US-Europe routes a hotbed of basic economy fares

Qantas may not be unbundling fares any time soon but the Australian carrier is swimming against a basic economy tide legacy carriers are finding hard to resist. Atlantic routes in particular have become a hotbed of basic economy fares as “full service”’ carriers struggle to adapt to stiff competition from new entrants such as Norwegian and WOW. German carrier Lufthansa became the latest to fall in with the trend when it announced this month it would introduce “economy light “ fares on North American routes. The new fares also apply to services between Europe and North America offered SWISS, Brussels Airlines and Austrian Airlines. Watch: Rainbow contrail video Lufthansa's Economy Light gives you snacks and beverages, frequent flyer points and an 8kg piece for carry-on baggage but passengers pay for checked baggage and seat reservation on a non-refundable ticket with no changes. The airline has had a light option on its European routes since 2015 and has been testing the international version on routes between Scandinavia and North America since October, 2017. It joins Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Air France-KLM. United Airlines is expected to join the trans-Atlantic basic economy posse later this year. A common thread is that fares are non-refundable, don’t include checked baggage (fees can $US60 per sector plus a $US25 service fee ) and seat selection may not be available until check-in, increasing the risk of ending up in the dreaded middle seat. Basic economy passengers are also the last to board. Some allow travel changes for a fee, others don’t and upgrades are not permitted. However, most still include meals or snacks, drinks and in-flight entertainment. This differs from the cheapest ticket on Norwegian, which includes cabin baggage and inflight entertainment but little else. Travelers must pay for checked baggage, meals, drinks and to reserve a seat. Wow is similar but does not have entertainment on board. Qantas was quick to quash the suggestion it might introduce “basic economy” recently when news emerged that it was surveying frequent flyers about pay-as-you-use flights on competitive routes between Australia and New Zealand. READ Qantas denied Qantas passengers will have to pay for drinks and food. Competitor Air New Zealand was a pioneer in unbundling fares with its “Seats to Suit” offering which gives passengers the choice of four tiers of economy travel. The most basic of these, Seat, allows a carry-on bag of up to 7kg and provides inflight entertainment as well as tea, coffee and water. Food, drink, checked baggage and seat selection are all extra. Qantas, which also charges for seat selection,  noted it had low-cost offshoot Jetstar to offer no-frills options and said it had no intention to unbundle fares.