Feb 9, 2019, 5:12 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This is an archive thread -- the active thread is United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ...
Important Note: these fares became available 21 Feb 2017 for MSP for travel beginning 18 Apr 2017. More markets were added 19 April 2017 for travel starting 9 May 2017.
Related thread: Basic Economy Airport and Plane Experiences (First or Second Hand)
If you booked before the dates above, you did not have a BE fare. If purchased on united.com you will see a warning like:
4. MileagePlus members will earn full Premier qualifying dollars, 50% Premier qualifying miles and 0.5 Premier qualifying segments for each flight, as well as lifetime miles and toward the four-segment minimum.
Link to UA's description of how these fares will work: Basic Economy.
Here are the key facts:
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
Important Note: these fares became available 21 Feb 2017 for MSP for travel beginning 18 Apr 2017. More markets were added 19 April 2017 for travel starting 9 May 2017.
Related thread: Basic Economy Airport and Plane Experiences (First or Second Hand)
If you booked before the dates above, you did not have a BE fare. If purchased on united.com you will see a warning like:
4. MileagePlus members will earn full Premier qualifying dollars, 50% Premier qualifying miles and 0.5 Premier qualifying segments for each flight, as well as lifetime miles and toward the four-segment minimum.
Link to UA's description of how these fares will work: Basic Economy.
Here are the key facts:
- No seat assignments until check-in. Seats will be assigned by the system and cannot be changed.*NEW* When purchasing a Basic Economy ticket, you will not receive a complimentary seat assignment but may be able to purchase advance seat assignments during booking and up until check-in opens. 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
- Carry on limited to 1 personal item unless the customer is a MP Premier member, primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card, or Star Alliance *G
- 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 will not be eligible for Economy Plus or premium cabin upgrades. This includes all forms of upgrades (CPU,supported or purchased). Likewise for E+ access (elite or purchased).
- 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
- Companions on same PNR will have same boarding group and carryon if one on the PNR has a waiver
- No combinability with regular economy fares or partner carriers. Interline travel is not permitted.
- Tickets will earn RDMs (based on fare and status), PQMs (50% of distance), PQSs (0.5), PQDs, in addition it will count for minimum 4 segment and lifetime miles (New as of Dec 2018)
- Basic Economy tickets will use booking code 'N'
- 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.
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}
Jul 4, 2018, 12:56 am
#3286
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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David
Jul 4, 2018, 12:52 pm
#3287
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet
Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC
Posts: 4,161
Correct. True BE only books into "N" class [aside from the combinability restrictions mentioned up-thread], anything TATL at this point would be a :light" fare which can be sold in virtually any economy fare bucket and identified by the LGT suffix on the end of the fare basis.
Jul 4, 2018, 1:48 pm
#3288
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 12,594
It probably would make sense to give any upgrades for *G at T-24 or before, so it's before any BE could possibly check in. It could be done as early as T-48 with the silvers, or even T-36.
Doing either of the above might require some other juggling of windows, but as long as the current ordering is maintained it should have relatively minimal impact on existing benefits and keep BE from getting in inadvertent perk over non-BE.
Jul 4, 2018, 2:03 pm
#3289
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: London
Programs: United 1K 2 Million Miles, BA Silver, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 370
Looking at buying LHR - MCO return am being offered both BE Ł723 and economy Ł783, but both book intio W class it says, is this right? I thought BE booked into a lower class? If so how can they distinguish benefits
Jul 4, 2018, 2:23 pm
#3290
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There is no Basic Economy in the LHR/MCO market. You are probably seeing Economy Light, which is different (and less restrictive).
Jul 4, 2018, 2:25 pm
#3291
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
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You may find https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...s-allowed.html which books into normal economy fare with a "-LGT" added to the fare basis. It has the non-cancellable, no ticket bag allowance of BE but it maintains elite mile earning, seat selection and E+ access. See the discussion in the referenced link.
Jul 5, 2018, 4:07 pm
#3292
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: SFO/SJC/OAK
Programs: OZ Diamond (*G), KQ Asante Gold (ST+), Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,511
I’ve made suggestions several times upthread on how this could be accomplished...with technology these days - it could be done mostly without a lot of human work. Beyond that, there are other options - for example, I’d there are only E+ seats left, hold BE assignments until the gate, and offer those seats to more valuable passengers - those on higher fares, with *A status, etc., and then fill BE pax in those seats that go empty. If the problem is so common - perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate E+ policy in general - maybe give them free to silver at booking or X days prior to departure vs. at check in, or at 50% discount in advance, or give them to *G in advance, or to non-elites booking Y/B/M fares, etc.
I’ll admit to being no expert in revenue management, and I get just filling the empty E+ seats with BE is the easiest thing to do, but I can’t imagine why the company wouldn’t want to do more to solve this problem. If one buys BE and gets E+, especially relatively often, it seems like greater incentive for these folks to buy BE again (while ignoring the offer to pay for an assignment in advance), when they really presumably want to sell more higher fares instead. And I can’t think of a better reason for a non-elite, particularly those buying W, V, Q, E, etc, to think that maybe it’s actually better value to just buy BE next time, especially if they are going to be checking a bag anyway.
I’ll admit to being no expert in revenue management, and I get just filling the empty E+ seats with BE is the easiest thing to do, but I can’t imagine why the company wouldn’t want to do more to solve this problem. If one buys BE and gets E+, especially relatively often, it seems like greater incentive for these folks to buy BE again (while ignoring the offer to pay for an assignment in advance), when they really presumably want to sell more higher fares instead. And I can’t think of a better reason for a non-elite, particularly those buying W, V, Q, E, etc, to think that maybe it’s actually better value to just buy BE next time, especially if they are going to be checking a bag anyway.
It probably would make sense to give any upgrades for *G at T-24 or before, so it's before any BE could possibly check in. It could be done as early as T-48 with the silvers, or even T-36.
Doing either of the above might require some other juggling of windows, but as long as the current ordering is maintained it should have relatively minimal impact on existing benefits and keep BE from getting in inadvertent perk over non-BE.
Doing either of the above might require some other juggling of windows, but as long as the current ordering is maintained it should have relatively minimal impact on existing benefits and keep BE from getting in inadvertent perk over non-BE.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jul 5, 2018 at 8:34 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
Jul 5, 2018, 6:23 pm
#3293
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
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Posts: 14,884
United, if you're reading this thread, listen to us! You're losing revenue by enticing us non UA *G's to book BE and lose $20-50 per flight in revenue from each of us. Give us E+ 24/48 hours out on normal Y fares and everyone will benefit. Once a year BE customers don't care, we do.
That said, there is a HUGE disconnect, IMO, with publicizing a bottom barrel fare bucket that specifically excludes things like E+, then giving it away to them instead of lower level elites (potentially),as well as *G paying regular fares, and even non-elites paying high fares in Y, B, etc. why UA hadn’t figured out a plan for this prior to launch, not to mention by now, is a huge fail. Let’s not forget this is also a bigger problem on UA then DL/AA since their C+/MCE cabins are much smaller. It’s incentivizing the wrong group to be repeat purchasers, and disappointing the wrong group for their purchase.
Jul 11, 2018, 12:37 am
#3294
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: bay area, ca
Programs: UA plat, , aa plat, marriott LT titanium
Posts: 4,833
Does check in time matter for basic economy?
First BE experience so wondering if it is better to check in earlier or is seat assignment just random? For example if non middle seats are available am I more likely to get them if I check in at earliest time?
Since apparently I can't change seat after assignment just wondering what I should know to maximize chance of getting a decent seat.
Since apparently I can't change seat after assignment just wondering what I should know to maximize chance of getting a decent seat.
Jul 11, 2018, 7:11 pm
#3295
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
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First BE experience so wondering if it is better to check in earlier or is seat assignment just random? For example if non middle seats are available am I more likely to get them if I check in at earliest time?
Since apparently I can't change seat after assignment just wondering what I should know to maximize chance of getting a decent seat.
Since apparently I can't change seat after assignment just wondering what I should know to maximize chance of getting a decent seat.
Jul 12, 2018, 8:28 am
#3296
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: EWR
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Gold (Current Platinum), United Mileage Plus, Avis Preferred
Posts: 850
Just a quick note on the BE pricing differential with regular economy. The 2017 data points are on ORD-EWR flights on Monday 8/21, and the the 2018 are n ORD-EWR flights on Monday 8/20.
In 2017, I recorded BE differentials as high as $35, and then they settled in at $15 during the time I was tracking prices before I booked. In 2018, the differential has consistently been $25 when offered.
Also, regarding the idea that BE fares are always cheaper, back in May I booked a regular economy ticket for a flight in August. I looked today at prices on the same flight, and I found that a BE Ticket now costs more than my regular economy ticket. So it it possible that there will be someone on that flight with a BE fare that paid more than I did for a regular economy ticket.
In 2017, I recorded BE differentials as high as $35, and then they settled in at $15 during the time I was tracking prices before I booked. In 2018, the differential has consistently been $25 when offered.
Also, regarding the idea that BE fares are always cheaper, back in May I booked a regular economy ticket for a flight in August. I looked today at prices on the same flight, and I found that a BE Ticket now costs more than my regular economy ticket. So it it possible that there will be someone on that flight with a BE fare that paid more than I did for a regular economy ticket.
Jul 12, 2018, 8:34 am
#3297
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA 1K3M, Marriott(SPG) Lifetime Plat
Posts: 230
With all of these fare types I am getting very confused. In the past (if memory serves me correctly), selecting a Basic Economy fare as a 1K would still give me seat selection, free bags, etc. When I tried to book a fare the other day this is what I got - the fare was labeled "Economy (first bag charge/no changes allowed)". I was logged in to my account at the time.
Is this considered Basic Economy as well? It was booking me into L and T fares.
That said, baggage charges showed $0 and I was able to select seats. However, I was not able to upgrade myself (which was also stated as a restriction for this fare).
Thoughts?
Is this considered Basic Economy as well? It was booking me into L and T fares.
That said, baggage charges showed $0 and I was able to select seats. However, I was not able to upgrade myself (which was also stated as a restriction for this fare).
Thoughts?
Jul 12, 2018, 8:45 am
#3298
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,393
With all of these fare types I am getting very confused. In the past (if memory serves me correctly), selecting a Basic Economy fare as a 1K would still give me seat selection, free bags, etc. When I tried to book a fare the other day this is what I got - the fare was labeled "Economy (first bag charge/no changes allowed)". I was logged in to my account at the time.
For a 1K, the only disadvantages of Light fares are that they can't be upgraded and that you can't change them at all -- they're "use it or lose it." Non-status, non-credit-cardmembers get a first bag charge, but that wouldn't apply to you.
Jul 12, 2018, 8:46 am
#3299
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Agreed UA's descriptives are not very clear. And it doesn't matter whether you're logged in when you search - the descriptives are the same for everyone, so you may see verbiage which does not apply to you.
Jul 12, 2018, 9:13 am
#3300
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA 1K3M, Marriott(SPG) Lifetime Plat
Posts: 230
Basic Economy books into N. If you have an L or a T, you do not have a BE fare.
Agreed UA's descriptives are not very clear. And it doesn't matter whether you're logged in when you search - the descriptives are the same for everyone, so you may see verbiage which does not apply to you.
Agreed UA's descriptives are not very clear. And it doesn't matter whether you're logged in when you search - the descriptives are the same for everyone, so you may see verbiage which does not apply to you.
A 1K on Basic Economy does not get seat selection.
This is not BE. This is Economy Light, a new product that's currently only available TATL.
For a 1K, the only disadvantages of Light fares are that they can't be upgraded and that you can't change them at all -- they're "use it or lose it." Non-status, non-credit-cardmembers get a first bag charge, but that wouldn't apply to you.
This is not BE. This is Economy Light, a new product that's currently only available TATL.
For a 1K, the only disadvantages of Light fares are that they can't be upgraded and that you can't change them at all -- they're "use it or lose it." Non-status, non-credit-cardmembers get a first bag charge, but that wouldn't apply to you.