Basic vs Econo
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 259
Basic vs Econo
For a flight between Vancouver and Edmonton $73 vs $104 so $31 difference each way
Only benefit I see is Econo has Advance seat selection for a fee vs Basic's No seat selection without a higher fee
Does that mean if I want to book seats in advance (with a fee) I need to book Econo?
And what about about upgrade bids.
With Covid I don't want a middle seat
Only benefit I see is Econo has Advance seat selection for a fee vs Basic's No seat selection without a higher fee
Does that mean if I want to book seats in advance (with a fee) I need to book Econo?
And what about about upgrade bids.
With Covid I don't want a middle seat
#2
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 366
For a flight between Vancouver and Edmonton $73 vs $104 so $31 difference each way
Only benefit I see is Econo has Advance seat selection for a fee vs Basic's No seat selection without a higher fee
Does that mean if I want to book seats in advance (with a fee) I need to book Econo?
And what about about upgrade bids.
With Covid I don't want a middle seat
Only benefit I see is Econo has Advance seat selection for a fee vs Basic's No seat selection without a higher fee
Does that mean if I want to book seats in advance (with a fee) I need to book Econo?
And what about about upgrade bids.
With Covid I don't want a middle seat
With a WS basic economy fare, you cannot bid for upgrades, they automatically assign you a seat at check in ($$ to change).
You can buy a seat at booking with any fare type but if your goal is to sit as far away from others, I don't think that is the best strategy. All in all, buying AC on the route is your best choice.
#3
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 973
You dont want to sit in the middle or you dont anyone in the middle seat between you and another person? My two pronged advice would be to either pay for two seats (yours and an extra seat) to ensure distance, OR if thats not financially feasible, just ask the customer service agent before boarding or the flight attendant once on the plane. If theres room to move, they would likely do so for you as a courtesy during the pandemic.
#4
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Copenhagen
Programs: skyteam
Posts: 564
I'd suggest you book AC who got rid of domestic basic economy fares.
With a WS basic economy fare, you cannot bid for upgrades, they automatically assign you a seat at check in ($$ to change).
You can buy a seat at booking with any fare type but if your goal is to sit as far away from others, I don't think that is the best strategy. All in all, buying AC on the route is your best choice.
With a WS basic economy fare, you cannot bid for upgrades, they automatically assign you a seat at check in ($$ to change).
You can buy a seat at booking with any fare type but if your goal is to sit as far away from others, I don't think that is the best strategy. All in all, buying AC on the route is your best choice.
Also worth noting , Air Canada does still have Basic in its pricing arsenal. https://www.aircanada.com/us/en/aco/...omy-basic.html
Last edited by cirrusdragoon; Apr 21, 2021 at 11:17 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: YOW
Programs: UA, AA
Posts: 35
We just flew today on WJ with Basic fares. There were 3 of us, assigned seating at 24 hours and no ability to change seats without paying fee. We had 3 seats together (3&3 seating) in the back 1/3 of the plane. At gate, I requested an adjacent aisle seat with someone in middle. On the plane, the middle seater was at the window.
This was the first time on WJ in years, what I learned from these flights is that all the cheap ticket purchasers are seated in the rear 1/3 of plane and more crowded than the rest of the plane. If flying on Econo ticket, take a look at the seat map prior to the 24 hr Check-in and your seat will be one in the rear 1/3 of the plane.
We had cheap seats on AC last week and had no problem changing seats without fees excepting front/exit row seats identified as premium.
Follow the advice of On Time Reports above.
This was the first time on WJ in years, what I learned from these flights is that all the cheap ticket purchasers are seated in the rear 1/3 of plane and more crowded than the rest of the plane. If flying on Econo ticket, take a look at the seat map prior to the 24 hr Check-in and your seat will be one in the rear 1/3 of the plane.
We had cheap seats on AC last week and had no problem changing seats without fees excepting front/exit row seats identified as premium.
Follow the advice of On Time Reports above.
#6
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 973
We just flew today on WJ with Basic fares. There were 3 of us, assigned seating at 24 hours and no ability to change seats without paying fee. We had 3 seats together (3&3 seating) in the back 1/3 of the plane. At gate, I requested an adjacent aisle seat with someone in middle. On the plane, the middle seater was at the window.
This was the first time on WJ in years, what I learned from these flights is that all the cheap ticket purchasers are seated in the rear 1/3 of plane and more crowded than the rest of the plane. If flying on Econo ticket, take a look at the seat map prior to the 24 hr Check-in and your seat will be one in the rear 1/3 of the plane.
We had cheap seats on AC last week and had no problem changing seats without fees excepting front/exit row seats identified as premium.
Follow the advice of On Time Reports above.
This was the first time on WJ in years, what I learned from these flights is that all the cheap ticket purchasers are seated in the rear 1/3 of plane and more crowded than the rest of the plane. If flying on Econo ticket, take a look at the seat map prior to the 24 hr Check-in and your seat will be one in the rear 1/3 of the plane.
We had cheap seats on AC last week and had no problem changing seats without fees excepting front/exit row seats identified as premium.
Follow the advice of On Time Reports above.
#7
Two very big differences.
I would choose Air Canada vs Westjet Basic
#8
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 366
If your goal is to just simply buy the cheapest domestic ticket where the prices on WS and AC are the same, buying AC is better because
- Ability to accumulate frequent flyer points/dollars
- Ability to change seats at check in for free
- Ability to bid for a upgrade
#9
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: PHX
Programs: AAexp, AC75k, HertzPC, NationalEE, Accor/MariottP, Hilton/HyattG
Posts: 3,606
Ive also notice all the basic fare people when flying recently. They are always in the back, randomly spread across. Even on near empty flights they are back there in a middle seat. I noticed a family trying to change seats at gate with no success. FAs allowed people to move after boarding on all my recent flights. Note that most my recent flights have had less than 20-30% load.
I had one flight where premium was completely full, there was a few people in the front Y and the rest were all spread across the back. There were so many empty rows near the front and middle Y that I moved to a full Econ row from premium. WS still does cater to FOTSG, vacation and AC hater types that definitely believe WS is better than AC at the same basic price lol. Most WS flight purchasers will buy basic, so its extremely easy to bid upgrade or LMU(at least for now) if youre purchasing econo. You also cant receive a complimentary upgrade on a basic fare if you have WS status. You have to buy full Y(econo flex) for silver and gold, and at least econo for platinum members.
On Time Reports is completely spot on. Theres zero incentive to fly WS when it comes down to basic. Fly AC
#10
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 605
WS basic tickets improved seat selection for me as an Econo flyer. There's less competition for seat selection, at T-24 I can generally snag a desirable seat, if I'm not already assigned something decent. All the basic passengers get assigned seats at the back, where I tend to avoid sitting.
#11
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: YYG
Programs: airlines and hotels and rental cars - oh my!
Posts: 2,987
- Someone flying on the cheapest possible fares will never accumulate enough points to even cover cab fare to the airport, much less a flight somewhere
- Ability to change seats is predicated by load, and is at the discretion of the gate crew. This is not guaranteed
- If you've bought the cheapest fare you will never get an upgrade. You can bid on one till you're blue in the face, but anyone who paid $1 more than you will get the upgrade first.
Last edited by Symmetre; May 31, 2021 at 8:56 am
#12
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Delta, BC
Posts: 1,645
This is basically rubbish, because
- Someone flying on the cheapest possible fares will never accumulate enough points to even cover cab fare to the airport, much less a flight somewhere
- Ability to change seats is predicated by load, and is at the discretion of the gate crew. This is not guaranteed
- If you've bought the cheapest fare you will never get an upgrade. You can bid on one till you're blue in the face, but anyone who paid $1 more than you will get the upgrade first.
The differences between the lowest fare types between Westjet and AC are marginal with AC coming out slightly ahead on their STANDARD vs WJ BASIC fare, which is really about seat choice at check-in as you correctly point-out the points earning and upgrade bid potential is barely worth mentioning.
#13
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: YUL
Programs: Various airline, hotel and credit card programs
Posts: 1,903
The differences between the lowest fare types between Westjet and AC are marginal with AC coming out slightly ahead on their STANDARD vs WJ BASIC fare, which is really about seat choice at check-in as you correctly point-out the points earning and upgrade bid potential is barely worth mentioning.
What I am afraid of is that Westjet may cancel the YVR-YUL nonstop like they did last summer - several times. I was stuck at YYZ for 6 hours every time it happened. AC does not do that and the airline (Flair) offers nonstops as well. So far the reviews are not great.
In normal times, Westjet was my choice (on many occasions) to fly to BGI. I hope this will come back later this year.
#14
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: May 2002
Location: YEG
Programs: HH Silver
Posts: 56,417
There is yet another consideration: Schedule/price. I have bought Westjet basic economy from YVR to YUL (in July and August) because AC did NOT have the red eye flight at the rock-bottom price. I do not care any longer about status/miles accumulation. I book based on convenience - price and schedule. With the current loads, even middle seat in the back should not be a problem.
What I am afraid of is that Westjet may cancel the YVR-YUL nonstop like they did last summer - several times. I was stuck at YYZ for 6 hours every time it happened. AC does not do that and the airline (Flair) offers nonstops as well. So far the reviews are not great.
What I am afraid of is that Westjet may cancel the YVR-YUL nonstop like they did last summer - several times. I was stuck at YYZ for 6 hours every time it happened. AC does not do that and the airline (Flair) offers nonstops as well. So far the reviews are not great.
BTW out of curiosity what was the price difference between AC who didn't have the red-eye on at a rock-bottom price & WS?
#15
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Copenhagen
Programs: skyteam
Posts: 564
There is yet another consideration: Schedule/price. I have bought Westjet basic economy from YVR to YUL (in July and August) because AC did NOT have the red eye flight at the rock-bottom price. I do not care any longer about status/miles accumulation. I book based on convenience - price and schedule. With the current loads, even middle seat in the back should not be a problem.
What I am afraid of is that Westjet may cancel the YVR-YUL nonstop like they did last summer - several times. I was stuck at YYZ for 6 hours every time it happened. AC does not do that and the airline (Flair) offers nonstops as well. So far the reviews are not great.
In normal times, Westjet was my choice (on many occasions) to fly to BGI. I hope this will come back later this year.
What I am afraid of is that Westjet may cancel the YVR-YUL nonstop like they did last summer - several times. I was stuck at YYZ for 6 hours every time it happened. AC does not do that and the airline (Flair) offers nonstops as well. So far the reviews are not great.
In normal times, Westjet was my choice (on many occasions) to fly to BGI. I hope this will come back later this year.