AudioAficionado.org - What You Need to Know to Fly in 2017

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"The rise of premium economy, bare-bones sections of coach, more computer outages and other trends to watch
Here comes one more year of big change for travelers.
The year will see new fees that may surprise and anger travelers, as big airlines once considered full-service try a more bare-bones approach in the back rows of coach cabins. Two more airlines—Alaska and Virgin America—will face the sometimes disruptive challenge of merging operations, employees, policies and prices. The merger of Marriott and Starwood hotels also will be closely, nervously watched.
Here’s one prediction for 2017: Travel delays from computer system outages will continue. The industry is running a lot of old systems and operations are getting bigger and more complicated. Southwest, Delta and United all had big meltdowns in 2016. On Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection computers shut down nationwide for several hours, creating long lines.
There is some good news for travelers beaten down by the coach crunch. American and Delta are finally launching true premium economy cabins. Premium economy gets you a wider coach seat on international trips, more legroom, a separate cabin and better meals. It costs more, but a lot less than business class and is a very popular option for many on international airlines that have been offering it for years.
American has started fitting planes used on international trips with premium economy seats. Delta will roll out its version of premium economy in late 2017. Premium economy is a step up from the extra legroom seats U.S. airlines have offered for several years. Premium economy is currently offered on American flights between Dallas and both São Paulo and Madrid. DFW-Paris flights get premium economy Jan. 9 and DFW-Seoul Feb. 16. The seats will roll out to most of American’s international planes over two years.
For now, American offers complimentary upgrades to premium economy for its elite-level frequent fliers or sells upgrades for about $200. Later this year, American has said it would sell premium economy as a separate fare class, as most foreign airlines do. Prices usually run $500 to $900 more than regular coach.
If you want to go to Europe this year and take advantage of the strong U.S. dollar, getting across the Atlantic may be as cheap as ever. Long-haul discount airlines such as Norwegian Air and Condor are pumping in flights and cheap fares, often landing in secondary cities that may never have had nonstop trans-Atlantic flights before. Established airlines have added capacity and cut their prices. There will be more choice and cheap prices. Ditto for Mexico, where a treaty with the U.S. that took effect last year allows unrestricted new flying.
Alex Cruz, chief executive of British Airways, says all that capacity and low fares create new demand—people flying for the first time to Europe or taking more trips than they would if prices were higher. His airline is adding flights from London to New Orleans, Oakland, Calif., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this year.
“If you think this past summer there were a lot of bargains, then it’s reasonable to think that they’re going to continue to be a lot of pretty good bargains,” Mr. Cruz says.
A report from Expedia and Airlines Reporting Corp. found average round-trip coach prices in North America fell 5% in 2016 from 2015 prices. That was the third year of the downward trend, and 2017 is expected to see lower fares and more flights again. Other forecasts from travel management firms predict airfares about the same as 2016 and hotel prices up about 5%.
But another development of 2017 is that the lowest price for many flights often won’t be the best price for many travelers. You’ll have to shop more carefully to avoid getting burned by fees and restrictions.
Delta began offering basic economy fares on routes where it competes with Spirit, Frontier and other deep-discount airlines. Basic economy tickets don’t have advanced seat assignments, making them undesirable for families. They also aren’t upgradeable, board with the last group and can’t be changed after the 24-hour government-required refund period.
In January, United and American will roll out their version of basic economy. American hasn’t released details yet, but United’s basic economy is a lot more basic than Delta’s. It will limit carry-on bags to one personal item that fits under the seat, unless you have elite frequent-flier status or a qualifying MileagePlus credit card. Flights will earn frequent-flier miles but won’t count toward status qualification.
The carry-on restriction is the attention-grabbing change: no access to the overhead bin for basic economy passengers. More times than not, boarding in the last group means there’s no space anyway, and your bag will get checked at the gate. But you don’t have to pay baggage fees there. Unsuspecting basic-economy passengers may show up at the airport and get forced into paying to check their carry-on bags.
The policy may speed up boarding—that’s the benefit Spirit found in charging for overhead bin bags. Carry-on bags are more expensive than checked bags on Spirit, so more people check, flights depart with fewer delays and Spirit gets more trips out of its fleet by saving a few minutes every flight.
But Spirit has had to work hard to educate customers and reduce complaints. United may have an even tougher education task: Some tickets allow carry-ons, some don’t, and many travelers may not recognize the difference.
Among other changes to expect: More people are paying for first class. Airlines are offering discounted prices and more upgrades for fees while giving away fewer free to frequent fliers. American Express Travel says first-class bookings were up 208% in 2016 over the previous year.
And the Transportation Department is considering new limits on the menagerie of service animals brought onboard for free. Airlines, disability advocates and many passengers have protested that pets are being declared service animals simply to avoid paying fees or shipping in kennels as cargo. (You can buy an official-looking vest online for $40.)
Write to Scott McCartney