Venus Williams said it's become her "full-time job" to track down her luggage that American Airlines lost.
27.07.2023 - 18:10 / smartertravel.com / Ed Perkins
JetBlue has announced it will join American, Delta, and United in offering bare-bones “basic economy” fares beginning in 2019. The new, no-frills fares will still include the line’s standard free on-board Wi-Fi, snacks and soft drinks, and a full-size carry-on bag plus personal item, the airline said. But basic economy passengers can expect to see fees for things like picking a seat and changing their reservation—JetBlue hasn’t yet said what exactly will change.
Related:Is JetBlue Creating a New Low-Cost Airline?As with the big three and other legacy lines, the idea of adding ultra-low base fares is really a fare increase in disguise. The idea is to make the lowest-fare conditions onerous enough to force travelers into a higher fare category to come out ahead, overall.
But JetBlue attributed the change to customer habits, according to USA Today:
It’s also worth noting that economy fares on United don’t include a carry-on bag, and the same was true of American until it recently changed course.
But to some observers, this is yet another indication of JetBlue’s long transition from an above-average line to an average one. First, it was cutting back from an industry-leading 34-inch pitch to 32 inches in its newest planes—still better than the competition, but a move in the wrong direction. Then it was elimination of one free checked bag, and reasonable ticket change fees. Then it led the latest industry move to hike baggage fees.
And now this. Sad to say, some consumers worry that JetBlue may be slowly turning into a clone of American, Delta, and United, only smaller.
More from SmarterTravel: 3 Airlines Raise Checked Bag Fees to Match JetBlue Change United Will Charge Fees for Economy Seats at the Front of the Plane Smart Ways to Avoid Bag FeesConsumer advocate Ed Perkins has been writing about travel for more than three decades. The founding editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, he continues to inform travelers and fight consumer abuses every day at SmarterTravel.
We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.
Venus Williams said it's become her "full-time job" to track down her luggage that American Airlines lost.
Paris will allow people to swim in the Seine following the 2024 Olympics for the first time in more than 100 years.
United has decided to delay implementation of its low-frills economy product, according to Skift.
Somebody had to be first. And when it comes to the relaunch of scheduled flights between the U.S. and Cuba, following the normalization of relations between the two countries after more than 50 years, it appears that JetBlue is set to snag those bragging rights.
Basic economy fares may be sweeping through the industry, but one airline says it’s staying out.
Last week, Alaska Airlines made two significant announcements. First, the airline will be making changes to its upgrade policies and procedures. And second, it will be rolling out a premium economy product worthy of the “premium” designation.
If so-called basic economy fares aren’t yet a pervasive fact of travel life, they soon will be.
In the weeks-long bidding war for Starwood, Anbang’s latest offer was demonstrably superior to Marriott’s, at least in the short term. And it appeared that Marriott was standing pat, hoping that Starwood shareholders would buy the argument that a Marriott-Starwood tie-up could deliver better returns over the long term.
The recent history of travel is in no small part the story of online travel. And that story has yet to be better told than by Skift’s “The Definitive Oral History of On line Travel,” a collection of interviews with the key people associated with the startups of such iconic companies as Expedia, TripAdvisor, Kayak, Priceline, and the like.
As of yesterday, American was the only one of the Big Three legacy airlines that hadn’t revealed details of its basic economy fares, the cheap coach fares with few perks and plenty of restrictions that have made Spirit, Frontier, and other ultra-low-cost carriers the darlings of the most price-sensitive customers, and of Wall Street.
Basic economy fares have taken the airline industry—well, the big three of United, American, and Delta anyway—by storm, for better or worse. On one hand, so-called bare fares give customers more options and the ability to (theoretically) save a few bucks in exchange for stripped-down services.
Little known fact: With over 8,000 properties, the Wyndham Hotel Group boasts the largest hotel network of any major chain. That’s right, more hotels than Marriott or Hilton or InterContinental.