Travelers, BOLO _ be on the lookout _ for these potential offenders. They are, as usual, hiding in the small print on conditions of sale of travel products.
Today I want to talk about two on the most-unwanted list: "Basic Economy" airfares and nonrefundable hotel prices. Not that they're necessarily unwanted _ both have their advantages, pricewise. But if they're not well identified, and all the restrictions and possible financial penalties aren't disclosed, you may certainly feel like you've been victimized.
We first mentioned Basic Economy class in a story about trends for travel in 2017. It's one of the new ways airlines have come up with to deprive flyers of almost anything but a seat and some air. OK, it's not that drastic, but it is definitely not for the faint of heart. Delta has been offering this "economy lite" product since 2014, and now, as they promised, United and American Airlines are selling these fares on a limited number of routes.
When Delta introduced Basic Economy, the airline said that this no-frills, lowest-price fare was aimed at the low-cost carrier competition _ specifically Spirit Airlines, which offered nonstop service on some of Delta's routes and was siphoning off business. These low fares, usually around $30 less than regular economy, took away several of the features that gave passengers flying coach at least a chance at making the experience tolerable: advance seat selection, early boarding, upgrades, credits if not refunds for unused tickets. The new fare seemed to be successful; and Delta is now offering the fares in more than 500 markets _ and not just those where it competes with low-cost carriers. Delta even plans to expand Basic Economy to international flights. The addition of Basic Economy has added $20 million in revenue annually since it began.
Now, American and United have joined the Basic Economy game. American is offering the fare on 10 routes, adding more later this year. United is currently offering the fare only on flights between Minneapolis/St. Paul and any of its seven U.S. hubs, but plans to expand it to the rest of the U.S., Caribbean and short-haul Latin America.
While all three airlines use the same name for this new class, all Basic Economy is not equal. Each airline has its own list of restrictions and they differ in some important ways. Here's how.
