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}
#3061
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This really has been a failed experiment, time to get rid of it.
#3062
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I suspect that BE is mostly for Kayakers - if you're shopping on the UA site it seems to rarely show much discount relative to much less restrictive options (or often shows little discount, depending on how you interpret it). I often start with my searches with general searches on the online travel agencies, though, and often all it shows is BE fares ("this is a basic economy fare") without making clear how much restriction it adds for how little savings. As far as UA fares, it's often pages of BE fares before you see any regular non-BE (which is what I want). I always cross check OLTA fares against what I can book directly with the airline, so the difference is obvious there.
#3063
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#3064
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im just curious - do you have a good sense of UAs internal numbers to back up that It has been a ‘failed experiment’. Or is that just conjecture because you don’t want to buy it?.
Look, I’m no fan of BE, and have no intention of ever buying it. That said, apparently many people are buying the product where it is available. Tthere are folks working in revenue management who can certainly back up or deny your statement. But a bunch of FTers complaining about super cheap fares not earning benefits like they used to doesn’t equate to failure.
Also, even if UA did ‘get rid of it’, there is no guarantee that the prices falling under BE today would be back - current G prices night stay the same.
Look, I’m no fan of BE, and have no intention of ever buying it. That said, apparently many people are buying the product where it is available. Tthere are folks working in revenue management who can certainly back up or deny your statement. But a bunch of FTers complaining about super cheap fares not earning benefits like they used to doesn’t equate to failure.
Also, even if UA did ‘get rid of it’, there is no guarantee that the prices falling under BE today would be back - current G prices night stay the same.
#3065
Join Date: Apr 2017
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I've actually seen this on a bunch of searches I've done recently, mostly SFO-WAS all for flights that are quite a few months out. I think there might be some quirk (bug?) in their system which somehow prices BE significantly higher ($50-$100) when there are still lots of lower fare classes available. I laugh every time I see it, since it's hard to imagine any reason they would do that on purpose.
#3066
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UA did acknowledge that the rollout of BE caused a material drop in revenue. Whether their "fixes" have actually fixed anything is open to debate. This is apparently one of Kirby's pet projects, which of course makes it harder for the company to admit total failure and just walk away.
#3067
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Posts: 21,350
UA did acknowledge that the rollout of BE caused a material drop in revenue. Whether their "fixes" have actually fixed anything is open to debate. This is apparently one of Kirby's pet projects, which of course makes it harder for the company to admit total failure and just walk away.
UA can’t catch a break — if their BE product were exactly the same as DL’s, they’d be derided for copying the competition; they tried to innovate, and now they catch flak for not copying the competition.
It’s a column on a webpage; it’s not that hard to ignore. BE bothers me much more because of the extra work I have to put in to use Google Flights than because they still list BE fares in high fare classes that are hidden most of the time.
#3068
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I don't know of any other carrier that's trying to sell BE fares at full fare prices* (or for prices that are higher than F fares on the same flight, as zrs70 noted upthread). That's contrary to the whole notion of unbundling.
*Though LH does offer a choice of light, classic, or flex all the way up the fare ladder. This approach actually offers the passenger the choice of unbundling at all inventory levels. It seems UA has tried to achieve something similar, but they've done it much more clumsily.
Last edited by Kacee; Dec 22, 2017 at 12:22 am
#3069
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Given that the price is the same, and nobody would voluntarily choose BE without a discount, I think this is much ado about nothing. They’re not really trying to sell a $459 M fare for SFO-SAN; it’s just an artifact of the pricing system.
#3070
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#3072
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im just curious - do you have a good sense of UAs internal numbers to back up that It has been a ‘failed experiment’. Or is that just conjecture because you don’t want to buy it?.
Look, I’m no fan of BE, and have no intention of ever buying it. That said, apparently many people are buying the product where it is available. Tthere are folks working in revenue management who can certainly back up or deny your statement. But a bunch of FTers complaining about super cheap fares not earning benefits like they used to doesn’t equate to failure.
Also, even if UA did ‘get rid of it’, there is no guarantee that the prices falling under BE today would be back - current G prices night stay the same.
#3073
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My only two BE purchases were nested one-ways (within non-BE itineraries). Worked out well, but you're right - average travelers aren't going to know all the ticketing nuances.
#3074
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 339
IMO the only reason DL is not getting killed by these fares as well is the free carry on. A lot of people are willing to part with a seat assignment, but you can forget when you ask Granny to let the duffel bag out of her clutches. Also, the one time I purchased UA BE last week, not being allowed to check in online or without an agent because I’m only bringing a backpack is annoying at best, you think anybody at UA with half a brain would realize that...
All these airlines are at the point where they’re about to lose me, $50 roundtrip (I see $80 a lot on UA) is quite ridiculous. I also have “proof” (well...really just memorization) that the lowest BE fares now are the same price as what used to be Main Cabin tickets on my frequent routes. For those who have suggested this is nothing more than a revenue ploy rather than a way to compete with F9 and NK, 100% correct imo
#3075
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Posts: 21,350
Im a free agent right now here in DEN, but I’ve been between a lot of DL and UA lately. Just for the record: DL does this exact same thing now. I’m seeing Basic Economy offered even on walk up style fares for insane prices, paying an extra $20-25 at that point is just an insult.
The last that I’ve seen, UA is no longer offering BE on walk-up style fares except under the specific circumstance that Kacee saw — when it’s only one way of a round-trip and BE is available (on a non-walk-up fare) in the other direction. The only exception are a few legitimately low-price fares that have been popping up, where UA will file a 0-advance-purchase deep discount fare that’s not paired with a regular economy fare. If you want regular economy, you have to pay walk-up prices, but BE is significantly cheaper (examples have been in the hundreds of dollars).
If DL is truly doing what you’re saying — which, if you were to read the gleeful posts by certain members of this forum, is completely impossible because DL is nearly perfect and knows that BE is a horribly offensive product to business travelers — that’s new for them, and a worrying sign that UA’s original plan was correct and may return. (UA originally expected the other airlines to follow suit and only rolled back the broader BE implementation because they didn’t).
IMO the only reason DL is not getting killed by these fares as well is the free carry on. A lot of people are willing to part with a seat assignment, but you can forget when you ask Granny to let the duffel bag out of her clutches. Also, the one time I purchased UA BE last week, not being allowed to check in online or without an agent because I’m only bringing a backpack is annoying at best, you think anybody at UA with half a brain would realize that...
All these airlines are at the point where they’re about to lose me, $50 roundtrip (I see $80 a lot on UA) is quite ridiculous. I also have “proof” (well...really just memorization) that the lowest BE fares now are the same price as what used to be Main Cabin tickets on my frequent routes. For those who have suggested this is nothing more than a revenue ploy rather than a way to compete with F9 and NK, 100% correct imo