FlagrantViola

Ah! Thanks for the clarification! I misread the policy and agree that it would be beyond crazy to prevent people from actually using the overhead bins!

JBord

Exactly. Some people here aren't grasping that this isn't about bin space. It's about forcing a high percentage of people to pay for a checked bag to offset (likely more than offset) the lower BE fare. Very few people are going to actually pay less than they do today when the BE fares are out, IMO.

emcampbe

Doubtful. And no one is actually going to be done paying after they have bought that ticket (note: I have not flown, nor plan to ever fly, Wow).

Let's not forget...Wow is a ULCC, essentially a RyanAir flying TATL. So in addition to the connection you'll need to do in Iceland, they'll be charging for everything on board. Want food? Yup - that's a charge. A soft drink - more $. They actually charge to bring a carry on. 174 seats in their 320s. And no entertainment on board at all (see the personal device thread here - if you don't like having to pull out a tablet to watch movies onboard UA domestic aircraft, on Wow, no movies on your tablet at all unless you download them from home first).

Sorry, doubt UA will be matching Wow.

Doubt that will be an option. However, these fares will very likely be in their own column, allowing you ease in avoiding them. As well, very likely will be some sort of disclaimer you can't miss - pop up, etc. so you won't be able to buy these by accident.

Trust me, as a 1K, UA doesn't want you buying these fares either.

They don't need to know.

No need to 'police' the overheads (at least, anymore than is done now). GAs can enforce the no carry on rule since BE pax will be in the last boarding group, so can prevent it from there (and besides, probably won't be room for them at that point on most flights). Furthermore, BE fares don't say you can't use the bin, but you can only bring a personal item. While common courtesy lends the fact that personal items shouldn't go in the bin if it prevents folks from storing their bigger carryons, there has never been any rule preventing use of the overheads for these bags. Normally, I travel with a small backpack, and while it fits under the seat in front of me, I prefer to put it in a bin. I can't recall a single flight where this has ever been a problem - I wait until the bins near me are "full" with rollers - then add my bag in the small spaces around those. There is no reason why BE pax can't put their allowed bags up there in the same way.

Kacee

UA doesn't want anyone buying these fares. They're essentially click-bait, designed to allow UA to stay in the game with consumers who use OTAs and click through based on lowest fare.

tarheelnj

There's a place in the "see all search options" screen where you can indicate a desired fare. I was hoping it would only show fares at or above that level. Unfortunately, it adds a column showing your desired fare but still showing the lowest fare. I don't know any other way to avoid it.

John Aldeborgh

The part I don't understand is UA revenue has two basic goals, load factor and average revenue per seat. In my recent experience the load factors are very high, approaching 100% so selling BE tickets would only serve to drive down the average revenue unless UA is raising prices on their other fares, which I doubt. I know my average ticket pricing has been flat to down over the past 12 months. Unless this is simply click bate as some have suggested I don't see this moving the revenue needle in a positive direction.

lowfareair

My guess is that, at least initially, BE will be only for fares matched with ULCCs like Spirit and Frontier. These are fares that United is currently selling as non-Basic economy, so this will have multiple effects on a flight with those fares: 1) Incentivizing some to purchase the regular price fare, increasing revenue 2) Getting some people to pack lighter, saving fuel and boarding time 3) Getting others to pay for a checked bag, adding incremental revenue.

JBord

Don't over-analyze it. The fares are click-bait with a safeguard. If someone really wants the BE fare, the ancillary revenue for checking a carry on is the safeguard.

Also realize that this is not a move to keep revenue the same. The goal is to increase revenue, as UA has stated they expect to do so with this new fare. So it's very likely that if a low fare today is $50, a BE fare might be $40, plus a $25 bag check fee for most people -- all other things being equal, because airfares can change at any time, making it impossible for a consumer to compare the low fare today to the same BE fare tomorrow.

Honestly, I don't really think it's dishonest or anything else like that, but it's somewhat telling from the variety of comments in this thread that it will likely be confusing for some % of customers.. I don't know if it's a good long term business strategy, from a customer relations standpoint, but we'll have to see how that goes.

rob_flies_ua

I have flown on Wow and will probably fly on them again. I have purchased tickets on them almost that cheap, and not paid for any extras (also on Norwegian). It's not hard if you're traveling light, know what to expect, and prepare before flight (aka, I bring snacks and a refillable water bottle - but guess what, I bring those on my UA flights too). Even if you pay for a checked bag each way, it can still be significantly cheaper than tickets on legacy airlines.

emcampbe

This.

If those shopping for low fares did a comparison between the all-in price when flying Spirit, Frontier, etc. and a legacy (UA, DL, AA, etc.), my guess is you will find that those on the LCCs are paying the same, and many times more, than those on the legacies. Obviously, routes that they are competing on. My guess is you'd find similar results paying a UA regular fare vs. BE.

When I say all-in, I mean at the end of the trip - when folks have paid their checked bag fees, carry on fees (applicable to LCCs only), any food, drinks, snacks, etc. they might want on board. Plus, the LCCs have worse CS, less room on board (Spirit is what, 28" or 29" inch pitch?), etc. If folks were actually doing this analysis before buying the fare, they would probably choose the legacy almost every time. Fortunately, for the LCCs, most folks aren't doing this.

I did do somewhat of this a couple of times. For example, going in the EU from London to Madrid, and compared Ryanair, EasyJet with BA/IB. Truth is, when it came to what I would be paying all-in, the prices were the same. Plus, LHR was closer to where I was, so more convenient then the other carriers.

Assuming there are adequate disclosures (similar to the pop-up you get on DLs site when you select an E fare), I completely agree.

milypan

I can see why it would be confusing if you took UA at their word here. Many of us, however, expect that BE will just replace the very lowest fares that UA currently offers. It will then be revenue enhancing because it will either drive ancillary revenue or induce customers to buy a higher fare class. In this scenario it's a stealthy fare increase, which they can afford to do because their load factors are, as you note, quite high.

As a customer, I don't like it. As a UAL shareholder, I'm pretty happy with it.

televisor

There are plenty of flights that aren't 100% full - it just varies by day and tone. I think they're trying to make those more competitive/attractive.

zeer0

Sorry if this has already been posted, but does anyone have any idea of what partner mileage earning will be like for United basic economy. Will we also be only able to earn redeemable miles, or elite miles too? Will basic economy be a new fare code, or just replace one of the lower fare codes (ex. K)? Thanks

WineCountryUA

[QUOTE=zeer0;27756121]Sorry if this has already been posted, but does anyone have any idea of what partner mileage earning will be like for United basic economy. Will we also be only able to earn redeemable miles, or elite miles too? ...[quote]Doubt UA will offer partners a better deal that it is offering it own elites.

Not announced yet but the speculation is N will be the fare class, UA discontinued using N awhile back.

emcampbe

Wel, earning is all based on fare for RDM - basic Economy or not. It's only going to be available on UA metal, so no worries for those with partner segments - BE won't be offered with partners.

As the bullets on BE fares state, you'll earn RDM, but no PQM, PQS or PQD on BE fares. UA doesn't want its elites buying these fares.