Basic Economy Coming to United Long-Haul Flights, Premium Economy May Launch This Fall
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United is bringing the basic economy fare class to long haul flights. At a presentation for United's investors on Monday, the company shared a slide deck showing the carrier's plan for the rollout of basic economy on transatlantic and Latin American routes. The deck also showed that it planned on releasing its new premium economy product in the fall.
On a slide describing segmentation of classes, the deck had a blurb below basic economy saying "expect to be available in Latin and Atlantic later this year." This suggests that United is following in Delta and American's footsteps and will rollout basic economy fares on these long-haul routes.
On the same slide, the phrase below Premium Economy read "plan to be available in the fall." Launch dates were previously unreleased when the new "Premium Plus" product was announced in January. Originally, the new seat was going to be featured on "select international routes," but United President Scott Kirby said yesterday that the airline was "considering" it on domestic routes, too.
Delta said it was planning on taking basic economy worldwide in 2018 and recently introduced checked bag fees on transatlantic flights. American is introducing basic economy on flights to Europe this spring. These moves are just another sign the legacy carriers are feeling the pressure from budget airlines like Norwegian, Primera Air and WOW.
If United's basic economy on international flights is anything like it is on domestic routes, your ticket won't include a seat assignment, a checked bag, a large carry-on bag, the ability for a refund, the ability to change your ticket, premier qualifying miles or upgrade eligibility.
Delta and American already have premium economy on some of their wide-body aircraft. Although United wants to install the product sometime this fall, it's unclear if it will be able to stick to that timeline, especially considering the slow rollout of its new Polaris Business class.
Remember that airline co-brand credit cards can help defeat some of the negative aspects of basic economy because they provide amenities, free checked and carry-on bags. Hopefully the United MileagePlus Explorer card's benefits will apply to international basic economy flights.
TPG reached out to United for more details, but company representatives declined to comment.
H/T: Edward Russell of Flight Global
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month