05/12/2024
🧳 Big change at Air Canada! I was just interviewed on the news to talk about this.
What I said is that NO, it's not a disaster like the prevailing thought seems to be among the many who don't understand how plane ticket prices work (there are many such travelers and that's normal). It's also normal not to like fees, but take a few seconds to understand this if you want to become a cheap flights expert like us.
Our country's flag-carrier will offer a Basic Economy fare class with fewer inclusions, especially the full-size carry-on that will no longer be included. This is for North American and "Sun destinations" only.
The most important thing to understand about prices is this: if Air Canada (or any other airline) could charge more money for a flight with full-size carry-on included... THEY ALREADY WOULD!!!!!! They always maximize, you can be sure of it.
WestJet, Porter, and Flair (3 of the 4 biggest Air Canada competitors) have offered the Basic Economy option for a while and it has not drastically increased their prices at all. It's completely false to claim the opposite, as is often the case with many things travelers take for granted in the world of travel without being well-informed.
On the contrary, as expected, their basic economy fares are very attractive to give you the option to travel for less. Prices for normal economy are very similar to before; Flytrippers looks at literally tens of thousands of priecs every day for our deals page on our website. It can increase marginally, because travelers who don't want full-size carry-ons no longer subsidize other travelers' carry-ons... but in total, very few people in a plane will travel this way, so the impact is pretty minimal when you look at the facts and data.
This fare structure gives you the option to travel for less if you want to travel for less! Having the option is always better than not having the option at all.
Many seem to think that magically, airlines will be able to charge more. I repeat: if they could charge more, they already would!!! Obviously! The only thing that determines the price of any plane ticket is how much travelers are willing to pay. Nothing else.
Plane ticket prices are very complex for many. That's normal, it's unlike any other industry. But if airlines could charge more and still fill up their planes, do you really think they wouldn't?
Why wouldn't they? That makes no sense.
They set prices for each flight to maximize the revenue they can get. That will never change. That's the way it is.
(For example, about every week people say "it makes no sense that Detroit-Toronto-Europe flights on Air Canada are cheaper than the same Toronto-Europe flights because it's the same flights and there are more of them" even though of course it makes sense when you understand how plane ticket prices work: the only thing that determines the price is how much travelers are willing to pay. Nonstop flights almost always cost more because travelers are willing to pay more for those. Simple. The price has nothing to do with the cost to operate the flight, the number of flights, the distance, etc.: the only thing that determines the price is how much travelers are willing to pay, always!)
So this change will not drastically increase prices at all. Now Air Canada will be able to better compete with their competitors' lowest fares.
If we want lower fares, we need more competition (the government has plenty of regulation that makes that difficult) and we need taxes and airport fees to be lowered (Canada's are among the highest in the world). It's not rocket science.
Until then, make sure to compare each airline's price to see the real price with what you want in terms of extras, AS YOU SHOULD ALREADY ALWAYS! Because each airline has different inclusions and options, so you simply need to compare. It's the most important thing to do for everything related to travel; compare.
Detailed guide about the Air Canada Basic Economy fare class coming soon! To receive it, sign up for our free newsletter with the blue button in the top menu of our website!
