Three New Levels of Economy Class Fares
In a bid to squeeze out as many pennies as possible and compete with low-cost airlines, three American carriers – American, Delta and United – now offer three different tiers of economy class tickets, potentially in the hundreds. dollars in tickets.
According to Consumer Reports , the biggest differences between the three economy classes are priority boarding, seat selection and the cost of changing tickets on the same day.
Base
Basic is obviously the cheapest and offers consumers the minimum of options / amenities. None of the three airlines offer priority boarding, seat selection or same day ticket changes (you will lose all your money if you have to). In addition, United does not include carry-on baggage in the ticket price (Delta and American do). This will cost the standard $ 30 Checked Baggage Fee plus $ 25 Check In at the Gate.
Standard
Standard fares give you more options, although usually for a price (note this is called Main Cabin on Delta and American and Economy on United). You can select a seat, grab all three airlines’ carry-on baggage and change your ticket without losing all of your money. American and Delta charge $ 75 per shift, while United charges $ 200. As with the base fare, United is the least generous and charges more fees (although seat selection fees at American go up to $ 74 per CR).
Plus, the higher you go, the higher the seat and more legroom.
Increased
The main difference between this category and the standard category is that the seats can be slightly wider and offer more legroom, while American and Delta offer free beer and wine.
If you are particularly concerned about the location of your seat, you should look into SeatGuru for CR. You might think that more expensive seats are “better” or offer more legroom, but this is not always the case. “The more expensive seats may have an offset window (which means you won’t see the clouds) or they may be in brighter and louder areas of the aircraft, such as in front of the bathroom or galley,” writes CR.
Survival Guide for Your Air Travel | Consumer reports