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TATL Basic Economy (renamed Dec 2018); all BE to earn 50% PQMs, earn 100% PQDs

Old Jun 6, 2018, 1:40 pm
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The TATL -LGT Fares will be called Basic Economy Effective 12/11/2018, Additional Restrictions will Apply

Now even more ways to fly across the Atlantic
-- Atlantic Joint Venture offering with Air Canada and Lufthansa Group
New ways to fly across the Atlantic Effective June 5, 2018, United Airlines in line with Atlantic Joint Venture partners Air Canada and Lufthansa Group, will introduce a new fare option in select trans-Atlantic markets.

Created for our customers who may be more price-sensitive, these lowest-priced fares are the first step towards a Basic Economy product on trans-Atlantic United flights. The fare includes the same inflight experience as standard United Economy but with important restrictions that you'll want to review carefully before booking.
What is the new fare option?
For customers traveling between the United States or Canada and select European countries in specific lower Economy booking classes, the new fare option will not include a complimentary first checked baggage allowance, upgrades or the ability to make changes following purchase.
Customers purchasing this fare for travel ticketed and operated on United will be eligible for advance seat assignments, one standard carry-on bag and one personal item, and the same United Economy cabin experience and services, including dining options, Wi-Fi for purchase and inflight entertainment.

What date is the fare option applicable?
The fare option is applicable for first ticket and first travel date on or after June 5, 2018, for all points of sale. The first bag fee does not apply to tickets purchased before June 4, 2018
.
How is the fare option identified?
For all Atlantic joint venture carriers, the last 3 characters of the fare basis code will be -LGT, and the fare type code is ERU/EOU.
For point of origin U. S. the fare is planned for booking classes K , L and T.
For point of origin E.U. and Canada, the fare is planned for booking classes K, L, T, S and W. Booking classes are subject to change and may vary by route.
The fares will vary from market to market and depend on availability. Customers traveling between the U.S. or Canada and Europe will be able to see if this fare is available on their flight when booking.

What are the conditions of the new fare option?
The new fare has some important restrictions compared to a standard United Economy ticket:
The fare does not include a free baggage allowance for checked baggage.
The fare is non-refundable and non-changeable except as stated in the United 24-hour flexible booking policy.
The fare cannot be combined with any other fare type.
The fare is not eligible for upgrades to a premium cabin (complimentary, purchased or instrument).
Are there any exemptions from the first bag fee?
The following customers are exempt from the fee when checking in with United and traveling on United or United Express for the first segment of a trans-Atlantic itinerary:
MileagePlus Premier members
Chase MileagePlus cardholders
Members of the U.S. military
Star Alliance Gold members
Will earn 50% PQMs, 100% PQDs, RDMs, Lifetime miles and segment credit toward 4 UA segments needed for elite status
-- BE and TATL BE earns will be the same
BE uses N fares, TATL BE / -LGT can be a number of the lower discount economy fare classes
No changes -- dates, fare class, truly non-refundable ... and no upgrades
Other -LGT restrictions
Normal TATL fares include a free check bag -- -LGT fares do not for non-elites / non-credit card holders
No Premier seating benefits - i.e., no free Economy Plus

To aviod TATL BE fares
ITA Matrix
Originally Posted by jsloan
Use f !..-lgt for your extension codes to avoid TATL BE.
Google Flights -- select 1 Carry-on bag
related threads
United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ...

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

TATL Basic Economy (renamed Dec 2018); all BE to earn 50% PQMs, earn 100% PQDs

Old Dec 17, 2018, 12:05 pm
  #316  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
Originally Posted by Polytonic
On a similar note: I find the notion of "no changes permitted" absurd -- the point of nonrefundable+change fee is that you're agreeing to fly on the indicated time and date, or are willing to incur a significant penalty otherwise. In other words: with LGT-fares, I now have to pay a little bit more for the privilege of being able to pay a not-insignificant sum to change my ticket.
Not absurd at all. No changes also means no free SDCs for us Premier Elites. Also if you fly the first leg of an itinerary out usually you just end up paying the change fee to change the date of your flight (supposing there's availability in your chosen fare class).

Safe Travels,

James
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 12:44 pm
  #317  
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Originally Posted by j2simpso
Bring it in! I await seeing Premium Economy Basic and Business Basic products!
LH group already offers a "Business Basic" -- they just don't call it that. Some P fares are non-changeable, non-refundable, use-it-or-lose it. And some LX J seats require a payment to reserve unless you're HON.

I fail to see how these measures help anyone but the airline.

Originally Posted by Polytonic
Hence my rebate proposal rather than reducing the upfront cost of standard economy. I'd be incentivized to not check bags, and I get an ETC that encourages me to fly UA again in the near future. For example, the hypothetical LAX-IAD runs in the neighborhood of $260 BE, $300 otherwise; if I paid for full economy and agreed not to check a bag, I'd get say, a $15 ETC. This assumes that Basic Economy is profitable on its own (rather than being a loss leader).
What good does that do you when UA raises its fares by $15 to compensate?

Unbundling is bad for 99% of consumers. You may not care about checking a bag, but you might care about getting a seat assignment, access to overhead space, early boarding, water on the plane, or whatever other nickel and dime charges "complete unbundling" ends up entailing.
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Old Dec 17, 2018, 3:22 pm
  #318  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
LH group already offers a "Business Basic" -- they just don't call it that. Some P fares are non-changeable, non-refundable, use-it-or-lose it. And some LX J seats require a payment to reserve unless you're HON.

I fail to see how these measures help anyone but the airline.
I think the issue with PY and J fares is the discount airlines haven't tackled that market yet save for La Compaigne and to a lesser extent Norwegian. However, it's only a matter of time before the discount airlines enter this market, especially when their margins get eaten into with rising fuel prices! Here's to hoping for $600 PY and $1000 J fares between Europe and the Americas!

Originally Posted by jsloan
What good does that do you when UA raises its fares by $15 to compensate?

Unbundling is bad for 99% of consumers. You may not care about checking a bag, but you might care about getting a seat assignment, access to overhead space, early boarding, water on the plane, or whatever other nickel and dime charges "complete unbundling" ends up entailing.
First they came for my checked bag, and I did not speak out, for I am not a kettle. Then they came for the advanced seat selection and I did not speak out, since I enjoy flying middle seat. Then they came for changeable fares and I did not speak out, because I'm not a fickle traveller. Then they came for my milage accrual - and there was no one left to speak for me!

Safe Travels,

James
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Old Dec 20, 2018, 12:26 am
  #319  
 
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On short routes do premiers still earn 500 mi pqm minimum on N fares?
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Old Dec 20, 2018, 12:37 am
  #320  
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Sticking this here because I believe it's going to be a cross-airline thing as soon as they can work out the kinks.

The AC earning chart has been updated so that flying a TATL BE fare on AC earns 50% PQM, regardless of fare class, just like UA. I don't see the changes on the other JV partners yet, but I expect it's a matter of time.
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Old Dec 20, 2018, 4:54 am
  #321  
 
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Location: U.K.
Programs: QR P; HH D; IHG SpAmb
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Booked some Economy (no changes/refunds/upgrades) TA tickets several months ago. Now shows as BE when i look up the booking in my account...

While it still shows full PQM earnings i now cannot select other seats in E+ only "preferred" seats - is there a workaround for this (apart from contacting UA)?
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Old Dec 20, 2018, 12:25 pm
  #322  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
People, as a group, are terrible at making purchasing decisions based upon total deferred cost. ULCCs often manage to collect as much, if not more, from each passenger as full-service carriers; they just do it in smaller pieces so it's harder to track and to notice.
Spirit 2017 RASM: 8.95 cents
United 2017 RASM: 13.51 cents
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Old Dec 20, 2018, 12:39 pm
  #323  
 
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Originally Posted by threeoh
Spirit 2017 RASM: 8.95 cents
United 2017 RASM: 13.51 cents
That's the spirit

Here's to hoping UA k fares keep going down.

Living the k Fare Life,

James
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Old Dec 20, 2018, 1:00 pm
  #324  
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Originally Posted by threeoh
Spirit 2017 RASM: 8.95 cents
United 2017 RASM: 13.51 cents
I stand by my statement -- I'm paraphrasing G4's CEO, IIRC. UA's RASM number includes a lot of customers that would never consider Spirit, plus a lot of markets where they're not even an option. When the average NK customer is making a choice between NK and UA, that customer will end up paying more to fly NK (or G4, or F9..). They're just doing it in smaller pieces.

The savvy customer can save money with NK. The average customer will not.

Originally Posted by j2simpso
Here's to hoping UA k fares keep going down.
Provided you're happy with Spirit comfort and service, sure. You can't have it both ways.
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Old Dec 20, 2018, 1:10 pm
  #325  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
Provided you're happy with Spirit comfort and service, sure. You can't have it both ways.
I'd argue you can. Until December 11th, 2018, UA was perfectly happy selling Economy Light k fares that were substantially lower than the normal k fares with the only restriction for us loyalists being you couldn't make any changes (which is fine cause I'm certain about my travel plans, upgrades don't matter to me cause rarely do I find a good deal on them).

Even with the introduction of Economy Basic to TATL flights, a lower Economy Basic k fare will inevitably result in a lower Normal k fare (i.e. checking today I saw some flights around $444 USD in Normal k between Heathrow and LA. I doubt these types of deals appeared in the so called "golden age" of travel when RDM was based on distance, and all P fares were double!

Safe Travels,

James
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Old Dec 21, 2018, 12:48 pm
  #326  
 
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Has anyone tried booking these Economy Light fares on the European airlines, namely OS and how PQM accrual works for them? I currently see the same UA flights at the same prices with UA and OS where the UA site calls it Economy Basic whereas the OS site mentions it as Economy Light which I interpret to meaning the cheap Economy fares before Dec 11th happened. This might be a potential loophole around the 50% PQM restriction of Economy Basic fares.

Safe Travels,

James
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Old Dec 21, 2018, 12:50 pm
  #327  
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Originally Posted by j2simpso
This might be a potential loophole around the 50% PQM restriction of Economy Basic fares.
It isn't.
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Old Dec 27, 2018, 4:16 pm
  #328  
 
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Do UA BE flights count towards the 4 UA flights necessary for status qualification?
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Old Dec 27, 2018, 4:20 pm
  #329  
 
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Originally Posted by a9504477
Do UA BE flights count towards the 4 UA flights necessary for status qualification?
Yes, per the BE TATL FAQ:

Q: Are my Basic Economy ticket purchases eligible for Premier qualifying dollars and other accruals toward Premier status?

A:
Yes, MileagePlus members will earn Premier qualifying dollars, Premier qualifying miles, Premier qualifying segments as well as lifetime miles and accrue toward the four-segment minimum but note that the accruals will be lower than for other tickets. MileagePlus members will also earn award miles based on the fare and their MileagePlus status. See the Earning Miles on United Flights page for more details.
My guess, and other members in the FT community can chime in here, is that the UA will consider each BE segment as a segment for the purpose of the 4 segment minimum and BIS will accrue at 100% similar to how it currently is (i.e. class of service doesn't impact BIS accrual nor # of segments towards 4 segment minimum).

-James
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Old Dec 28, 2018, 5:00 am
  #330  
 
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Originally Posted by j2simpso
My guess, and other members in the FT community can chime in here, is that the UA will consider each BE segment as a segment for the purpose of the 4 segment minimum and BIS will accrue at 100% similar to how it currently is (i.e. class of service doesn't impact BIS accrual nor # of segments towards 4 segment minimum).
Thanks, it's exactly this that i wanted to confirm, having looked at the FAQ before. I probably should have been more precise in my question - does each BE flight count as 1 of the 4 flights needed for status?
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