As it turns out these fares have actually been around for over a month, but I guess I just didn't pick up on them at the time. In early March American announced that they'd be extending basic economy fares to transatlantic markets as of April. While American introduced basic economy on domestic flights in early…
Continue reading: American Selling Basic Economy Fares On Transatlantic Flights
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
SAS offers hand luggage only fares on transatlantic flights. They've had it within Europe for awhile but expanded to transatlantic a few months back if I recall correctly. Supposedly the price differential reflects that (Go Light/ economy light) from their regular Go (economy) product. Not sure how the points or booking class work out though.
Why am I better off avoiding these fares? $566+60<$661. Only major downside is no seat selection.
@Z, the fares quoted in the article are round trip. If the cost to check a bag is $60 one way, then it is better to pay for basic economy, since $566+$60+$60 > $661.
Sorry, typo, it is better to pay for **main cabin** instead of basic economy....
@Lucky, you might want to add some info about their cobranded CCs and checked bags. AFAIK, AA is the only one that doesn't offer free checked bags for international flights. I think it previously only affected CC members on flights to/from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
An AA CC holder (perhaps even the one with AC access?) would get screwed by purchasing a TATL BE fare, thinking, "oh, at least I'll get a free checked bag." Nope, not unless AA changes things... 🙁
Lucky. I flew JFK to LHR last week. AA. Main cabin. The Expedia fare roundtrip was $500 and change. Didn't pay extra for seats. Boarded in zone 6. The fare was actually $50 + carrier fees/fuel surcharge and security fees. Great value. 777-300. Business class was empty. Going over the upgrade at checkin to lie flat pod was $400. Point is the deals are there without needing to go basic ! Cheers
flight attendant of lucky air get murdered
unlucky
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1102044.shtml
Cheapest transatlantic fares have to be Aer Lingus. $375 JFK-DUB return. Onward connections to Europe are very competitive too. Combined with pre-clearance in Dublin, wow!
My first thought was, "well, another reason to keep the aadvantage credit card," and then I read this: "***AAdvantage® credit cardmembers flying to / from Europe will pay a fee for checked baggage"
That sucks.
Interestingly, though, if you add a segment to the continent, basic economy disappears as an option, and you still can find <$500 r/t in main cabin (frankly I'd rather go to AMS than LHR). If you have the cc and can make do with carry on, seats are only $24 r/t. The savings wouldn't be insignificant, and for those on a strict budget, this could be helpful.