TomMM

How is DL doing it? However they are doing it seems to work.

JBord

Yep, this is what I think is probably going to happen, as advertised. But that doesn't mean people won't line up to complain and try to get their seats changed.

I bet if I paid more attention, I'd notice a few people like this complaining about something they agreed to but didn't realize, on every flight. This is just one more reason. Even if the rules are clear when they purchase, realize that infrequent fliers often buy tickets months in advance for a vacation, a wedding, whatever. I have no faith in people to pay enough attention that they remember all those rules by the time they fly.

economyplusfan

Assuming you can find the rules when you have the wherewithal to look for them. There have been many times when I have purchased a ticket (say on Kayak) and had a heck of a time finding the fare rules.

mduell

Ask your TA how they'll be identifying BE in their interface.

Or look to see how they do it for DL BE today.

Exit Row

About earlier comments re KEF, and UA matching F9 and NK:

Found the short stop in KEF comfortable and just at the right time - leg stretch, snack, pitstop, and only about 3 more hours to Europe. The purchased baguette for 6 Euros was excellent value. No entertainment needed - sleep. Saved many hundreds!

Will UA really match the $79 I paid on NK three times last year, and once $38 on F9, for DEN-LAX-DEN? The free bag allowed (size 16x14x12), plus a few deep coat pockets, can suffice.

mduell

Hub-hub I'm more skeptical, but any hub-spoke where the ULCCs can offer comparable frequency (not 1-2 vs 10/day), sure.

Boraxo

That makes no sense. They are already matching the fares and need to fill those seats. The only difference is that AA was uncharacteristically honest in its announcement when it said that no fares will be reduced - rather this is all about capturing additional revenue as we've said for months.

I am sure UA is happy for you to buy these fares, and then nickel and dime as much as they can for things you already get for free.

Now to be sure UA (and every other airline) would prefer to sell E or even E+ tickets rather than BE because it gets more non-refundable $$ up front, as opposed to the incremental nickel&dime model used by Spirit, Ryanair, Wow, etc. But the $ results will be the same. A $440 non-BE Y seat on UA TATL is the same as a $138+51+100+51+100 seat on Wow. UA is just more transparent now, maybe less so with BE.

Perhaps, but more likely UA will assign BE to middle seats throughout the cabin, with a few isolated windows (as couple often take aisle+ middle). On many flights I find no aisle seats <7 days of travel, they are the first to go.

The families are going to be a huge problem, I just don't see how they will get around that but maybe the DL (or WOW) fans can enlighten us.

When I was a poor student I would have loved this option though I can't imagine not checking or carrying on a 22" bag. Now there is no way I would ever sit in E- for TATL or TPAC absent a major emergency.

As for the fares I think the answer will be mixed. UA has (and will) match $19 domestic fares (or the equivalent when you add credit card fees, checkin fees, boarding pass printing fees, etc.) but not sure about the $69 WOW fares. Though I have seen TATL nonstop as low as $299 RT over thanksgiving, which is actually cheaper than WOW assuming you want an assigned seat and a 22" carry-on bag (plus no annoying layover).

fly18725

AA has been much more aggressive, and publicly open, about matching ULCC fares. There's been some question about fare matching and I think Wall Street needed to hear that fares would not be reduced as part of the BE roll-out.

United's situation is different and I would expect the messaging to reflect that.

Often1

Now that all three legacies have announced BE fares, the differences will be dictated by what major corporate customers decide. None of these fares are particularly attractive to a business, not because of boarding order, carry-ons, seat assignments and the like, but because they are inflexible.

Where these BE seats will really be helpful to carriers is on flights where loads do not match RM/IM predictions as sometimes happens. On busy routes where people have flexible schedules and there are multiple services, people will wait 2-3 hours for a flight with a better seat. BE may fill those seats which otherwise go out empty.

emcampbe

Don't see that as a viable option at all. UA isn't WN. Worse than not allowing seat assignments to anyone (though I realize some respect that kind of system, I think its silly for an airplane) is having seat assignments for some, with the leftover in the last boarding group having to fend for a seat on their own.

Plus, these are the last group to board. This will po people buying BE fares (though, seems like other things will, anyway), but will also tank OTP.

There's nothing to prevent a BE pax, or regular fare pax, for that matter, putting a personal item in the overhead. I do it all the time - typically wait for the rollers to "fill" the bins, and their is almost always space for my small backpack between.

The point of the no carry ons is to provide an incentive to buy a regular fare, or if you aren't willing to, force those with more than absolute minimum things to travel with to have to pay for a checked bag fee.

Not quite sure about that. Not sure about DL, but AC can definitely do seat changes on Tango fares. People will line up to complain for sure - they already do - insist on buying a rock bottom fare (in this case, for airfare, but in general, for anything) and then complain about the things they don't get.

You basically can't find the fare rules after purchasing that ticket, no matter where you purchase it. I usually save a copy at booking so I have access.

Well, its easy enough to block seats for that. Probably towards/at the back of the cabin. Probably will have to happen in the not too distant furture as it looks like DOT will begin requiring carriers to seat <13 yo with a parent/guardian.

jsloan

FYI: ExpertFlyer allows you to do fare searches as of a specific ticketing date, so you can find historic fare rules later if you need them. Of course, this only helps for fares that UA publishes to the GDS; web-only fares (such as some of the /FLEX flexible fares) and award flights are unavailable. Saving a copy of the fare rules is still a good practice, of course, but it's nice to have a less cumbersome (if more expensive) alternative.

49er

UA 1558 RDU-SFO is showing a fare lowest fare class of "L". Going through the purchase flow on United.com, the right hand margin (underneath the price box) says Basic Economy applies, yet I am able to choose Economy Plus seats for all 4 passengers, and the baggage information says that first and second checked bags cost $0 for each person. I'm 1K. So is this a Basic Economy fare or not? Very confusing.

emcampbe

fair enough, but I'd guess most folks don't have an EF subscription. For those that do, certainly a useful tool.

jsloan

Basic Economy fares aren't currently for sale, and they've announced that the first market, when they are for sale, will be MSP. Also, available evidence indicates that they'll book into N, not L. So, no, it's not Basic Economy. What date are you searching? What text, exactly, are you seeing?

Agreed, but I thought I'd mention it for the benefit of those who do. (They also offer a free five-day trial, which could be helpful for a non-subscriber who found themselves in need of the fare rules). You can also call UA and ask, of course.

49er

I was looking at July 4. Here is the exact text, which first appears on the screen where you enter traveler information:

Basic Economy restrictions apply, including:
No seat selection icon
No seat selection

Seat assigned prior to boarding
No group or family seating
No Premier® member seating benefits
No carry on bag icon
No full-sized carry-on bag* Unless you’re a Premier member, primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card or Star Alliance™ Gold member. You’re allowed a small personal item.

Bags brought to the gate will be checked and subject to the applicable checked bag fee plus a $25 gate handling charge
*Unless you’re a Premier member, primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card or Star Alliance™ Gold member. You’re allowed a small personal item.
Learn more about Basic Economy