Airline product segmentation continues as United considers ‘Basic Business’, one-way domestic flights may be costing you, and a moment to remember the Grand Canyon Lodge.
In another recent Saturday Selection, we talked about Delta’s apparent plans to create a “Basic Business Class” that strips down the experience so that people can book the seat without all of the amenities. During their recent second-quarter earnings call, United made comments suggesting they may also be considering this segmented approach to business class (though speaking in a more cryptic and less definitive tone than Delta’s used for this topic).
Am I the only one who actually thinks this could be a good thing? I may gripe about how stripped-down basic economy experiences are…but I have booked those kinds of rates many times. The frugality disease plagues me, and I am hard-pressed to pay extra for niceties as soon as there’s an option to forgo them. (Not to mention I’m a very small person, so it’s actually feasible for me to pack all of my clothes into a “personal item” sized bag.) If I could pay for just the seat I want (which is the primary thing I’m concerned about when I fly) and leave off all the niceties that I may enjoy but wouldn’t justify paying extra for…I actually think I would like that option. I’m the kind of person who almost always books economy (again, frugality disease), but if this segmentation made business class seats just a little more affordable…would I still find myself booking economy every time? Am I being naive? Tell me what you think (or what I’m missing) in the comments below!
Booking Domestic Flights One-Way? It’s Costing You More (Again)
Thrifty Traveler is out there doing research that could save you money. They’ve compared 1,000 one-way domestic routes with 1,000 others where a return flight was added and found that more than half of the time (50.7% to be exact), a one-way flight cost more per segment than the round trip would have. The airlines they examined included Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest, and United. They describe this as a “one-way booking penalty” that varied greatly across their research. Some fees were just a few dollars, and others were in the $100’s. And certain airlines were more likely to penalize one-ways than others, with Delta, for example, showing 66.5% of the examined one-way flights having a higher per-segment cost than a round-trip alternative. Certain days seemed more likely as well, with Sundays, Thursdays, and “especially Fridays” being the most likely to demonstrate one-way penalties from these airlines, while Tuesday and Wednesday departures were less likely. I’ve always sort of rolled my eyes when friends and relatives ask, “Is there a specific day of the week when flights are cheapest?” but this may have a grain of truth to it, at least as far as one-way domestic bookings on these major carriers are concerned. Check out the full article for even more details from their research.
A wildfire took the spectacular Grand Canyon Lodge. But it lives on in guests’ memories.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Grand Canyon, and the North Rim happens to be my favorite in particular. I’ve had the pleasure of hiking the North Kaibab Trail three different times, which departs from the Grand Canyon Lodge area on the North Rim. Each time, I appreciate the relaxed and less-congested nature of the North Rim experience compared to the more popular (and more easily accessible) South Rim. While the South Rim has a steady flow of tour buses and a plethora of standard tourist amenities, the North Rim’s tourist features lie (or did lie) mostly within the Grand Canyon Lodge, a nearly century-old structure, unassuming and rustic in nature. As is entirely appropriate, the lodge’s most striking feature was the view of the Grand Canyon itself from huge windows in the lobby. A collection of small cottages and cabins surrounded it, hidden throughout the pines along the rim. Just as the North Kaibab Trail is a much longer, but gentler trail than the more popular Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim, the North Rim took a little more intention to see, but provided a calmer experience than the South Rim. Everything about the North Rim was just a little different.
I’m speaking in the past tense, of course, because the recent Dragon Bravo Wildfire destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge and many of the other buildings along the North Rim. As a result, the North Rim is closed for (at least) the remainder of the year. All inner Canyon Trails (including even the Bright Angel Trail) are closed until further notice as well. (Find updated notices on what’s open and what’s closed here.)
As a friend of mine said, losing the Grand Canyon Lodge feels like losing an old friend. For a place that holds memories for me since the age of 12, I couldn’t agree more. This one hurts.
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Unbundling is just a euphemism for charging more while offering less. That doesn’t do anything to make it more enticing.
I would love to do the trail from the North Rim and hope it is open again before too long. I’ve done the hike from the South Rim to Bright Angel Campground several times but have only done short walks into the canyon from the North Rim. The South Rim trails are busy, even in the off season, and the mule traffic can be a bit of a pain. But my parents did the North Rim trail a couple of times when they were in their 60’s, staying a night a Cottonwood Campground each way, and said it was the way to go if you want to hike into the canyon. Very sad that the lodge is gone.
I didn’t hear about Grand Canyon Lodge. Bummer.
If you can unbundle J from lounge access if you already have it, free checked bags if you don’t need it, and priority boarding if you already board early from having their CC, then sure, why not go with basic J? Which is why I don’t get why airlines would do it, they’re just cannibalizing their own J product.
Yep. To the right of your picture was the bronze burro. Outside the doors was a beautiful patio with Adirondack chairs and gorgeous views of the canyon. What an incredible loss!
Really enjoyed this Saturday Selection! Lots of Carrie’s voice in this piece—kudos! And I reluctantly admit that I would probably book basic business class, packing my own snacks and amenity kit so that I can lie flat and save a few points.
Sure. As long as the basic business is actually cheaper. But my concern is that the current business class price becomes the “basic” price and the current standard is just more expensive then what we currently pay.
Ah, but will you actually save any points, or is this just a way for the airlines to charge more for business class seats …