By Lauren Steele, Men's Journal
On Tuesday, American Airlines and United
began selling basic economy tickets, which are as primitive and
insulting to human dignity as they sound. Basic economy shouldn’t even
have “basic” in the name, since the airfare practically strips
passengers of their basic rights by revoking access to overhead bin
space, carry-on baggage allowances, and denying folks their choice of
seat. And what makes it worse is that airlines aren’t transparently
informing customers of what they’re paying for — or not paying for — when they book these dirt-cheap “Misery Class” tickets.
[post_ads]The change in airfare classes originated with airlines finding ups in
their revenue with “ancillary fees” — aka nickel and diming you for
your bags, food, legroom, and breathing air (okay, maybe that last one
was hyperbolic). But of course, airlines are disguising the fee
breakdown into something that is “good” for passengers by what they call
“unbundling” so customers can buy tickets at rock-bottom prices and
"customize" their flight with additional services. Too bad those
“additional” services are things that come in as primary needs on a
flight.
But there’s good news. The travel app Hopper
has released a new feature that brings light to these dark times in
airfare for travelers. Called Fair Bear, the feature will give you an
overview of your fare rules and let you know about any restrictions or
fees associated with cancelling, changing, carry-on and checked baggage,
and seat selection. It will even warn you if you select a basic economy
fare. This comes in handy, as airlines and online travel agencies
aren't currently required to list those "ancillary" fees upfront.
And just to prove a point, Hopper analyzed 800,000 recent itineraries
originating from the U.S. to conduct a study and find the median
change, cancellation, and baggage fees so travelers can see how much the
hidden fees sneaking around in the airfare small print can affect the
dollar amount you end up shelling out. The study found that air travel
is as inflexible and atrocious as you already knew. In the 800,000
itineraries, cancellations were almost never allowed (with a 99 percent
denial rate) for domestic trips. For those that could be changed, the
change fee would cost passengers $287 on average.
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As for bags (since those aren’t allowed anymore), Hopper found that
it will cost an average of $25 to bring one piece of luggage onto your
flight, or $59 for two pieces. As more airlines roll out basic fares,
you'll be expected to pay for your carry-on too. Frontier and Spirit
both charge an average of $35 for carry-ons.
To use Hopper’s new Fair Bear feature to avoid these dreadful expenses on your next trip, download the app on Android or iOS, and click on the bear that appears in a banner on the apps home screen.
