All photos © Robin and Arlene Karpan
Buying an airline ticket has never been more complex. The same flight might have as many as six or seven different fares depending on the level of service and what each fare allows for baggage, seat selection and cancellation policy.
It got even more complicated earlier this year when Air Canada stopped allowing carry-on bags for its lowest fare – Economy Basic.
The changes apply to flights within Canada and to the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. A carry-on bag is still allowed on Economy Basic to other destinations such as Europe and Asia. Also, if you don’t pay for seat selection in Economy Basic, the airline will assign you a seat and then charge you if you want to change it.
You can still bring a “personal item” on board, which is something small such as a purse or laptop computer that fits under the seat. However, for a backpack or other bag that fits the allowed carry-on dimensions, you’re out of luck unless you move to a higher fare. Show up at the gate with an unauthorized carry-on bag and the airline will charge you $65 to check it.
Mobility or medical aids and fold-up strollers are exempt.
Aeroplan Elite members are exempt from the change, as are holders of Aeroplan Premium credit cards (those with an annual fee of around $599).
Westjet made a similar change last year when it introduced an Ultra Basic fare. Not only is no carry-on bag allowed and no changes or cancellations, but you will be the last to board and will have to sit in an assigned seat at the back of the plane. If you try to book that fare, a warning appears and you must acknowledge that you understand all of the terrible aspects of this fare.
So why are airlines doing this?
It’s being marketed as giving passengers more choice so they only pay for what they need. Critics argue that it’s a fare increase in disguise. Few people can realistically take a trip with no checked luggage and no carry-on bag.
However, it makes sense from the airline’s perspective. It can advertise the cheapest option, even though it doesn’t want you to book that fare and does its best to discourage you from booking it.
A cheap fare looks enticing, but once you see how restrictive it is, the airline is counting on your willingness to pay a bit more for a fare that allows a carry-on bag, perhaps more yet to allow ticket changes and maybe even more for a seat where your knees aren’t jammed under your chin. Before long that cheap fare isn’t so cheap anymore.
Even more complex, it varies as to how much more it costs to go from Air Canada’s Basic Economy to Standard Economy, the next step up. It allows a carry-on bag but it is still quite restrictive because passengers still pay extra for checked bags, seat selection and ticket changes.
As a sample, we looked at four one-way flights from Saskatoon, where we live, on the same day in mid-May. To fly to Toronto, the fare difference to move from Economy Basic to Standard Economy was $31, to Miami $36, to Mexico City $20, and to Barbados $30. That’s per direction per person, so a family of four could potentially spend a lot of extra money. For some destinations, the amounts could change for different days.
How credit cards can help
In recent years there has been a huge shift to more people travelling with only carry-on bags, especially after airlines started charging to check a bag. There are cost savings, no waiting at the baggage carousel and the airline can’t “misdirect” your luggage.
But the times they are a changin’. Now it is sometimes cheaper to travel with checked bags than with carry-on. On the cheapest fares, Air Canada charges $42 each way for the first checked bag on flights within Canada, between $35 and $42 for flights to the USA, and $35 to Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean. To other international destinations it’s $75 in Economy basic. In short, it’s not a great deal and a good reason not to check bags whenever possible.
However, most (though not all) Aeroplan-linked credit cards allow the first checked bag free on Air Canada flights for up to eight people travelling on the same reservation, even for the cheapest fare. Three banks in Canada, TD, CIBC and Amex, offer Aeroplan credit cards with this feature and have annual fees starting in the $120 to $139 range.
They also come with a few other perks such as bonus Aeroplan points for signing up and some travel insurance. Considering the free checked bag benefit alone, one of these cards could pay for itself in only one trip for a couple or family.
If you can do without a carry-on bag, an economical option is to buy the cheapest fare and pay for it using an Aeroplan-branded credit card, allowing you to check a bag for free.
One of the perks of having an Aeroplan Premium credit card (also available from TD, CIBC, and Amex) is that you are exempt from those recent changes to Economy Basic fares, and can continue to bring a carry-on bag on the cheapest fare as well as checked bags if you like. That alone is not reason enough to pay the exorbitant $599 annual fee, but it has become a significant added advantage if you can justify getting the card for its other perks such as a higher Aeroplan welcome bonus and airport lounge access.
For Westjet flights, the Westjet RBC World Elite Mastercard, costing $119 per year, also provides a free checked bag for the cardholder and up to eight additional people on the same reservation, plus perks such as bonus Westjet dollars, a companion voucher and some insurance.
What to do
With these increased complexities, it has become even more important to compare fares carefully to see what is included and what isn’t, whether it’s worth paying for an upgraded fare or if you’re better off with a credit card that gives free checked bags.
If you have flexibility on when to fly, searching on different days sometimes gives significantly different results.
Most important is to always check with airlines to be sure of the latest rules, which could change.
Air Canada tried changing the seat selection rules earlier in 2024 but backed off after widespread complaints. When the airline announced last December that it is restricting both carry-ons and seat selection, it caused quite a fuss in the media. The federal government called in airline executives for a scolding but did little else.
With all of the other crises that are facing government now, don’t hold your breath on regulations changing soon.