standard economy; and an enhanced-
economy experience, which comes with
more legroom and other enticements
(see chart on the previous page).
This move has left travelers withmore choice—and more confusion. The
new rock-bottom fares may look like a
great deal at irst glance, but they’re less
appealing once consumers understand
that they come loaded with restrictions.
Similarly, airlines ofer enticements such
as early boarding, extra legroom, and
the ability to check a bag—all for a price.
When you tally up the cost of all the
extras, a fare that originally looked like a
good deal can quickly turn out not to be.
“The airline industry has deliberatelymade comparison shopping and
booking as confusing as it can,”
says William McGee, an airline and
travel adviser for Consumers Union,
the advocacy division of Consumer
Reports. “Such opaque pricing makes it
easier for the airlines to impose more—
and higher—fees, and to increase base
fares as well.”
The following ive tips, along with ourairline and luggage ratings, will arm
you with the strategies you need to cut
through all the confusion and to get
the most value for your travel dollar.
We’ll even show you how to pack your
carry-on bag like a pro. Bon voyage!
- Know How to Navigate
the New Economy Class
There used to be just three choices
when booking a seat on a major airline:
coach, business, and irst class. Now
that American, Delta, and United have
created new fare options to remain
competitive with low-cost carriers,
travelers on these airlines have three
options in coach alone.
At the cheapest end of the spectrum,
bare-bones basic-economy fares are
available on many domestic routes
and are expanding to international
ones. (Alaska Airlines and JetBlue
have announced that they will also be
adding basic-economy fares.) Although
it might save you money, basic-
economy is the most restrictive fare: It
is nonrefundable and nonchangeable.
If you’re unable to use the ticket, you
lose its entire value. You can’t choose
your seat when booking, you have to
wait to board, and on United you can’t
take a carry-on bag. (If you arrive at
the gate with one, it will be checked
for you and you’ll be charged a fee of
at least $30 per bag, plus $25 per bag
for having it done at the gate.) Basic-
economy seats are often the same
size and ofer the same legroom as
standard-economy seats.
A basic-economy ticket might not be
such a bargain when you consider the
perks you don’t get and the ones you
could end up paying separately for. “The
airlines are using these fares to attract
price-sensitive consumers and then get
them to pay far more than they intended
in additional fees when they see just
how few amenities are ofered with the
basic-economy ticket,” McGee says.
“Until airlines become more transparent
about their pricing, consumers have to
be diligent when comparison shopping.”
The next tier, called Economy on
United and Main Cabin on Delta and
American, is less restricted. These fares
usually entitle you to choose your seat
at the time of booking, take a carry-on,
board in the middle of the pack, and
make itinerary changes or apply the
value of an unused ticket toward future
travel for a fee.
The enhanced-economy category,
which also goes by diferent names on
diferent carriers, ofers seats with a few
inches more legroom closer to the front
of the plane (for faster deplaning) or in
exit rows. Other perks can vary. You
may get complimentary alcohol. Priority
boarding is included on Delta. On United
you can be among the irst to board for
a fee starting at $15; American charges a
fee of $9 to $74 for that privilege.
To help youFLYING COACH on an
international flight can
leave you exhausted
and in knots, while being
pampered in business
or first class can leave
you rested and ready
to go. But a premium-
class ticket can easily
cost 10 times theprice of coach. Ticket
brokers, aka ticket
consolidators, can bring
luxury within reach by
offering savings of 10 to
30 percent or more off
the price of premium-
class tickets.
“The airlines want to
fill every seat, but theydon’t want to be seen
as discounting their
own fares,” says Blake
Fleetwood, president
of Cook Travel, a
broker in New York. So,
Fleetwood explains, the
airlines turn to discount
ticket brokers who can
discreetly offload unsold
first- and business-class
seats at steep savings.
Cook Travel recently
offered a nonstop
business-class fare from
New York to London inearly December on a
major U.S. carrier for
$3,658—more than
40 percent off the
price of other nonstop
flights during the
same period. Another
broker, Business Class
Consolidator, recently
offered a round-trip
business-class fare
from San Francisco to
Hong Kong via Taipei,
Taiwan, for $2,728 on
Eva Air. A ticket for a
nonstop flight from SanFrancisco to Hong Kong
on American Airlines
would have cost $6,801.THE FINE PRINT
While the savings are
tempting, there are
things to keep in mind
before purchasing
from a broker. You
might not be flying on
a U.S. airline. Instead,
you could be booked
on a foreign carrier
from a country such
as China, Turkey, orCAN YOU SAVE BIG BUCKS
ON BUSINESS CLASS?[ CONT. ON PAGE^36 30 CR.ORG DECEMBER 2018