Delta's New Basic Economy Fares

[jmbklj]

It pays to read the fine print. Delta quietly introduced a new Basic Economy Fare for airline tickets.

- A ticket that you cannot exchange or refund, period. You buy it; you own it.
- Your seat assignment is done only at the airport before the flight you're ready to board, meaning that your odds are very good (1) you'll be stuck in a middle seat and (2) you won't be seated next to your traveling companion.


Delta's New Sub-Economy Ploy - SmarterTravel.com

[LL_Travelfan]

What a nasty surprise. Better read that fine print more carefully.

[kyshel]

What a nasty surprise. Better read that fine print more carefully.

What in the world is NASTY? It's ll up front. If people want cheap, they can have it--they just don't get anything else. PERIOD.

PS--I can't be too quiet if it's all over the travel forums and in mass media.

[jmbklj]

I tried to copy and paste an example: DTW - FLL (Ft Lauderdale) 5/12 - 5/15 but it wouldn't paste properly so you can see how it looks with actual font size used on the website. It does clearly say it is non refundable, although the print is smaller than the quoted price.

The quoted "regular" coach economy fare was $248.60 and the Basic Economy fare was $229.60. It's not a big difference, not a big enough difference for me to book the Basic Economy fare, not a big savings if buying only 1 or 2 tickets. Less than $10 each way, I'd pay the difference. It might be a different decision for a large family flying on their summer vacation.

Since this is a totally new concept compared to other legacy airlines, it may impact those who are infrequent flyers and don't see this type of news all over the internet. All they may know is coach economy versus first class.