Delta Air Lines is consistently the most profitable of the legacy U.S. airlines. However, that’s not stopping it from trying to find more ways to make money. Unfortunately, that usually comes at the cost of passengers, which is the case now as Delta Business Basic is confirmed by the airline.
Ultra-low-cost carriers really changed the way airline pricing works. They offer a very low fare, but then charge you for every single thing, such as carry-on bags, in-person flight check-in, seat assignments, and more. Legacy carriers struggled to compete against this, as price-conscious leisure travelers flocked to these cheaper options. In response, legacies began offering Basic Economy fares, which emulated ULCCs to a degree. However, depending on what airline you’re looking at, these Basic Economy fares have changed quite a bit – often becoming less restrictive over the years.
For example, Delta’s Basic Economy fare prohibits changes, doesn’t let you choose your seat, forces you to board last, does not earn miles or elite qualifying credits, bars you from upgrades, assesses a cancelation fee and partial credit if you need to cancel, and makes you ineligible for lounge access, regardless of if you have membership or not. It used to be worse, such as not allowing carryon bags, but Delta is one of the airlines that loosened their Basic restrictions a little.
Now, since Delta Business Basic is confirmed, it seems like they want to do the same thing with their premium cabin.
Delta Business Basic is Confirmed
To be honest, we know nothing about what to expect. All we know today is that Delta Business Basic is confirmed.
According to Gary Leff, Delta’s President, Glen Hauenstein, said the following during their recent Q2 2024 earnings call.
We’ve talked conceptually about [Business Basic]. I think we’ll be giving you more details as we go, but we’re not ready to talk about the details of those plans moving forward. I think the investor day this year should be very exciting.
So, aside from getting confirmation that an unbundled business class experience is on its way, we’ll have to wait at least a few more months before we get any details on what the future of Delta One will look like.
Not The First
Though Delta Business basic is confirmed, and Delta generally has a poorer value proposition than its competitors, it is far from the first airline to make such a move. In fact, Emirates started offering unbundled business class fares back in 2019. In this case, you lose the ability to pick your own seat, don’t receive chauffeur service, can’t access the lounge, will earn miles at a reduced rate, and will get assessed higher change and cancelation fees.
Since then, more and more airlines have been going down this path. A more recent example is Lufthansa, though they deny that they’re unbundling their business fares. Rather, in their new Allergris business class (which reminds me of United’s Polaris seats), there are SEVEN different fare buckets, depending on which seat you choose. This is because some seats have extra legroom, some are wider, and, yes, it’ll cost you extra to snag a window seat. Not only that, but window seats that are closer to the window will cost even more. Ouch.
Final Thoughts
While they’re not the first, it’s reasonable to believe that since Delta Business Basic is confirmed, we’ll see more airlines move in this direction. Especially here in the U.S., airlines love copying Delta. This is likely at least in part due to the fact that they perform better financially than almost anyone else. Of course, that has more to do than just the atrocious state of SkyMiles or the way they try to extract more money out of passengers, but these are the easiest parts of their operation to emulate.
Naturally, this means that a devaluation of sorts is on the horizon. That’s not a surprise to me, but it still sucks!