Basic Economy fares en route to Canadian carriers

Everyone wants a discount on flights, no matter the destination. Last year, three major airlines in the US introduced “basic economy” fares that would cost less than the regular “economy” or coach class, and come with certain limitations.

Canada is “one of the most expensive countries in the world in terms of plane ticket prices,” says HuffPost.

Travellers on a budget will be excited to hear that major Canadian carriers will be offering basic economy fares, too.

“Air Canada announced the launch of this new ‘Basic Economy’ fare class last week, while WestJet was quick to follow suit.”

Basic Economy class explained

Out of all the classifications in the airfare hierarchy, the Economy section is where you’ll find the most seats at the most affordable prices. The new Basic Economy class, being cheaper than Economy, comes with some new restrictions. You will likely be paying for some of the worst seats on the plane.

In basic economy class, you will only have access to the seat you paid for and your small carryon bag. Anything else, including refreshments and food, will be optional to you for a fee.

Critics feel that the prices “on the three airlines that launched ‘Basic Economy’ [in the US] haven’t really dropped that much; they’ve simply taken their lowest fare and restricted what’s included, charging more for what was previously free.”

So, these Canadian airlines could, in theory, simply change the names of the lowest fares that already exist on their server to Basic Economy instead of Economy and take away the services that were already on the table for customers.

Regardless, this is good news for airfare competition.