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Delta, Air France/KLM led the way with transatlantic Basic Economy fares, last week the oneworld airlines joined in, and now Virgin Atlantic has also announced that it will start offering Basic Economy (aka “hand baggage only) fares across the Atlantic within the next few months.
Virgin Atlantic is actually doing things slightly differently to the other legacy airlines in that it’s subdividing its Economy Class cabin into three separate offerings each of which offers a little bit more that the last.
- Economy Light is the new Basic Economy fare which doesn’t offer a checked baggage allowance or a seat choice.
- Economy Classic is what passengers have been used to with Virgin Atlantic all along – a checked baggage allowance and advanced seat selection.
- Economy Delight which offers seats with more legroom, priority check-in and priority boarding.
This screenshot from Virgin Atlantic sums up the new fares (click to enlarge):
The airline says that its refitting its aircraft to offer up to 36 “Economy Delight” seats which will give passengers 34″ of seat pitch (leg room) compared to the 30″ – 31″ of seat pitch on offer in the regular Economy Class seats.
The seats won’t be any wider than the regular Economy Class seats so you can still expect 17.5″ of seat width but the extra leg room will certainly be welcome….even if it comes at a price.
Other features/improvements Virgin Atlantic says we can expect are:
Serving up the best Economy meals in the sky: All customers travelling in Economy will continue to enjoy a three course meal plus complimentary drinks and snacks – with a focus on supporting independent suppliers such as UK based Fairfield Farm Crisps, and the Grown Up Chocolate Company.
More personalised service at the airport: For the first time Virgin Atlantic is introducing automated bag drop at London airports, freeing up employees to provide a more personalised service where customers need it most. Four kiosks will open at London Gatwick this summer, followed by a further 18 kiosks at London Heathrow from winter 2018.
Keeping our customers connected: Every single seat in Economy now offers a personal USB charging point, and every route offers access to high speed Wi-Fi to help customers work and play on the go.
It’s interesting to note that, just like with BA’s new high-density 777 aircraft, Virgin Atlantic doesn’t appear to be offering Economy Class passengers a true power outlet. A USB port is being supplied for each seat but that’s not going to be of much use to laptop users on 10+ hour transatlantic flights.
Thoughts
With AA & BA offering Basic Economy fares out of the UK Virgin Atlantic was always going to follow suit so this announcement is no surprise.
What is a little surprising is that Virgin plans to offer extra legroom Economy Class seats for a price. Extra legroom is one of the bigger selling points of Premium Economy seating so the airline is running a risk that some current Premium Economy flyers will be happy to pay less and trade down to “Economy Delight”. Those who like the wider seats and better food service in Premium Economy may not be tempted to trade down….but I’m sure some will.
Overall it’s worth reiterating what I’ve said about basic Economy/hand baggage only fares before – these fares are not about offering flyers seats at a new low price point, they’re about getting passengers to pay what they’ve always paid but for a ticket that comes with fewer benefits.
