Very Likely: American to Remove Carry On Restrictions from Basic Economy

Basic Economy is the new trend in the airline industry to charge the same price of tickets as before, but include less — all to drive consumer and business spending to higher tickets where more features are included, that previously were included under what would be the old Basic Economy pricing.

It’s no surprise this has been a headache for the industry – United even admitted at one point they were losing money off of it, so it’s taken several months and years to refine this new offering on all airline fronts.Today, current Delta is the only carrier to still allow a full size bag onboard in the overhead bin, unlike United and American which only allow a personal item to be stowed in the seat underneath – anything else will need to be checked and charged. It looks like American will soon be following the Delta model.

American Removing Carry On Restriction for Basic Economy

As I first reported yesterday on Twitter, sometime in the near future – at this stage, I am estimating the August or September timeframe – carry on bag restrictions will be lifted off of Basic Economy fares, meaning if you’re in Basic/Group 9, you’ll be allowed a personal item under your seat and a normal carry on in the overhead bin.

When this change happens, it will occur swiftly with little to no advance notice to consumers, in my opinion to help reduce a quantity of people now wanting to book Basic Economy fares as it now includes onboard baggage. This information hasn’t (and won’t be) confirmed by American, (as they don’t comment on rumor or speculation) however it seems to be in motion internally for sure, as additionally confirmed by the ever knowledgeable JonNYC. Gary from View from the Wing also substantiates this with people he has spoken to as well.

To change an entire benefit like this across an entire booking class requires policy changes, information technology changes, and communication changes, all of which appear well under way. If I were a betting man, I would not consider this a rumor or speculation in any fashion.