As with basic economy, basic premium fares often aren’t refundable, don’t let travelers pick their seats and don’t earn rewards points. But they can be significantly cheaper. In a search for United business class flights in August, the cheapest basic business class ticket on a one-way flight from Newark to London was about $2,000; a full-service ticket cost nearly $1,000 more.
Basic business is not an entirely new concept. Several carriers outside the United States, including Etihad Airways, Emirates and Zipair, a Japanese airline, have adopted pared-down premium classes.
Airlines have billed basic business class as all the benefits you want and none that you don’t, for a lower price.
Some experts aren’t sold.
“Basic economy was one of the biggest genius moves at the time because it allowed those airlines to compete with discounters on an equal level,” said Brian Sumers, an industry journalist and editor of The Airline Observer, a newsletter covering the business of airlines.
“Basic business class is not competing with anybody. It’s not a defensive move,” he added.
The biggest lure of basic business: a lie-flat seat at a significant discount, especially on long-haul flights to Europe or Asia, where flights can last up to 14 hours and full-service tickets can top more than $3,000 each way.