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Looking Back On 2017: The Resistible Rise Of Basic Economy http://ift.tt/2BVoiTw This is the time of year when journalists look back at the year that was. And the rise of the Basic Economy fare, sure to be with us through 2018 as well, was one of the most noteworthy issues in the travel business. Basic economy, oh basic economy, how we hate you but we can’t quit your low fares! Low fares are not a new idea in the airline ‘business.’ But a new generation of startup ULCCs, or ultra-low cost carriers, have essentially made low fares the standard, not an occasional deep discount that the other carriers are forced to follow like lemmings off a cliff. Low fuel prices, what some would call lower wages, and a new generation of fuel-efficient if crammed single-aisle jets like current-generation 737s and A320s have enable US low fare carriers like Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant. They differ from traditional low-fare leader Southwest by ‘unbundling’ services like ‘free’ bags and carry-ons. Low fare European carriers include Ryanair (whose CEO once suggested on-board pay toilets), WOW and Norwegian, the latter two of which are offering service to and from the US. WOW’s cost-cutting or profit-making schemes include charging $3 for a bottle of water. (Disclosure: I own stock in Southwest.) Yet passengers, particularly Millennials, flocked to these airlines for one reason: amazing low fares. WOW, for instance, is currently promoting $149 one-way fares from Washington to Berlin and from New York to London in January, 2018. Faced with the popularity of such pricing, reluctantly the ‘empire’ (the US big three carriers, American, Delta and United) struck back with Basic Economy. Features of Basic Economy include no advance seat assignments, no eligibility for seat upgrades, no ticket changes permitted, families being separated, and always boarding in the last group. Business via Forbes - Entrepreneurs http://ift.tt/dTEDZf December 29, 2017 at 03:17PM
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