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}
Apr 29, 2017, 12:03 pm
#1456
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: DEN
Programs: UA MM Plat; AA MM Gold; HHonors Diamond
Posts: 15,866
Apr 29, 2017, 2:32 pm
#1457
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Left Coast
Programs: UA 1K & 1MM, HH Diamond, Marriott/SPG Gold (UA comp)
Posts: 1,353
While it is true that most of us here will know to watch out for accidentally booking in N, it still bothers me to no end that I have to watch out. Just more PITA stuff that we don't need in life.
Apr 29, 2017, 4:09 pm
#1458
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS/ BOM
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 1,567
Basic economy was just made available for BWI-lax, it's $25 lower than a regular economy fare. Nothing from IAD yet.
Apr 29, 2017, 4:48 pm
#1459
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,455
The idea that you could pay full walk up Y/B fare and wind up with BE is just insane.
Apr 29, 2017, 7:40 pm
#1460
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 3,361
It's not like United is tricking anyone into buying BE fares. It's about as clear as it could be.
Apr 29, 2017, 8:38 pm
#1461
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
There is nothing to worry about unless you are semi-comatose, in which case you ought not to be booking your own travel.
Try a dummy booking MSP-DEN and you will see the BE option.
If you select that option, you receive a pop-up which shows what you do not get in BE and what the other economy fares do get. There is also a graphic with green check marks and red x's.
You must select a box which states "Basic Economy Works for Me". Only then are you passed through to the next screen.
For all the things which people screw up in booking travel, this is one where you can't complain if you book it.
If you choose to book through a third-party site or the folks you pay for your tickets such as your employer choose to do so and that third-party site is not so explicit, that is an issue between you and the site's owners or your employer and the site's owners.
Try a dummy booking MSP-DEN and you will see the BE option.
If you select that option, you receive a pop-up which shows what you do not get in BE and what the other economy fares do get. There is also a graphic with green check marks and red x's.
You must select a box which states "Basic Economy Works for Me". Only then are you passed through to the next screen.
For all the things which people screw up in booking travel, this is one where you can't complain if you book it.
If you choose to book through a third-party site or the folks you pay for your tickets such as your employer choose to do so and that third-party site is not so explicit, that is an issue between you and the site's owners or your employer and the site's owners.
Apr 29, 2017, 8:42 pm
#1462
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,048
$600 for a basic eco one-way? They got to be joking. This is out of control. They should sell N when G is > 1 ... that's reasonable. What they are doing right now will backfire. So far my company is no showing N-fares ... once that starts it'll be fun.
Apr 29, 2017, 9:04 pm
#1463
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,406
Why would it start? If they're not already appearing, it means that your company has made the (sensible, IMO) decision to filter them out. Keep in mind, for departures after 5/9, these fares are loaded into a large number of domestic non-stop markets. If you're not seeing them on searches now, I don't know why you'd expect to start seeing them in the future.
Apr 29, 2017, 10:54 pm
#1464
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: IAH / HOU
Programs: UA GS, DL-Plat, Hilton Gold, IHG Platinum, Hyatt Somethingist, Marriott Titanium Lifetime
Posts: 2,853
The airlines have been charging ridiculous fares for all kinds of flights to/from various cities for years. Example: $700 one way for IAH-XNA a few years ago. Non-refundable. $10/minute to ride on an ERJ145. Same day IAH-FRA, $450. It has been a long time since fares made logical sense. Now, I don't like the basic economy concept either, but having insane fares is not new to the airline industry.
Apr 29, 2017, 11:10 pm
#1465
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,455
There is a BE fare just below Y/B that would be for sale if all of the lower fare buckets were sold out. A passenger would have a clear choice at that point: save a few bucks for a non-refundable fare or pay the small differential to get greater flexibility (and mileage earnings).
Apr 30, 2017, 8:15 am
#1467
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,048
The airlines have been charging ridiculous fares for all kinds of flights to/from various cities for years. Example: $700 one way for IAH-XNA a few years ago. Non-refundable. $10/minute to ride on an ERJ145. Same day IAH-FRA, $450. It has been a long time since fares made logical sense. Now, I don't like the basic economy concept either, but having insane fares is not new to the airline industry.
Apr 30, 2017, 8:41 am
#1468
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,057
Enough of this "customer choice" garbage. I understand that's the party line, but it's just nonsense. No one who's buying a full fare ticket wants a "choice" between BE and a regular fare to save $20. So why is UA offering it? (That's a rhetorical question, not really interested in your answer.)
Apr 30, 2017, 9:44 am
#1469
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Left Coast
Programs: UA 1K & 1MM, HH Diamond, Marriott/SPG Gold (UA comp)
Posts: 1,353
The airlines have been charging ridiculous fares for all kinds of flights to/from various cities for years. Example: $700 one way for IAH-XNA a few years ago. Non-refundable. $10/minute to ride on an ERJ145. Same day IAH-FRA, $450. It has been a long time since fares made logical sense. Now, I don't like the basic economy concept either, but having insane fares is not new to the airline industry.
Apr 30, 2017, 9:49 am
#1470
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Left Coast
Programs: UA 1K & 1MM, HH Diamond, Marriott/SPG Gold (UA comp)
Posts: 1,353
Why would it start? If they're not already appearing, it means that your company has made the (sensible, IMO) decision to filter them out. Keep in mind, for departures after 5/9, these fares are loaded into a large number of domestic non-stop markets. If you're not seeing them on searches now, I don't know why you'd expect to start seeing them in the future.