United Airlines is introducing a new "tiered fare
structure" that will segment its Polaris and Premium Plus cabins into
"base, standard and flexible" fares, the carrier announced Friday.
The segmentation initially will be for long-haul
international, transcontinental U.S. and select Hawaii flights, and is to roll
out later this year. Three tiers already exist for United's Economy cabin, with
the carrier distinguishing that that cabin uses "basic" as its entry
tier as opposed to "base" for Polaris and Premium Plus.
"These new tiered options give customers more choice
and make it easier to find a fare that includes the benefits they want
most—whether that's a great value, added perks or maximum flexibility,"
United chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said in a statement.
Many managed travel programs block basic fares from online
booking tools because of their lack of flexibility and non-refundability, each
of which is important for business travel.
With the new base Polaris category, the fares are
non-refundable, there is a fee for seat assignments, and customers cannot
change their flight and are not eligible for upgrades. They do not have access
to the United Polaris lounge, but they will have United Club access. They also
will be allowed one checked bag.
Polaris standard and flexible fares each receive seat
selection, two checked bags, access to the United Club and Polaris lounge,
flight changes and are eligible for upgrades. The difference between the two
classes are flexible tickets are fully refundable, while standard tickets are
eligible for a travel credit.
For base Premium Plus, there is a fee for seat selection,
one checked bag is allowed, and customers cannot make flight changes nor are
eligible for upgrades. The tickets are non-refundable.
Standard and flexible Premium Plus fares each allow for seat
selection, two checked bags, flight changes and upgrades. As with the Polaris fare
rules, flexible tickets are fully refundable, while standard tickets are
eligible for a travel credit.
Delta
Air Lines in November tiered its Comfort class into "basic, classic
and extra," matching what had already been segmented in its main cabin. In
a January earnings call, former Delta president Glen Hauenstein said the
carrier would do the same for cabins "up the ladder," and those tiers
"should be rolled out pretty much throughout '26."
When asked about this plan and how it could affect corporate
clients, Delta through a spokesperson said that "Delta has a longstanding
commitment to offering customers greater flexibility and choice. We don't have
any updates to share at this time."
Word in the travel manager industry is that response to this
micro segmentation is varied, Oracle director of global travel sourcing and GPO
Rita Visser told BTN in a recent interview. "There might be some who look
at it and go, 'Hey, the basic product still gets someone in business class,
still gets them what they need, but doesn't have the flexibility.' There might
be a segment of travelers for which basic business is the right choice."
Visser offered another scenario in which basic business
might work, related to a medical exception, where a traveler needs a lie-flat
seat for flights more than a certain number of hours, but they don't need "all
the other bells and whistles," she said. "There are people out there
looking at those solutions for those types of things."
She added, however, that there also are those travel
managers who are saying, "Wait a second. Because of the amount of money
that we're paying, I don't want to take the limited flexibility of a basic
product."