Stop flying.
this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2024
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why would I fly united? do they go places other airlines don't?
Because cheaper. And now, I know why.
After having to fly United a bunch of times this summer, they changed the names of the tickets and invented a new "no one wants that" tier.
There's now standard economy which is what everyone's used to and gives you a "personal item" (i.e. a backpack or a purse) and a "carry on item", and basic economy which only includes the personal item. They mention it on their website, but on third party websites its not quite as obvious which ticket you're getting.
It has been a nightmare - on every single flight there's a crowd of people pissed that they aren't allowed a carry on with their ticket, with them having to run halfway across the airport to upgrade their tickets or pay 3x as much for a bag they thought was included.
If you're being charitable, it's a roundabout discount on checked bags to fix the problem they invented by charging for checked bags and then sucking at handling them. Every single flight I took had them asking for people to check their carry on for free because the bins were going to be overloaded, and it seems like they want to incentivize actually checking a bag again.
I started instantly asking them to gate check my carry on (for free) because honestly, the airport experience is way nicer when you don't have to deal with your luggage all the time. If you check 1 bag as a couple you might even save money, and if you're alone it might be worth the difference to not have to worry about only having two pairs of pants on your three week trip.
More realistically they want to normalize having to pay for carry on the same way they did checked bags, and they are trying to sneak around that by starting with only their new BS economy tier. Wouldn't surprise me if they got rid of "basic" and just made carry on a "business class" or whatever amenity.
It's basic economics in its ugly application.
Usually, the people who are buying stuff come in different tiers: The people who want to pay the least at all cost, people who are careless enough to get fleeced out of a few dollars for the same crappy product if paying less is difficult, and people who are willing to pay a premium for really good stuff. There's an art to structuring your service to catch all of the tiers, and make sure that they're all going to pay the highest price they will accept, and I think "basic economy" is a new technological development in drawing a more effective distinction between tiers 1 and 2.
What makes it ugly is that they're designing deliberately punitive features into the service to push people up into tier 2 who would otherwise be going on Kayak and just clicking the "cheapest" button. If you have any willingness to pay $40 more, they want it. They're going to put you to the test a little bit, to make sure that you're committed to the lowest price, and then if so they're going to punish you a little for it, while still taking your money.
American and United are now both on the no-fly list for me, I think. I may have to see what airlines are decent, when you fly them one tier up.
I learned this about United this summer. Except the language they used didn't specifically rule out roller bags, it called them "full-sized carryon". I showed up with a checked bag and a small carryon. The desk agent told me wheels make it a "full-sized" regardless of the dimensions. Fortunately, I was able to stuff a bunch of stuff a bunch of my crap into my checked SCUBA bag, and repack my regs and underwear into the backpack I was bringing anyways.
Note: This was on an International flight so I REALLY didn't appreciate feeling like I was flying on a budget airline.
Thank you for your comment, I was confused what people are complaining about (you've had to pay for carry on items since ~2008, which have always been different than a "personal item" which is like a backpack or tote bag that you can bring for free if you store under the seat in front of you). It sounded like people weren't understanding what a personal item was vs a carry on. But if they are arbitrarily saying wheels, regardless of size, also determine personal item vs carryon, I can see the frustration.
But otherwise their policy has been like this for a super long time - pay for carry on, and if you pay at the gate they charge extra. Almost 20 years now.
That being said I hold a grudge against all airlines for charging you a fee to pick your seat. They used to let you just pick it as a perk for booking online. Now they even have to nickel and dime our fucking loved one's emotional support while we pray that the plane doesn't fucking fall apart and while we breathe in the germs of some stranger next to us. Airlines are assholes.
Eta: airline fun fact - the CIA used to own an airline (this is verified by the CIA's website itself)
My sarcastic asshole would have snapped the wheels off the bag if that's the distinction they want to have.
Lol, Hilarious and justified but I get quite compliant around people who could stand between me and a SCUBA/ bachelor party trip.
I read that as "United States" and the headline only started to look suspicious with the word "passengers".
I thought Manchester United.
I wish flying was affordable. My girlfriend lives in Korea and it's going to cost her 2k to come see my family in Canada in December. This is nearly double what she paid in 2017 for the same trip, and while it's not prohibitively expensive, it's deterrently expensive
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