美国国家公共电台 NPR New 'Basic Economy' Airfares May Not Be As Cheap As You Think

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The big three airlines - American, Delta¹ and United - are taking on discount carriers like Spirit and Frontier by offering no-frills discounted fares called basic economy. Some are calling it misery² class because among other things, you will board last, sit in a middle seat near the back of the plane. And wait, it gets worse. As NPR's David Schaper reports, there's evidence this lower class of fare is not actually always priced lower.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE³: At United, the new basic economy fare class will be available on April 18. The airline calls it a lower fare option. Which begs the question, lower than what? I'm checking fares on United's website on the seven initial routes that United is offering basic economy. And it shows that the lowest basic economy fares are the same as the lowest standard economy fares before April 18. For example, from Chicago to Minneapolis before the 18, standard economy - $85 each way. After the 18, basic economy is 85 bucks⁴ while standard economy is now $15 more.

So does that mean that you're essentially⁵ getting a lower class of service for the same prices now only with more restrictions⁶? It sure appears so. And the same seems to be true on most of American's and Delta's basic economy routes, too. So what gives?

GARY LEFF: To be 100 percent clear, the airlines are not offering lower fares than they were offering before basic economy was introduced.

SCHAPER: Gary Leff writes the "View From The Wing" frequent flyer blog. He says the airlines may have initially⁷ offered basic economy to compete head to head with ultra-low-cost carriers such as Spirit and Frontier, but now...

LEFF: They decided⁸ that they wanted to give you less, something approximating what those low cost carriers were providing at that price point in hopes that you would pay more to get the kinds of services that you were used to from those airlines.

SCHAPER: So that means services that seem kind of basic like choosing your own seat, making sure your family is seated together and putting a carry-on in the overhead bin⁹, Leff says the big three airlines think travelers will now pay more for that.

LEFF: It's a strategy to raise the revenue that they're earning off of every seat.

SCHAPER: The airlines deny they're being misleading. United's lower fare option appears to mean when compared to other fares on that same flight. American more carefully describes basic economy and its restrictions as a new set of attributes for the airline's lowest fare, while Delta describes it as lower cost with fewer amenities¹⁰ than the main cabin experience.

All three point out that they still offer a free beverage¹¹ and snack, which most discount airlines do not. And they fly to many more destinations. So basic economy becomes yet another choice in an already murky¹² sea of options when booking air travel.

JEFF KLEE: Yeah. It's getting a lot more confusing because of that.

SCHAPER: Jeff Klee is founder¹³ and CEO of the travel search website cheapair.com.

KLEE: It'll be much more of a challenge to shop for air fares. And you'll - it'll be important to make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

SCHAPER: Klee says now that more airlines have multiple price points for each flight, consumers can't just focus on the lowest fare. They need to dig deeper and find out exactly what they're getting, and in many cases not getting, at that price. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIVID LOW SKY'S "LOW FLYING PLANES")

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

12 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

13 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。