JimInOhio

If the OP pays to check his/her bag, the total cost will probably be in vicinity of the price of a regular economy ticket which allows a carry-on.

narvik

Not too familiar with the CRJ-500 plane, and its implications, but I always thought it looked neat, and was a HUGE step in the right direction (especially compared to the CRJ-200).


Find it hard to believe it would warrant such a complaint by OP: doesn't it have HEAPS more room than a CRJ-200??

st3

Yes, it is a CR700 with only 50 seats.

LarryJ

To answer one of the OP's questions, one of the reasons for the carry-on bag restriction on BE fares is to improve aircraft turn-time and on-time performance.

BE passengers board in the last boarding group, BG5. By eliminating carry-on bags in BG5 they increase the speed of boarding as those last passengers do not have carry-on bags that need to be stowed. This allows them to turn the airplane faster and improve on-time performance.

DCP2016

The aircraft is operated by "NoGoJet", you're not even going to make it off the ground anyway.

The OS

Uh, because profitz? It's not unreasonable to presume that when BE was created, they removed bin space as an option because they wanted that empty bin space going to customers who paid a higher dollar amount than the BE ticket. However, it's unreasonable to assume that is the only reason.

To me, this is a case of taking words too literally. Anyone who understands what BE is all about would not take umbrage with not being able to carry a bag onto the new jet and that "every traveler" meant something different to you than it does to pretty much everyone else on here. Lesson learned.

eng3

You are free to fly which ever airline you wish. However, just a warning, if you try to avoid every airline who's words do not match their actions, you will most likely quickly run out of airlines. I think the heart of the statement was clear but could have been better worded. They expect there to be enough room for everyone who is allowed a rollaboard. I think it is resonable to assume that they did not mean that 100% of the time all bags can be accommodated or that that plane exempts any existing fare rules. I suspect that you had a pretty clear idea that this was the case and was just hoping that UA would make an exception because of semantics. Your letter to UA pretty much shows that.

DenverBrian

United is a lonely outlier on the BE issue of "doesn't include carryon," yes? If memory serves, both DL and AA allow carryons with their BE fares.

COSPILOT

I don’t agree with United Airlines, but that is there choice to be the outcast among the remaining 3. Where I think OP is mistaken is assuming the aircraft capabilities outweigh what he already knew based on the ticket purchased.

fastair

A380 has enough room for 868 but most a380 don’t seat that many. Given the right conditions, many things CAN do lots of things, but other variables often limit utilization, for instance, seat configuration on the a380 or the fact that some people may not bring a carry on and others may choose to save $$ and buy a fare that doesn’t allow them to utilize the standard carry on policy.

arttravel

I thought about this a little more — and find the entire argument unavailing.

One could equally argue in the same vein that the media person did not specify that the roller-board has to comply with the UA carry on size requirements when trying to carry on an oversized roller-board (as an example — I think Southwest allows larger carry bags and a bag that is compliant for one airline may not be for another).

And this comes down to the use of the word “should” in the quotation.

Do people really want all sorts of disclaimers in every news article?

I do not like the restrictions of Basic Economy so I do not buy it.

There have been times when my travel plans have been uncertain on domestic flights— so I pay more to get a fully flexible ticket. Do I like having to pay more? No but once I looked at change fees and the difference in costs it made sense to buy the more expensive fare.

getagb

Arguably the OP is not taking words literally enough.

Correct for domestic flights. Transatlantic UA BE fares include a carry-on. Other carriers that charge for carry on include Allegiant, Spirit, and Frontier.

DenverBrian

Quite a trifecta to be associated with, United.

emcampbe

Not sure who you are trying to inform. Travelers in almost all cases are now warned of the carry on restriction at purchase, even when buying through an OTA, and especially so on United.com, where they need to check a box, then click an 'I agree' button before they can purchase a domestic BE fare. It doesn't matter the aircraft - that restriction is part of the fare. If they don't see it there, I'm not sure this message board is going to help.

The point being made by UA marketing is that there is room for the bags. If we take every marketing statement as you are, pretty much nothing would be seen as accurate, in the airline industry, or outside. Marketing, by definition, is trying to sell you stuff - and the conditions they have for the lowest price, the best product, etc., won't always meet your needs. You need the deluxe package instead of the basic, which is the price listed. You need to fly on the more expensive flight, because the fare sale you saw isn't available, or is already sold-out, on the peak time flight you want. There is a sub with 6 grams of fat, but you want extra meat, extra cheese, and extra mayo on yours. You want that new car, but also want the nav system, which wasn't included in the marketed price. Trust me, there's a lot of disappointment to be found...everywhere.

Good luck finding a new airline. Not sure you're going to find one, particularly in the US, that meets your criteria. Also not sure what concession they are supposed to make. Based on your copy of the quote you used, they talked about having enough space for every traveller to bring on a full-size carry on - they didn't say BE fares were exempt from the carry-on restrictions they agreed to when they bought their tickets. Even if you don't agree with it, there's a reasoning they restrict this, and there's a reason you agreed to it (presumably, for the lower price). If you all of a sudden wanted to change your mind and just bring a roller board, why shouldn't UA decide to change their mind and say, hey, I know we only asked for $100 for your fare, but now we decided we want $250, so either you pay the new amount, or we'll cancel your reservation.

That's not what they said, and that's not the same thing. The quote you gave specifically says 'enough space' for every traveler to bring a rolling carry-on', which isn't the same thing as everyone can bring on a roller board. I'm not sure the roller board restriction is the wisest thing, but United gets to make the rules, and that's one they've decided to use. If you don't like it, you have an opportunity to buy a fare that includes it. No one is forcing you to buy basic economy.

Again, United makes the rules how they want, and a traveller can agree to buy a ticket with those rules, or opt for a higher fare without it, just like one can also opt to buy a unrestricted fare that allows changes or cancelation without paying any fees, while the lower priced tickets are non-refundable, and incur a change or cancel fee. No one is forcing you to pay less for the ticket.

I don't think anyone here, including yourself, has actual inside knowledge on the reason for United's strategy to restrict carry ons for basic economy, but there are definitely some theories out there, that include:
- as you mentioned, potentially because most aircraft can't fit a roller for everyone
- to be able to still offer the BE fare, yet encourage people to go up to the next fare level
- To avoid disappointment for those boarding last, who are the most likely to have to check rollers on any given flight
- As mentioned by others, to improve turn-around and boarding times
- some combination of these, plus potential other reasons not mentioned

Personally, I would also be careful using words like 'disingenuous', when you clearly are being just that in ignoring parts of the quote that you cite so you can make your case. As mentioned above, the quote literally says that there is 'enough space', which is completely true. It doesn't say anything about every passenger at every fare level being able to take advantage of such space, kind of like, because I book in economy, that I am unable to take advantage of the extra advantages available to those purchasing Polaris fares. Would be nice, of course, but not gonna happen.

No, the CC issue hasn't been delved into. The current crop of cards, for the most part, have priority boarding, therefore, don't have the BE carry on restriction. The only current card that doesn't have this, I believe, is the no fee TravelBank card. Would be interesting to see the OPs reaction if they found out they started the thread about a personal issue they may not even have to deal with. Anyone with priority boarding, even on BE fares, don't have the restriction.

Actually, UA is on its own on the majors of BE not allowing full-size carry ons. AA initially had that restriction, but has since removed it.

I've been on it - not on a flight, but on the recent tour they had at several airports that have service on it. It is a huge improvement (though you still have to watch your head getting in/out of your seat).

I was on the tour at CVG, and there were folks from HQ there to answer questions and 'sell' the plane. I can't remember if it was someone from marketing or sales that mentioned they worked with Away (the luggage company) to test the capacity of the 4 closets onboard, and they found combined, they could hold 70 roller boards. I don't know the details of the test - size of bags they used, etc., but one would. presume they were statndard size roller boards within the UA limits. If that is the case, and I don't have any reason to think they were being disingenuous, then that is more than anyone is allowed (1 roller per person).

you can't buy back everything. The full size carry on restriction isn't an option, unless you mean by getting an eligible card, or status, before the flight in question.

Not sure what that even means. Like any Express operator, they are going to be more affected in IRROPS than mainline, as they tend to prioritize mainline over the smaller jets from all regional operators, but GoJet, IME, is pretty close to the top in terms of UAX operators.

This is correct. There is still the ULCCs that charge for them.

HNLbasedFlyer

I was specifically responding to a question on why UA has Basic Economy. The poster I had quoted profit - which is true - I then pointed out they have it because competitors have it.