Get ready for ‘basic business-class’ tickets (cue the groans)
by Sean Cudahy, Senior Aviation Reporter
Imagine purchasing a $2,000 business-class ticket, but not being allowed to choose your seat or earn miles.
Cue the groans, because I think we’re going to be hearing about “basic business class” a lot in 2026.
Sound familiar?
The idea is pretty similar to basic economy, which has been around for a decade or so. You would purchase the cheapest “discounted” ticket but settle for some restrictions — picture pesky rules like no ticket changes or limited elite status credit.
Heck, we’ve already seen some European carriers charge business-class passengers for the right to pick which lie-flat pod they want to sit in.
Is this good news or all bad? It depends on how it goes.
If it makes a lie-flat seat cheaper to score, that could be a win for travelers.
But if it causes the baseline business-class fare to stay the same — but with restrictions travelers didn’t previously have to think about — that would be frustrating. After all, who wants to pay to check a bag on a $2,500 flight?
To be fair, airlines haven’t said they’re doing this for sure … or what the actual restrictions would be. But I’m filing this under “something to watch in 2026.”
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