United Airlines dramatically improves basic economy fares with one key change

Of all the major US airlines, United Airlines’ basic economy fares are probably the most expensive.

Tourists buy the cheapest Basic Economy Fares with United cannot carry a large carry-on bag. For this reason, United previously banned basic economy passengers from checking in online to ensure that airport check-in agents could verify that these passengers were not trying to sneak in luggage.

For many, that’s reason enough to upgrade to standard economy class.

But for those still determined to accept United’s strict restrictions, the Chicago-based airline has some good news.

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Starting August 6, basic economy passengers will be able to check in online or on a mobile app before arriving at the airport. This also applies to kiosk check-in, so passengers will no longer have to wait for staff to manually verify that they are not carrying carry-on luggage.

One thing to note is that during check-in, basic economy passengers must submit their credit card information and agree to pay a $65 fee if they bring a large carry-on bag to the gate.

This $65 fee isn’t new for basic economy passengers checking bags at the gate. Currently, there’s a $25 gate handling fee on top of the baggage fee, which is typically $40 but sometimes higher if a passenger is traveling with multiple bags.

Under the change, United will always charge basic economy passengers $65 if they bring one carry-on bag, regardless of how many bags they bring.

United said in an internal memo seen by TPG that the feature has been tested at its Chicago hub for months and that “the results have been great,” the memo reads. “The Chicago hub’s net promoter score increased as customers were able to complete check-in, and gate-checked bags and oversized bags decreased as fewer customers brought bags to the gate,” the memo reads, which was confirmed by a spokesperson for the airline.

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While this is certainly great news for United’s most frugal travelers, it still doesn’t address one major complaint about these fares: they don’t include carry-ons. (The only exceptions are Premier elite members and their accompanying passengers, as well as Star Alliance Gold passengers or holders of eligible MileagePlus co-branded credit cards.)

American and Delta allow basic economy passengers to bring one carry-on bag with any fare, making their cheapest services more attractive than United’s. However, in recent years, United has added a number of new perks to make basic economy more appealing, including ticket flexibility and ability upgrade these fares.

And for everything you need to know about the underlying economy, you’ll want to check out TPG compare with basic economy fare across US airlines.

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