A long-winded article in Slate lamenting the proliferation of basic economy actually does a great job of showing why it is valuable as an airfare option.
Basic Economy Works Because Travelers Choose It
Slate published a piece by Alex Kirschner on the current state of airline tickets, focusing on the spread of basic economy tickets. The author is skeptical of basic economy, presenting it as restrictive and unfriendly to travelers. Yet the very examples the author uses demonstrate why the fare exists and why it remains popular.
“In late July, I prepared to fly with my then fiancée from Los Angeles to Charlotte for our wedding. It was a special flight en route to the biggest day of our lives. It was also my birthday. Unfortunately, I had committed one of the gravest sins of modern American air travel: I had bought us basic economy tickets.”
But that’s on you, buddy! American Airlines (and every other carrier) now makes the restrictions very clear when you buy a basic economy ticket. That’s because they do not want you to buy that ticket…they want to scare you into paying extra for a regular ticket with fewer restrictions.
Yes, basic economy removes things many travelers prefer, like early boarding, a guaranteed overhead bin spot, or seat selection. It also lowers the price (or at least keeps the price closer to what it has been despite inflation). When presented with that tradeoff, consumers regularly opt to save money.
What The Author Accidentally Proves
“Neither my fiancée nor I gave much thought to what this meant. For one, we would likely not sit next to each other on the American Airlines flight. A bummer, but whatever—we didn’t want to pay the extra $100 each for the privilege.”
Take that line and follow it to its logical conclusion. If a meaningful number of travelers knowingly forgo seat choice and flexibility because the fare is cheaper, then the product is doing its job. It gives price-sensitive flyers a real option and preserves a higher service tier for those who value extras.
“The problem is that we have played ourselves. By changing how we shop for flights, we have encouraged airlines to race one another to the bottom and to offer as few amenities as possible in the ticket classes that they market most widely. In fact, we’ve prompted these companies to make their offerings much worse, accepting each deterioration with a smile. The Google Flights–ification of flying has beaten back inflation in ticket pricing. It has also made flying less pleasant.”
Exactly. That is market segmentation, not trickery. Basic economy emerged to compete with ultra-low-cost carriers without collapsing the revenue integrity of standard economy. By keeping an entry price low, airlines can defend their network against bottom-of-the-market pricing while still offering better included features to customers who will pay a bit more.
Cost, Benefit, Choice
Basic economy is not ideal. It can be annoying, especially on longer flights or when you need flexibility. But it transparently presents a cost-benefit decision. If the savings are substantial, many passengers accept the limits and book it. If not, they buy up. The Slate article repeatedly returns to that dynamic.
“At first blush, this is a standard story of corporate greed. Easy pickings! But the question of what we should all want, as the flying public, is weirdly complicated. I know that this will sound strange if you have recently had an unpleasant flying experience, but we are living in an objectively great time to be nonrich people buying airline tickets. Non–business class tickets are only about $20 more expensive now than they were in 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (That link should return whenever the government reopens.) Inflationwise, we’re all making out like bandits.”
That is the ballgame. When consumers are offered a clear price difference for fewer inclusions, they often choose to save. Pretending this is a trap denies what the author’s own observations reveal. Travelers are not being duped. They are optimizing for their trip and their budget and coming out ahead.
Why Fares Stay Reasonable
There is also a network effect. Maintaining an entry level fare helps keep published prices competitive across markets. Without a basic tier, the legacy carriers would be forced to either match ultra low cost airlines with full service tickets or raise prices across the board. Neither is sustainable. Basic economy is the way forward.
“My wife and I don’t mind sitting apart on planes because we’re both thirtysomethings who want to do work or watch movies, but people who do care about sitting with their traveling party don’t get to enjoy the cursed miracle of basic economy.”
And they have a very clear option to avoid that: buy a regular economy class ticket. Even that is still cheaper than a decade ago when you adjust for inflation. Again and again, I repeat that consumers can decide where to spend or save.
CONCLUSION
Basic economy removes comfort and flexibility, and that is the point. It also removes dollars from the fare. The Slate article sets out to indict the product, but the author’s own words end up proving the case for it, over and over. When travelers see the price gap and still choose basic economy, the market is speaking. Airlines keep an accessible entry price. Consumers keep the ability to make a clear trade. That is not a flaw in the system. That is the system working.
Some are irritated because basic economy takes away some things that don’t cost the airline anything. Seat assignment is one of them. Maybe it costs the airline a fraction of a cent in electricity to power the website as people choose a seat?
What if basic economy had a lavatory use fee, boarding pass printing fee, ask a flight attendant a question fee, check the website too many times fee, flight status inquiry fee, etc.?
Let’s all conveniently ignore the fact that airlines touted “basic economy” as an “unbundled” fare…while charging the EXACT SAME fare for basic as the old fare that included a free seat assignment, carry on bag, and maybe even a checked bag. So basic economy was nothing more than a fare INCREASE.
But yes, you’re correct on the premise of the article.
AA Basic economy for status holders is actually incredibly generous. As OWE I can select an exit row, get early boarding and miles too
In my view JetBlue is the most evil of all airlines offering Basic Economy because they don’t assign seats to Basic Economy customers until one hour before departure, thus effectively denying such passengers the opportunity to use credit card lounges. And yes, the Capital One lounge at JFK refused me access because I technically didn’t have a confirmed seat assignment, even though my “crime” was flying Basic Economy rather than being on standby. I did call JetBlue from the entrance to the lounge to beg them to assign me a seat (I was not ASKING to choose a specific seat), and they refused unless I paid the seat assignment fee. This is total BS in my view.
Or the cheapest option. Don’t travel.