Air Canada Jumps on the Basic Economy Bandwagon, Too

Daily Newsletter

Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter

Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts

Email address

Sign up

By signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Air Canada has announced that it will be introducing a basic economy fare class. According to Air Canada's website, "Economy Basic" is "now available on select routes and flights within Canada."

The basic economy trend continues to build as Air Canada hops on the same train that Delta started in 2012 and that American and United joined last year. Air Canada claims that these fares will be lower than Economy, but as we've seen in the states, that's not always true.

Like with its American counterparts, Economy Basic is pretty restrictive especially compared to Economy Tango, the airline's lowest "regular" economy fare:

So no upgrades, no redeemable or elite miles, no changes or cancellations and no credits towards future travel for Economy Basic flyers. Fortunately, Economy Basic will still allow for a free carry-on, unlike American and United. Additionally, seat assignments will cost more in the new fare class, ranging from $20 to $100, while Economy Tango would pay only $10-$50.

Most US flyers won't see these fares since they are just available on routes within Canada, although it's possible that Air Canada will introduce Economy Basic on more routes in the future. Air Canada faces competition from low-cost carriers like West Jet and the soon to launch ultra-low cost startup Swoop.