United still won’t offer free carry-on bag in basic economy
United Airlines will stand firm in not allowing a full-size carry-on for travelers buying its cheapest fares.
While rivals Delta and now American Airlines allow for a carry-on bag to be placed in the overhead bin on basic economy tickets, United will strictly enforce its no-carry on rule.
American originally said no carry-on bag was allowed with the fare but relented recently.
United says the success of the bare-bones fare is not in how many customers book it but how many shell out more money to avoid it.
"The way we designed basic (economy) was carefully constructed to allow us to segment our products, to allow us to compete effectively against ultra-low-cost competitors and allow our operation to deliver better results for everybody in terms of on-time departures," United’s chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said during an analysts call.
"It’s working as designed, and it’s working full speed ahead with where we’re at."
Other restrictions on basic economy fares include no date changes allowed, and no advance seat selection.
Basic economy passengers also board the plane last.
JetBlue Airways also announced it will roll out its version of low cost basic economy to stay competitive.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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