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Do you ever fly Basic Economy?

LesClaypool

LesClaypool

HR Heisman
Jan 12, 2004
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If you're an even semi-frequent leisure traveler, I think you'll enjoy this...

https://scottscheapflights.com/stat...ghts&utm_campaign=socf&utm_content=cta-button

Some snippets for those that don't want to read the whole thing...
  • It’s never been cheaper to fly overseas as it is today. For example, in 1948, a roundtrip ticket from NYC to Rome cost $848. That’s nearly $9,000 in today’s dollars. And yet, right now, we regularly see flights from NYC to Rome available for less than $300 roundtrip.
  • More than a third of respondents (37%) say travel is critical for their happiness, and another 45% say it’s highly important.
  • When basic economy is the lowest price, 80% book it.
That last one about Basic Economy shocks me. I would never book Basic Economy, particularly on a long-haul flight, and I would've assumed I was in the majority. I'm really surprised such a high number would/does book it.
 
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Yes, of course. You should know you aren't in the majority when you realize there's far more economy seats than others on the aircraft. For the most part air travel is just a means to get from point A to point B with a general understanding that it's not going to be a lot of fun. I would sooner pay more for better timed flights/connections than better seating accommodations.

I've done a handful of trans pacific flights in F/J and it's a memorable experience but no where near worth the cost when it's not overly difficult for me to tolerate an economy seat for hours.

The marginal utility of upgrading a seat is rarely worth the marginal cost of doing so. This balance of course could/will change with age/health/wealth.
 
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Depends on the flight honestly. Going to Hawaii in a few weeks and we are first all the way back and forth. In the 48 states we book economy and sometimes upgrade to exit if possible. Europe flights depend, for me First/biz is just too much and I dont believe its worth it most of the time. Lots of factors honestly.
 
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No way, wouldn't even think about it. I am a big dude with very broad shoulders, nobody wants me in a middle seat. I'll pay the upcharge. We are planning to go to Italy sometime this spring. We'll be booking some kind of premium economy to get extra legroom. We took a trip last spring to Spain and did regular economy. Never again.
 
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jasonrann said:
No way, wouldn't even think about it. I am a big dude with very broad shoulders, nobody wants me in a middle seat. I'll pay the upcharge. We are planning to go to Italy sometime this spring. We'll be booking some kind of premium economy to get extra legroom. We took a trip last spring to Spain and did regular economy. Never again.
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American airlines premium economy is awesome. We took it back from Paris a few years ago and it was nice. Big seats with only a 2x2x2 configuration drinks included, highly recommend. The one way upgrade fee per person was like 200 a person and well worth it.
 
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It all depends on the purpose and length of the trip, is the kid coming etc. Just the two of us for a weekend, yeah absolutely. The wife also has the United credit card so we can buy basic economy with the perks of flying regular. If the kid is coming, we need more room so would be willing to spend more.

As someone stated above, flight times are generally more important to me
 
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Carolina Hawk said:
American airlines premium economy is awesome. We took it back from Paris a few years ago and it was nice. Big seats with only a 2x2x2 configuration drinks included, highly recommend. The one way upgrade fee per person was like 200 a person and well worth it.
Click to expand...

When I used to fly to China for work, I would use United's Economy Plus. It was outstanding with 6" of extra legroom. It doesn't sound like much, but it is. Delta offers something similar in it's Comfort+ class. Similar legroom gains with great snacks and entertainment system. We'll be using one of those two for our Italy trip.
 
When I was 18 I flew basic economy from Detroit to Paris and than from Amsterdam to Chicago. (There where connecting flights involved that I'm not mentioning.) The flight from Detroit to Paris was bad. Flight back was marginally better mostly because the plane we where on was bigger.

I mean it sucks, but I would do it again. Probably will never get the chance, but I would do it again.
 
Hoosierhawkeye said:
When I was 18 I flew basic economy from Detroit to Paris and than from Amsterdam to Chicago. (There where connecting flights involved that I'm not mentioning.) The flight from Detroit to Paris was bad. Flight back was marginally better mostly because the plane we where on was bigger.

I mean it sucks, but I would do it again. Probably will never get the chance, but I would do it again.
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images
 
I'm not opposed to flying coach but booking 'basic economy' (on Delta anyway) is a slightly different creature in the same seat. My partner and I travel together and we prefer to sit together. We will pay a little extra for that convenience. That said, we currently have 3 flights booked, all up front: Puerto Vallarta (next week!), Croatia (May, with London/Paris mixed in) and Los Angeles (April). Is it 'worth it'? Nope... but he works hard in a stressful job and can more than afford it so I don't argue much.
 
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jasonrann said:
When I used to fly to China for work, I would use United's Economy Plus. It was outstanding with 6" of extra legroom. It doesn't sound like much, but it is. Delta offers something similar in it's Comfort+ class. Similar legroom gains with great snacks and entertainment system. We'll be using one of those two for our Italy trip.
Click to expand...
China? Have you been quarantined yet?:rolleyes:
 
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NoleATL said:
I'm not opposed to flying coach but booking 'basic economy' (on Delta anyway) is a slightly different creature in the same seat. My partner and I travel together and we prefer to sit together. We will pay a little extra for that convenience. That said, we currently have 3 flights booked, all up front: Puerto Vallarta (next week!), Croatia (May, with London/Paris mixed in) and Los Angeles (April). Is it 'worth it'? Nope... but he works hard in a stressful job and can more than afford it so I don't argue much.
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??

Maybe I didn't than. I wasn't aware there was a difference between coach and basic economy.
 
Hoosierhawkeye said:
??

Maybe I didn't than. I wasn't aware there was a difference between coach and basic economy.
Click to expand...
On Delta, the same exact coach seats (not the slightly larger Comfort + coach seats) are marketed in 2 ways. "Main Cabin" and "Basic Economy". Same seat with and leg room. with Basic Economy, you do not get to choose your seats and they are assigned at the gate. Many times resulting in split parties.
 
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LesClaypool said:
If you're an even semi-frequent leisure traveler, I think you'll enjoy this...

https://scottscheapflights.com/stat...ghts&utm_campaign=socf&utm_content=cta-button

Some snippets for those that don't want to read the whole thing...
  • It’s never been cheaper to fly overseas as it is today. For example, in 1948, a roundtrip ticket from NYC to Rome cost $848. That’s nearly $9,000 in today’s dollars. And yet, right now, we regularly see flights from NYC to Rome available for less than $300 roundtrip.
  • More than a third of respondents (37%) say travel is critical for their happiness, and another 45% say it’s highly important.
  • When basic economy is the lowest price, 80% book it.
That last one about Basic Economy shocks me. I would never book Basic Economy, particularly on a long-haul flight, and I would've assumed I was in the majority. I'm really surprised such a high number would/does book it.
Click to expand...
Isn’t basic economy the vast majority of seats available on airplanes? Assuming so, how could you possibly think the vast majority of flyers opt for a higher class seat? The math doesn’t work.
 
CarolinaHawkeye said:
China? Have you been quarantined yet?:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It's been at least ten years. It's shit like this that makes me happy I never have to go back. I was there around 2005 when they had a bird flu outbreak. That and one other time are the only two times I've gotten a flu shot since I was a kid.
 
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NoleATL said:
I'm not opposed to flying coach but booking 'basic economy' (on Delta anyway) is a slightly different creature in the same seat. My partner and I travel together and we prefer to sit together. We will pay a little extra for that convenience. That said, we currently have 3 flights booked, all up front: Puerto Vallarta (next week!), Croatia (May, with London/Paris mixed in) and Los Angeles (April). Is it 'worth it'? Nope... but he works hard in a stressful job and can more than afford it so I don't argue much.
Click to expand...

I was there about a year and a half ago visiting my mom. Delightful city. Her apartment was about 1/2 block from the beach. Just a great area!
 
NoleATL said:
On Delta, the same exact coach seats (not the slightly larger Comfort + coach seats) are marketed in 2 ways. "Main Cabin" and "Basic Economy". Same seat with and leg room. with Basic Economy, you do not get to choose your seats and they are assigned at the gate. Many times resulting in split parties.
Click to expand...

Oh I guess I was basic economy than. We had assigned seats.

Although this was back in 2000 so I think the whole industry was a lot different then.
 
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NoleATL said:
I'm not opposed to flying coach but booking 'basic economy' (on Delta anyway) is a slightly different creature in the same seat. My partner and I travel together and we prefer to sit together. We will pay a little extra for that convenience. That said, we currently have 3 flights booked, all up front: Puerto Vallarta (next week!), Croatia (May, with London/Paris mixed in) and Los Angeles (April). Is it 'worth it'? Nope... but he works hard in a stressful job and can more than afford it so I don't argue much.
Click to expand...
You're going to miss me by a week. We're flying in there and going to San Pancho
 
jasonrann said:
It was. I at least had SOME legroom in an economy seat. Not anymore.
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The flight there I didn't have any. We where on a DC-10 and the overhead bins ran out of room and I was forced to put my carry-on under the seat in front of me leaving me no leg room.

On the way back we had some room in the 747.
 
I thought basic economy was where you didn’t get to pick your seat and you just got whatever was left over. THAT is the thing I was taking issue with saying I thought most people would avoid. I’m definitely not saying I thought everyone would fly premium economy or first class.
 
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jasonrann said:
I was there about a year and a half ago visiting my mom. Delightful city. Her apartment was about 1/2 block from the beach. Just a great area!
Click to expand...
This will be our 10th trip to PV in 15 years. We love it. Stay in the Old Town/Romantic Zone area.
 
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LesClaypool said:
That's what I can't believe 80% of flyers choose.

Most (I would have thought) would surely pay the $20-$60 bucks to pick a seat they want, no?
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Edit: for some folks that is the difference between being able to go or not go... Or, making a decision to do without something else...
 
We usually upgrade to economy+ to get the extra leg room. Often times if the first class seats are not full, the airline will let you upgrade again to first class for a good price ($50-100 one way per ticket, and a refund of the cost of your economy+ upgrade) - when this option is available, we usually take it. I would never fly basic economy - I at minimum need an aisle seat to give me a little extra room to stretch my legs.
 
We book basic economy when we fly as a family. I have kids so we are always seated together so we don’t need to worry about that. Not sure what other perks there are to economy or business class vs basic. They get to sit closer to the doors? $200 isn’t worth 5-10 more minutes on the plane and all the luggage comes out together anyhow. I think you get more legroom, but on a 2 hour flight it isn’t that big of a deal to me.
 
LesClaypool said:
That's what I can't believe 80% of flyers choose.

Most (I would have thought) would surely pay the $20-$60 bucks to pick a seat they want, no?
Click to expand...

There are other drawbacks to basic economy, like not being able to sit with someone you are traveling with, no ability to change seat assignment after they assign you one of the crappiest seats on the plane, no ability to change flights or refund ticket, not being allowed a full sized carry on, reduced frequent flyer benefits and always being the last to board.

The airlines have basically ;) wrapped a lot of the terrible things that many people don't like about flying into a new lower tier of ticket.

If you can't tell, I don't fly basic economy.
 
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LesClaypool said:
If you're an even semi-frequent leisure traveler, I think you'll enjoy this...

https://scottscheapflights.com/stat...ghts&utm_campaign=socf&utm_content=cta-button

Some snippets for those that don't want to read the whole thing...
  • It’s never been cheaper to fly overseas as it is today. For example, in 1948, a roundtrip ticket from NYC to Rome cost $848. That’s nearly $9,000 in today’s dollars. And yet, right now, we regularly see flights from NYC to Rome available for less than $300 roundtrip.
  • More than a third of respondents (37%) say travel is critical for their happiness, and another 45% say it’s highly important.
  • When basic economy is the lowest price, 80% book it.
That last one about Basic Economy shocks me. I would never book Basic Economy, particularly on a long-haul flight, and I would've assumed I was in the majority. I'm really surprised such a high number would/does book it.
Click to expand...

Always stayed away because I want the mileage credit and the E+ upgrade at booking.
 
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