Economy basics

Qantas declines no-frills tickets… for now

It seems like every month or so another full-fare, full-service airline announces that it is launching a “basic economy” fare product to compete with the rise of low-cost carriers, especially the new breed of low-cost, long-haul airline like Jetstar’s 787 operation, Singapore Airlines’ Scoot, Norwegian Air Shuttle, and so on.

Locally, Air New Zealand has been offering a basic economy model on its Australia and Pacific Island network under the Seats to Suit branding since 2010, with four initial categories of travel on its all-economy Airbus A320 international aircraft: Seat, Seat + Bag, The Works (adding movies, a doggy-dish airplane meal, and seat selection), and Works Deluxe (adding a free middle seat, an extra bag, and priority ground handling). The airline later rolled out Seats to Suit on the domestic network in 2011, but doesn’t offer Works Deluxe there — and has fiddled with the premium end of its pricing on widebody trans-Tasman services from Auckland too, adding premium economy and business fares as options on those flights, although it hasn’t gone basic economy on longhaul services.