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In 2012, Delta Air Lines became the first US carrier to market Basic Economy tickets. These bare-bones flights offer transportation from point A to point B and not much more. Assigned seats, checked bags, and just about everything else are stripped out and offered as add-ons for these fares. United has long been the most punitive among American, Delta, and the Chicago-based carrier, but that’s about to somewhat change.
The Points Guy is reporting that United will continue to not allow free carry-on bags for Basic Economy flyers (unless you hold Premier status, Star Alliance Gold, or have one of United’s credit cards that grants a bag). American and Delta both allow Basic Economy passengers carry-on bags. But, it will begin to allow Basic Economy passengers to check in online and via kiosks at the airport if they were not bringing a carry-on bag. On August 6th, this change will occur and passengers will no longer need to wait in line to have it verified that they’re not sneaking on a bag and receive a boarding pass. The solution? Passengers will need to agree when checking in that they will be charged $65 if they try to hide their carry-on bag until boarding. This is in line with what the airline would normally charge and it hopes that it will discourage this dishonesty.
United has tested this at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and saw its trial run well with positive feedback from customers. This will roll out across United’s network, although its website has yet to be updated.
Anthony’s Take: I have never purchased a Basic Economy fare, but know plenty of people who find great value in these cheap tickets. This new change makes it a bit more pleasant without the need to wait in long lines to get a boarding pass (and aligns United with American and Delta).
(Featured Image Credit: United Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
1 comment
Exactly why I chose the same cheap fare on AA ORD-RDU… they allow a carry-on bag.