Basic Economy

Delta Rolls Out Basic Economy Award Tickets. Is It The Right Business Decision?

December 8, 2018By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

How much of a discount would you want on your next award flight in exchange for not being able to make any changes or to select a seat? Delta is making a bet they know how much.

New Episode: How The Airlines Are Screwing Customers, Cranky Flier On A Roll

November 16, 2018By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

The unintended consequence of Basic Economy fares? Even if you buy up to “regular old coach”, you still might not get a seat assignment. Brett Snyder and I discuss this and a whole lot more on this episode of the Miles To Go podcast.

American Airlines Confirms They Will Allow Carry-On Bags On Basic Economy Fares

July 26, 2018By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

American Airlines confirms they will aloow carry-on bags on basic economy fares starting September 5th for all tickets purchased or flown.

RUMOR: American Airlines To Roll Back Carry-On Restrictions On Basic Economy Tickets?

July 8, 2018By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

American Airlines may be rolling back restrictions on Basic Economy, allowing customers to bring full-sized carry-on bags onboard.

When Airlines Offer You A Product So You Don’t Buy It

November 28, 2017By Edward Pizzarello10 Comments

Airlines are trying to make flying more miserable so we’ll spend more money. Are customers buying up?

Awesome Cheap Flights To China!

October 20, 2017By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

Don’t sleep on cheap flights to China!

Is United Losing Money On Basic Economy?

September 9, 2017By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

Basic Economy is the latest customer UN-friendly creation to come out of Scott Kirby’s lab. While not totally his making, he’s spent enough time pumping it up with steroids. The product being rolled out still needs to be tweaked. And, some more attention needs to be spent on how to make more money off the most loyal customers.

American Airlines Changes Their Basic Economy Restrictions, For The Better!

August 25, 2017By Edward Pizzarello1 Comment

Basic Economy fares continue to spread to more markets. That means more frustrated customers. American Airlines made an announcement that makes things better for customers. That’s a welcome change.

Airline Pricing Shouldn’t Be This Hard, But It Kinda Is

August 4, 2017By Edward Pizzarello1 Comment

Which one is the right price? Which one is a feature, not a bug? Sometimes, airline pricing makes my head hurt.

Pizza On TV! Talking About American Airlines Plans To Expand Basic Economy

July 30, 2017By Edward Pizzarello2 Comments

Basic Economy is a hot topic nowadays. I was on TV again yesterday discussing the increasing number of flights you’ll find these new fares.

Did Southwest Airlines Mechanics “Repair” Their Way to a New Contract?

For this first time I can recall, things have gotten truly ugly with Southwest Airlines and one of their unions. As the mechanics union and management work towards what could be a new agreement, it’s worth asking whether both sides met in the middle or the union got the better end of the deal. At the same time, it’s also worth asking if the unions’ actions are worth risking Southwest Airlines’ enviable culture.

Google Flights Will Now Tell You If Your Flight Is A Good Deal

It’s been quiet this week around here. Apologies for that. It was a crazy week of work commitments followed by two of my favorite days of the year, the start of March Madness. I’ve been keeping up on the travel world and have plenty of stories I need to tell. Hoping to get caught up on those soon. Google Flights is a pretty powerful tool for the casual traveler and the road warrior. When Google got into the flight business, I wasn’t sure what to expect. They bought one of […]

DEAL: $1,500 Round-Trip in British Airways’ Brand New Business Class!

In case you missed it, British Airways released information on their brand new business class product this week. The product looks wonderful. Much has been written about British Airways business class by my fellow bloggers and how much they don’t like the current version. I’ve traveled in it many times and actually don’t have an issue with it. That being said, the new product looks lovely. You can see a more in-depth write-up on it on God Save the Points. Now, bear with me for a minute, since I’m […]

Talking About Paine (Field, That Is)

Just a bit more on the nicest airport in the United Status. Hope you enjoy!

AirBnb Fighting With Cities, Leaving Customers In The Middle

Airbnb is fighting cities in multiple areas of the world on new regulations. Along the way, some customers are getting caught in the middle.

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]