks aren't assigned seats first as far as I can tell), UA dumped all E- seats to BE roughly 2.5 days before the flight.
I already cancelled that ticket and rebooked it this morning as the fare went down $20
We'll see what I'm re-assigned for a seat. I'm curious if it will happen during the day or if UA only does the assignment overnight, similar to how they're doing CPU processing now. Will continue to report back.
PS - yeah, I plan to ask for E+ at the gate or the lounge in EWR. Hopefully they will accommodate me.
-RM
So far I can say: I was not assigned E+ (not expecting it), I was given a seat about midway through the cabin based on the open seat map last night (meaning 1Ks aren't assigned seats first as far as I can tell), UA dumped all E- seats to BE roughly 2.5 days before the flight.
I already cancelled that ticket and rebooked it this morning as the fare went down $20
We'll see what I'm re-assigned for a seat. I'm curious if it will happen during the day or if UA only does the assignment overnight, similar to how they're doing CPU processing now. Will continue to report back.PS - yeah, I plan to ask for E+ at the gate or the lounge in EWR. Hopefully they will accommodate me.
-RM
Apr 13, 2022, 9:08 am
#88
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2008
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Posts: 12,521
Apr 13, 2022, 9:29 am
#90
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, CM Plat, Amex Plat, Hertz CP, Hyatt Globalist, SPG Gold, Vons Club
Posts: 6,849
Some time last night I was auto-assigned seats for my flights on Friday. The short-hop to EWR I was assigned an aisle in E- on a CRJ550. The long haul I was assigned 32D which is an aisle. My profile says I prefer window so that obviously makes no difference in BE seating. The flight is on a 757-200 and oddly it shows that there is no middle seat in that row. EF confirms this. There is now only a single E- seat available for selection in the last row, a window. If there really is no middle seat in that row I'd be happy with the aisle.
So far I can say: I was not assigned E+ (not expecting it), I was given a seat about midway through the cabin based on the open seat map last night (meaning 1Ks aren't assigned seats first as far as I can tell), UA dumped all E- seats to BE roughly 2.5 days before the flight.
I already cancelled that ticket and rebooked it this morning as the fare went down $20 We'll see what I'm re-assigned for a seat. I'm curious if it will happen during the day or if UA only does the assignment overnight, similar to how they're doing CPU processing now. Will continue to report back.
PS - yeah, I plan to ask for E+ at the gate or the lounge in EWR. Hopefully they will accommodate me.
-RM
So far I can say: I was not assigned E+ (not expecting it), I was given a seat about midway through the cabin based on the open seat map last night (meaning 1Ks aren't assigned seats first as far as I can tell), UA dumped all E- seats to BE roughly 2.5 days before the flight.
I already cancelled that ticket and rebooked it this morning as the fare went down $20
We'll see what I'm re-assigned for a seat. I'm curious if it will happen during the day or if UA only does the assignment overnight, similar to how they're doing CPU processing now. Will continue to report back.PS - yeah, I plan to ask for E+ at the gate or the lounge in EWR. Hopefully they will accommodate me.
-RM