Why it matters
Affects 2 airline programs (Lufthansa, United Airlines). New route or product — useful for award booking and positioning flights.
What happened
- Paid seat selection (standard fares include this)
- One free checked bag (standard fares include two)
- United Club access, but not United Polaris Lounge access
- No changes or refunds (standard allows changes, flexible allows refunds)
- Reduced MileagePlus earning (0-6x without a co-branded card, 3-9x with a card, status-dependent)
- Earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) but no Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs)
- Not eligible for paid upgrades to United Polaris Studio Similar restrictions apply to Basic Premium Plus fares. United notes that MileagePlus and partner award tickets currently book into non-basic fare classes and retain full perks, though tiered award tickets may follow. This move aligns with industry trends of expanding basic economy concepts to premium cabins
United Airlines has launched a new 'Basic' tier for Polaris business class fares in select markets, with expansion planned throughout the year. This new fare class is designed to segment revenue and offers a lower price point but comes with major restrictions compared to standard and flexible business class fares. Key restrictions for Basic Polaris include:
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