What is a basic economy fare?

Our lowest Main Cabin fare around the world Book a Basic Economy fare to get our lowest price. There are some restrictions, but you'll still enjoy a comfortable seat in the Main Cabin, free snacks, soft drinks and inflight entertainment. Basic Economy fares cannot be combined with other fare types. Book a trip today.



People Also Ask

Basic economy tickets are ineligible for refunds and don't include seat selection. Economy Plus features standard economy seats with extra legroom. Standard economy includes seat selection and a free carry-on. All three economy classes charge for checked bags on domestic flights.

MORE DETAILS

A base fare is the price of airline ticket before fees, taxes, and any surcharges are added. In most cases, a traveler's base fare will be lower than the final ticket price. Some fares, such as ones to international destinations, may increase significantly from the base fare when additional taxes are added.

MORE DETAILS

Let's break down what this actually means: On most airline basic economy tickets, you won't be able to select your seat ahead of time. Instead, you'll be assigned one at check-in or the gate. So you're not any more likely than any other passenger to get bumped from the flight.

MORE DETAILS

Carry-on bags are not included unless you're flying to South America, across the Atlantic or on an international flight across the Pacific. You can prepay to check a bag or check a carry-on at your gate for the regular bag fee plus an additional $25.

MORE DETAILS

Basic economy is United's least-expensive economy fare class. Unlike some of the other perks (i.e. free checked bag, seat selection) included on a regular economy ticket, basic economy offers nothing extra. In addition, you'll board last and may not be able to bring a carry-on.

MORE DETAILS

You can travel with one personal item, like a shoulder bag, backpack, or laptop bag that fits under the seat in front of you.

MORE DETAILS

Second, at the bottom of each price box you can see the fare class currently available for booking, with Basic Economy coded as “N”. This is a wonky note and not something you'll usually need, but sometimes searching out your fare code is the only way to tell whether you've booked Basic Economy or not.

MORE DETAILS

Book a Basic Economy fare to get our lowest price. There are some restrictions, but you'll still enjoy a comfortable seat in the Main Cabin, free snacks, soft drinks and inflight entertainment.

MORE DETAILS

Main Cabin Basic passengers receive complimentary meals and are allowed to bring a standard carry-on bag and a personal item. However, they do not get advance seat assignments, are not allowed to make changes to flights and are the last to board.

MORE DETAILS

Many airlines offer some form of same-day confirmed or same-day standby changes. But, with the exception of American Airlines, your basic economy ticket won't be eligible for same day changes of any kind. If you think you might want to hop on an earlier flight home, you'll usually have to pay up for a main cabin fare.

MORE DETAILS

What Are Basic Economy Fares? In order to better match their lowest-priced offering to the ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant, the legacy airlines have stripped away standard benefits like seat selection from their lowest economy fares.

MORE DETAILS

With most airlines, there's no difference between the actual seats in the main cabin versus basic economy. But the policies outside of your seats — like how much luggage you can bring and how easy (and cheaply) you can change your flights — can be significantly different.

MORE DETAILS

Standard economy allows carry-on bags and complimentary seat selection, while basic economy, as the cheapest of the bunch, carries the most restrictions.

MORE DETAILS

Basic economy fares are cheaper than main cabin. However, you lose out on flexibility for flight changes and/or cancellations, seat selection options and the ability to earn miles at a high rate.

MORE DETAILS

There are some restrictions, but you'll still enjoy a comfortable seat in the Main Cabin, free snacks, soft drinks and inflight entertainment. Basic Economy fares cannot be combined with other fare types.

MORE DETAILS

You can choose a specific seat at any time for a fee (complimentary for AAdvantage® members based on your status). Otherwise, seats will be automatically assigned for free at check-in. We can't guarantee that you'll be seated together.

MORE DETAILS

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic will allow you to select a seat free of charge. Easyjet, Emirates, Norwegian, Jet2 and Ryanair say you'll be allocated a suitable seat free of charge.

MORE DETAILS

While this can be confusing, most popular airlines allow you to bring a carry-on and personal item, such as a backpack or purse. In general, your personal item should be smaller than your carry-on and under the specific airline's carry-on dimensions, allowing it to fit under the seat in front of you.

MORE DETAILS

Many airlines will accept a rucksack as a personal item, and if they do, the bag can still be your carry-on as long as it meets the airline's size requirements. The usual dimensions for domestic hand luggage are 22 x 14 x 9 in (56 x 36 x 23 cm). Some airlines will have a limit of 20 x 12 x 5.75 in (51 x 31 x 15 cm).

MORE DETAILS