Don't Waste Your Money: Are basic economy airfares worth trying?
INFORMATION ON WHAT TREATMENTS
ARE OR ARE NOT COVERED. LITTLE
BE ON WRAL COM. OKAY, CARLY,
THANK YOU. AIRFARES ARE HEADED
UP NOW FOR THANKSGIVING AND
CHRISTMAS WEEK. TRAVEL AS THE
PLANES, PHILLIPS. SO IF YOU'RE
LOOKING FOR CHEAP FLIGHT, BASIC
ECONOMY MAY SEEM LIKE THE
ANSWER RIGHT? JOHN MATTERS.
MATERESE TOOK A FLIGHT TO FIND
OUT IF BASIC ECONOMY, AIRFARES
ARE ACTUALLY WORTH TRYING.
>> THE GOVERNMENT SAYS AIRFARES
ARE UP 8% SO FAR IN 2025.
BUT HAVE A LOOK AT HOLIDAY.
THERES. SOME PEOPLE SAY THERE'S
ARE UP 50% THIS YEAR. SO I
CHECKED OUT A WAY TO SAVE BASIC
ECONOMY WITH THE AVERAGE FARE
OVER $300 UP ALMOST 10% IN
2025.
>> BASIC ECONOMY FARE MAY LOOK
TEMPTING. SMITH IS OK WITH
FLYING AS CHEAPLY AS POSSIBLE.
I THINK IT'S A GOOD THING IF
YOU WANT ON THE SHORT TRIP AND
IF YOU GET IN THERE VERY
QUICKLY. SO WHEN I RECENTLY
NEEDED TO FLY TO NEWARK, NEW
JERSEY, I DECIDED TO BOOK AT
$229 ROUND TRIP ON UNITED IN
BASIC ECONOMY. REGULAR ECONOMY
WOULD HAVE BEEN TO 99, $70 MORE
TO NOW TO ME, THE WORST PART
ABOUT BASIC ECONOMY WAS FINDING
OUT. I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO USE
THE OVERHEAD BIN. SO EVERYTHING
I TAKE HAD TO FIT IN A SMALL
BAG UNDER MY SEAT. THAT MEANS
WE HAVE TO PACK VERY CAREFULLY
AND FORGET ABOUT TAKING HOODIES
OR BLUE JEANS ONCE OF THE
AIRPORT. I HEADED TO THE GATE
TO LEARN MY SEAT ASSIGNMENT
BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GET A SEAT AT
BOOKING TIME. A TOP OF THAT
I'M IN GROUP 6. I GET TO BOARD
THE PLANE LAST INTO I MENTION
SITTING IN THE BACK OF THE
PLANE BY THE RESTROOM. LUCKILY
MY TINY BAG FIT UNDER THE SEAT.
SO I WAS NOT HIT WITH ANY
SURPRISE EXTRA FEET. SO NO,
THE DOWNSIDES, WHICH INCLUDE NO
ADVANCE SEAT ASSIGNMENT LAST TO
BOARD THE PLANE. ONLY ONE
CARRY-ON BAG AND YOU MAY NOT BE
ALLOWED TO BE OVERHEAD BIN AND
NO EARNING DELTA SKYMILES LAY
ADVANTAGE OR UNITED MILEAGE.
PLUS POINTS WHAT I DO IT AGAIN.
MAYBE I'M CHEAP. BUT TELL YOU
BY NOON IS NOT
SO SURE.
>> WITH PRICES GRAY, BUT YOU
GOT TO PAY FOR ALL THE EXTRA
BAGGAGE. TAKE WITH YOU.
>> BOTTOM LINE, BASIC ECONOMY
WILL SAVE YOU 50 TO $75 FOR
A FLIGHT JUST KNOW ALL THE
DOWNSIDES. YOU DON'T WASTE YOUR
MONEY. I'M JOHN MATERESE TO
BE ONLY SO MUCH TO CONSIDER OK.
SO MEANWHILE, DATA AT LEAST
SHOWS THE BEST TIME TO FIND THE
LOWEST FARES FOR THANKSGIVING
AND CHRISTMAS TRAVEL IS
ACTUALLY NOW HOPING TO HELP.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HEAD
IN A HOP ON AND BUY THOSE
TICKETS. EXPERTS WITH GOOGLE.
THEY SAY THE TRAVELERS LOOKING
FOR THOSE HOLIDAY AIRFARES ARE
ENTERING THE LOW PRICE RANGE AS
WE SPEAK. DATA SHOWS THE LOWEST
PRICE FOR THANKSGIVING.
>> ABOUT 60 DAYS OUT FROM THE
HOLIDAY FOR CHRISTMAS. EXPERTS
RECOMMEND LOOKING 70 DAYS OUT
IN ADVANCE. THEY SAY THE BEST
BARGAINS CAN BE FOUND ANY TIME
BETWEEN MID-OCTOBER AND MID