Air Baltic customers have recently been able to book “Light” business class. At first glance, the range of services offered by this tariff hardly differs from that of business class. On closer inspection, however, the light offer turns out to be the more expensive variant in the same flight class. In this case, "light" means: less flexible.
The flight data change, which is free of charge in the business class full tariff, costs 50 euros with the light offer, and the exchange of a name even costs 100 euros. If you cancel, only the taxes and fees will be refunded, while the full business rate will be refunded the total price. And last but not least, the airline also grants its Air Baltic Club members fewer bonus points for the light fare.
With this diet concept in price structures, the Baltic airline is in the best of company. Airlines like to confuse customers with many flight classes and fare options that only differ by the omission of services. At the same time, one's own profitability is optimized by this slimming cure.
This principle was demonstrated by the low-cost airlines, where you always had to book every extra. But in recent years, it has mainly been the scheduled airlines that have split their tariffs and thinned out the services in order to then have them paid for in other ways.
One of the first airlines to discover light fares was Lufthansa, which took off with an eco-light fare back in 2015. "Light" actually meant "light" back then, and everything except hand luggage and seat reservations was subject to a charge. Speaking of seats: Since May of this year, seats can no longer be selected in the Eco-Light tariff. Instead, they are assigned and each change is charged at an extra 23 euros.
After the ground staff strike, Lufthansa is back to normal operations. But the next strike is already looming, this time by the pilots' union. What to do if the flight is cancelled? "If no replacement flight is provided, you can remedy the situation yourself," says Kay Rodegra, a lawyer specializing in travel law.
Source: WORLD
This diet method has been known at Singapore Airlines since 2018. Here the tariffs are called “Lite”, “Standard” and “Flexi”, and the names say it all. They were adjusted again in early 2020. "Lite" in business class not only means fewer award miles, but also no upgrade for bonus miles or fee-based rebookings.
Finnair also implemented a similar three-class price system a good year ago: There are three levels “Light”, “Classic” and “Flex” in the flight classes Economy and Business. With a light fare - regardless of the flight class - every change of dates or names is subject to a charge and in the event of cancellation, only the statutory taxes and additional costs are returned.
The Classic price also includes almost identical conditions. In addition, the flight date can be changed free of charge and anyone who flies business enjoys lounge access. However, canceled tickets in this price range will not be refunded. You have to book Finnair's expensive Flex fares to get everything included in the ticket price.
SAS also offers its passengers tiered prices depending on the services. However, the Scandinavians show amazing imagination when it comes to naming. Only with the Light fare can the traveler intuitively assume that they have not bought much more than a flight from A to B. This is followed by the price classes “Smart”, “Pro” and “Bonus”. These can be topped again in the Eco class with the addition "Plus". Transparency looks different.
The assumption that all services will become more expensive with the switch to light tariffs is therefore correct. This also applies to the restructured prices at Cathay Pacific. As with the competition, changes, cancellations, upgrades or seat selection are not possible with the Light fare, or only for a fee.
The baggage allowance has also been reduced from 30 to 23 kilos. On the other hand, passengers in the next higher fare class, “Essential”, benefit from this pricing model because they can now check in two pieces of luggage, each weighing 23 kilos. That corresponds to a doubling of the weight.
