The big three traditional airlines American, United, and Delta used to offer full-fare, all-included travel. You paid more than you would for a discount carrier but your ticket came with everything you needed for a comfortable flight.
Over the years, that has changed. Tickets have become more tiered with the major airlines looking to compete not just with Southwest and JetBlue, the sort of mid-tier customer-friendly carriers, but also the true discounters Spirit and Frontier.
Those airlines sell everything a la carte. Your ticket gives you the right to be on the plane and that’s all. It’s a way to sell tickets to customers at a low price even though most of them will actually pay more.
It’s a model that allows passengers to pay for exactly what they need. If you don’t care where you sit, for example, you can opt to not buy a seat assignment and have your seat assigned at the gate. Passengers can also opt to not pay for baggage or a carry-on bag, meaning they can only carry a purse or small backpack on the plane.
United (UAL) – Get Free Report, Delta, and American have all adopted a form of these a la carte fares. They call it “Basic Economy,” but one airline has opted to be even more basic than its rivals.
United Airlines Basic Economy offers the least
When you fly Spirit or Frontier Airlines, passengers know the deal. They expect airlines that make every effort to save money and people gird themselves for a bad experience.
It’s not uncommon, for example, for Spirit and Frontier to not even have a gate agent available until just before boarding starts. That creates a line at the counter as people ask questions, pay for checked bags they didn’t realize weren’t included, or try to get questions answered.
People generally expect better from United, Delta, and American. That puts those airlines in a tighter spot when it comes to Basic Economy fares. Passengers know that those cheaper tickets lack some regularly included perks, but they still have some expectations.
Passengers traveling on Basic Economy fares expect to pay for checked bags, but United Airlines passengers flying on the no-frills tickets may be shocked to learn that their fare does not include a carry-on bag because Delta and American Basic Economy include a traditional carryon.
United Airlines has the most restrictive fares
Years ago, American Airlines did not allow Basic Economy passengers to bring a traditional carryon on their flight as part of their fare. Customers hated that policy because it led to unexpected charges so the airline gave up some money and dropped that policy in the interest of customer satisfaction.
United Airlines seems to be taking a very different approach to how it treats Basic Economy passengers,
“Carry-on bags are not included unless you’re flying to Canada, South America, across the Atlantic, or on an international flight across the Pacific. You can prepay to check a bag or check a carry-on at your gate for the regular bag fee plus an additional $25,” the airline shared on its website.
So, not only will passengers pay to check their bags, but they’ll also pay a penalty because they didn’t read the fine print.
United also makes it harder for Basic Economy passengers who don’t pay for a checked bag or carryon to get on the plane.
“If you’re flying on a Basic Economy ticket without a checked bag, you’re not allowed to check in online or via the airline’s mobile app So all Basic Economy customers are forced to wait in the line of shame at the airport. Their travels are slowed down and what they save in airfare they pay in time,” Garry Leff wrote on View From the Wing.